Infant Fever

Infant fever, often, tends to be more concerning than when it affects adults. The ailment can be nothing but uncomfortable for adults, unless it shows a reading of 103 degree Fahrenheit in the thermometer. However, when it affects kids, especially infants, it is usually a certain indication of a serious infection. However, it has to be known that the degree of the fever must not be taken as an indicator for the seriousness of the underlying problem. This is due to the fact that high fever can be the result of a minor medical condition, while a serious illness can manifest itself in the form of low-grade fever. Also, many people may not be aware of the fact that fever is one of the body's natural responses which help it to fight off a number of infections.

Symptoms that Accompany Fever in Infants

Due to obvious reasons, infants would not be able to convey to their parents about how they are feeling. So, it is the parents who have to keep a close watch on any abnormal or unusual symptoms they might notice in their babies. So some of the common symptoms which might indicate fever in infants include difficulty in feeding, crying during a diaper change or even when moved, unusual lethargy and more irritable than normally is. The concern becomes more serious if the infant is younger than 3 months of age or has a fever of 101 degree F (38.3 degree C). Also, in case of a newborn baby, if the temperature shows lower than 97 degree F (36.1 degree C), then even this might be a symptom of something severely amiss in the body. This is due to the reason because very young babies do not have the ability to regulate their body temperature and instead of becoming warm, they become cold.

There are other symptoms of fever which occur in adults, but may also show up as toddler fever symptoms too. These include sweating, headache, body ache, muscle aches, poor appetite, loss of taste, and shivering. Dehydration, general weakness, and severe symptoms like hallucinations, confusion, irritability and even convulsions may accompany the fever in adults and sometimes in infants and older children, as well. Commonly, a condition known as baby measles causes rash which is followed by high fever. Even this could be a severe symptom, which must be brought to medical attention.

Treatment

Treating fever in infants is not something which must be done at home. You never know how their bodies would react to the use of non-prescribed medications. So what best can parents do, is to take a note of the symptoms such as the ones described above and make way for a pediatrician at the earliest. Until medical help arrives, parents can treat infants with oral rehydartion solution such as Pedialyte, which is one of the severe complications of fever. Also, keeping infants in lightweight clothing help in reducing their discomfort. Avoid any visitors and ensure that your baby gets enough sleep throughout the day. Keeping the room temperature cool, also helps in keeping the body temperature from rising. Giving your baby a sponge bath using lukewarm water is helpful for combating with high temperature. However, if the bath causes any shivering, then immediately stop the bath and pat dry your child.

As I have mentioned, when it comes to babies, the best choice for the treatment is to make an immediate appointment with a pediatrician, without any second thought. However, when immediate medical help isn't available, parents can follow the few measures mentioned above to reduce the severity of the condition.