3 Things Every Parent Needs To Know About Fevers

For a lot of new parents, fevers in their children are one of the scariest things they may have to deal with. And unfortunately, a lot of the information out there is extremely counter productive!

So why do we even get fevers in the first place? Well, a fever does 2 things for the body:

1.     A fever activates the immune system, allowing the body to become more efficient and effective at fighting the bacteria or virus.

2.     It slows down the ability of the bug to reproduce.

So we have to realize that fevers are actually helping our body and are not the enemy they're often portrayed to be!

We have to remember too that fevers will fluctuate throughout the day depending on our body needs and circadian rhythms. This means that they will often spike at night when the body can really focus on fighting the bug, but then will drop a little throughout the day when the body needs to do other things.

Perhaps the biggest piece of misinformation out there surrounding fevers is that there's certain temperature numbers we must focus on. Other than in very small specific cases, this is simply not true. The number isn’t nearly as important as you think it is. It doesn’t tell us what’s happening in our child’s body. What matters far more is how your child is handling the fever.

Let's look at a couple of examples. If your child has a 103 temperature but is active, talking, staying well hydrated, and otherwise acting normal beyond being a little run down, then there’s really not much to worry about in the absence of other symptoms. But if they have a temperature of 101 and they’re so lethargic they won’t drink fluids, won’t get up and are struggling to breathe then this is a major concern.

So what can you do when your child has a fever:

1.  Keep them hydrated - if breastfeeding offer milk very regularly (or with a bottle). If the child is older make sure they consume lots of water. You can even mix in coconut water for added electrolytes. Use a dropper or tea spoon if you really have to but the single most important thing is that they stay hydrated with clean filtered water. You can even get creative by using a popsicle with water and other ingredients mixed in. Dehydration is absolutely the biggest concern with fevers!
2. Monitor for behavior changes - are they breathing well, making wet diapers (or going to the toilet frequently),  taking in liquids, making eye contact? If they're not doing these things then they need immediate medical care.
3. Keep them comfortable - not only do we need to give the fever time to work but we need to keep them comfortable. The best way is skin to skin as our body temperature will cool down or heat up the child depending on if they’re spiking or having chills. Also a room temperature bath can help, along with a washcloth on the neck and forehead.

Of course if you’re ever concerned go and see your pediatrician - have them evaluated and have them listen to their lungs to make sure they’re breathing normally. But don’t feel that you need to treat or reduce the fever with medication if you’re child is staying hydrated and acting normally, because that often causes the bug to last longer and cause more sickness.

However there is one specific situation other than what we have mentioned above that you need to look out for: If your child is under 2 months of age and they have a fever over 100.4 then this can be a very serious medical emergency! These children need to go immediately to the ER or urgent care and be checked.

But for older kids, as parents we need to understand the role of the fever, why it is happening, and concentrate on keeping them hydrated, comfortable, and monitoring for any serious behavioral changes rather than focusing on an arbitrary number on the thermometer.

The other most important thing that we always recommend - if you already take your kids to a chiropractor then get them adjusted when they have a fever to help support their immune system by improving their nervous system function which will hopefully help them heal better. There’s also an array of other tricks you can use to help them stay comfortable and heal faster such as vitamin D, vitamin C, Elderberry, and essential oils both topical and diffused and many more.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to post the question in the comments below and thanks for reading this far!