What should I do if my child has a high fever in summer? Can physical cooling be used to reduce the fever of babies in summer?

In summer, due to the hot weather, many babies are very likely to catch a cold after sweating during exercise and then immediately entering a low-temperature environment. If the symptoms of a cold or fever appear in summer, what should parents do? Let's talk about what to do if your baby has a fever in summer.

Misunderstandings about baby fever in summer

1. Use ice packs to cool down

Ice packs are suitable for patients with persistent high fever, but everyone, especially mothers, should be aware that this method is not suitable for infants.

Analysis of the cause: The body surface area of ​​infants is relatively large, and their body temperature regulation function has not yet developed fully. Therefore, if they have a fever inside but the outside temperature is too low, especially if ice packs are applied to a large area, it is very easy to cause the subcutaneous fat to coagulate and form a hard swelling, which will lead to other diseases from a minor cold.

2. Cover your body to sweat and reduce fever

There is a folk remedy: after catching a cold, you should cover yourself with a blanket and sweat until you are fine, and the fever will go away. For adults, this method is sometimes effective when they have a fever, but it is not suitable for babies.

Cause analysis: The baby's limbs are not adequately supplied with blood, and the nervous system has not yet developed to the same level as adults. If the baby is wrapped too tightly, it will not be able to dissipate heat, which will cause dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and possibly brain hypoxia over time. Clinically, there is a disease that is exclusive to children - "Blanket Syndrome".

3. Take antipyretics as soon as you have a fever

Some mothers think that fever is a bad thing and they get very anxious when their baby has a fever. In fact, fever is an immune protective response produced by the body's immune system to resist infection.

Cause analysis: Studies have confirmed that when fever occurs, the body's various immune functions are better than when the body temperature is normal. The body's immune function can inhibit the growth and reproduction of pathogens, which is very helpful for reducing fever. If you use drugs to cool the body too early, the antipyretic drugs themselves still have side effects, and they will also dampen the body's natural defense capabilities, which is even more detrimental to the recovery of the body. There is also a certain probability that the symptoms will be covered up due to fever reduction, making it difficult to diagnose the primary disease and delaying treatment.

4. Take a bath to cool down

Taking a bath is a health-preserving method chosen by many people. The moderate water temperature can affect the human parasympathetic nerves and make people feel physically and mentally relaxed, but this method is not suitable for babies with fever.

Cause analysis: If the bath water temperature is too high, the stimulation to the body will be enhanced, the sympathetic nerves will come into play, and it will be difficult for the body to calm down. However, if the water temperature is too low, bathing the baby will aggravate the cold.

5. Waiting for the doctor with a high fever baby

It is common to see long queues at the hospital. Many mothers do nothing but go to the hospital immediately after their baby has a high fever and wait in line for the doctor to treat them. This is wrong.

Cause analysis: A high fever of more than 39°C will affect the body, so when the baby has a high fever, it is best to give the baby oral antipyretics at home, and then go to the doctor. If the baby still has a high fever during the medical treatment, it is best to contact the doctor first, and the order will usually be properly arranged according to the actual situation.

What to do if your baby has a fever in summer

In fact, babies are prone to fever in summer, so parents should not take it lightly. Because babies sweat easily and their faces often turn red in hot weather, parents may mistakenly think that it is caused by the heat. In fact, as long as the child has a poor appetite and is in a bad mood, you should consider whether the baby has a fever in time and use a thermometer to check. If it is really a fever, you should pay attention and find out the cause. The most common cause of fever in babies in summer is upper respiratory tract infection, which usually has symptoms such as sneezing, fear of cold, coughing, and headache.

Should babies go to the hospital if they have a fever in summer?

Yu Liheng believes that if the child's fever is not high (below 39°C), it can be dealt with at home. Care for the child at home, but parents should avoid being anxious. It is wrong to rush to feed the child antipyretics. Only babies with a fever over 38.5°C need to be given medicine. For those below 38.5°C, it is recommended to reduce the temperature through physical therapy and give the child more water. There is no need to go to the hospital for treatment. However, if the baby still has a high fever after taking the medicine (the body temperature is always above 38.5°C) or has repeated fevers, and the mental state continues to be poor, it is recommended to take the child to the hospital for examination. This situation may be accompanied by other concurrent infections.

4 major mistakes in treating fever

Heat to reduce fever

Consequences: The body is unable to dissipate heat, and a high fever may even get worse.

"On the contrary," said Chen Liming, deputy chief physician of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, "when a child has a fever, you should not wrap him up in three layers of clothes, but loosen his clothes a little to allow the baby to fully dissipate heat." If the baby's whole body is cold due to fever, you should not cover him with heat. Instead, you should rub the baby's limbs with your hands and do a limb massage with appropriate force to help the baby warm up.

Alcohol cooling

Consequences: Alcohol can cause harm to the baby's body.

Studies have shown that alcohol can be absorbed by the baby through the blood vessels and skin. Therefore, pediatricians generally do not use this method to cool the baby, but instead use ice cubes or cold water to apply to the child's armpits, forehead, elbows and other places where the major arteries pass to help dissipate heat.

Chen Liming also pointed out that many children will cry and become restless when they come into contact with cold things. Parents can choose to put a fever-reducing patch on the child's head.

The intravenous drip will reduce the fever quickly

Consequence: It is not conducive to the formation of baby’s self-immunity.

Many young parents get very anxious when they see their baby has a fever, and regard medicine and methods that can quickly reduce fever as the best method. They hear that intravenous drips can reduce fever quickly, so they ask the doctor to give them intravenous drips; they hear that a certain imported medicine is good, so they give him that medicine. In fact, intravenous drips are clinically used for children with high fevers over 40℃. If the fever is below 40℃ and there is no pneumonia, it is not used. Using this method for him from the beginning is not conducive to the formation of the baby's own resistance, and it will also cause side effects.

Taking aspirin

Consequences: Young children may develop Reye's syndrome, complicated by cerebral edema and organ death.

Antibiotics should not be abused, especially for infants and young children. Foreign studies have pointed out that the abuse of antibiotics by infants will greatly increase the chances of asthma in adulthood. It may even cause Reye's syndrome in babies, complicated by cerebral edema and organ death.