Q. What is considered normal body temperature?
A. Normal temperature differs from person to person. According
to one study, the average normal oral temperature is 98.2 degrees
Fahrenheit, not 98.6. Body temperature typically varies one
to two degrees throughout the day.
Q. What does a fever mean?
A. Many doctors define fever as an oral temperature above
99.4 degrees or a rectal temperature above 100.4 degrees. A
fever
tells you that there is some kind of infection in the body
and that the body is fighting it.
Q. Is there any truth to the saying, "Feed a cold and starve
a fever"?
A. Though fever usually dulls the appetite, it actually increases
a body's demand for calories. If your child has a fever and
happens to be hungry, it's okay for him or her to eat. It's
especially important for the child to drink plenty of liquids.
Q. Should you treat a fever?
A. Treating fever won't cure the underlying illness, but it
can make a child with a fever feel better. Over-the-counter
pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can relieve
pain and lower fever. Don't use aspirin, which can cause Reye's
syndrome, a potentially fatal illness. Before giving any medication
to a baby younger than 3 months, check with your pediatrician.
What else can you do?
- Give your child a lukewarm sponge bath. Never bathe a feverish
child in cold water, which causes shivering, or in alcohol,
which can be absorbed through the skin.
- Offer fluids to fend off dehydration and promote cooling.
- Remove heavy blankets, keep your child lightly dressed, adjust
the room temperature to "comfortably cool," and be
sure the child's activity is reduced to a minimum.
Q. Is there a best way to take a temperature?
A. For babies and young children, rectal digital thermometers
and oral pacifier thermometers gauge body temperature most accurately.
Since readings obtained with rectal thermometers are generally
half a degree higher than those obtained orally, adding 0.5°F
to a reading from an oral thermometer will give you a more precise
reading. You can also take your child's temperature by holding
a thermometer in the child's armpit for two minutes. In babies
older than 1 month, armpit temperature registers about one degree
lower than the child's rectal temperature. Disposable forehead
strips and ear thermometers don't match rectal temperatures nearly
as well.
