What to do if a newborn has a fever? How to reduce fever quickly? How to measure body temperature

New parents are often at a loss when facing a newborn baby with a fever. Many traditional methods of dealing with fever are counterproductive and do more harm than good. So how to reduce the fever of a newborn baby quickly and how to measure the body temperature?

How to measure the temperature of a newborn

Newborns are affected by many factors such as their structure, reaction, and physiological activities. For example, being covered, crying, after meals, after bathing, and after defecation can all affect the measurement results. Considering safety, accuracy, and convenience, it is recommended not to measure oral temperature.

Before taking a test, you need to make sure that the meter is accurately zeroed, calibrated regularly, and not damaged. Each type of thermometer has its own time for measurement, and you must be familiar with how to use it. Mercury thermometers are no longer used because of the risk of breaking and polluting the environment. Electronic meters are usually used.

Measuring forehead temperature with infrared rays or oral temperature with a pacifier-type thermometer is not accurate, and measuring body temperature by hand is the least accurate method.

Will a fever damage your brain?

Fever is just one of the symptoms of a disease, or it represents the severity of inflammation in the body and the intensity of the body's reaction. However, what really damages the brain is the impact of the disease itself on brain cells, not the fever itself.

Only when the body temperature reaches above 41°C for a period of time will it cause direct damage to brain cells. There is no evidence that a general high fever itself will cause permanent damage to the brain.

Should I help my baby reduce fever?

Generally speaking, fever that is not caused by inflammation is not good for the body and should be reduced by adjusting the room temperature, removing excess coverings, etc.

However, if you have chronic lung disease, metabolic abnormalities, brain disease, heart disease or a newborn who is unwell, you should consider reducing the fever if your temperature exceeds 38°C.

In addition, the cause of the fever should be found out instead of just trying to reduce it; because even if the fever is reduced, it does not mean that the cause has been eliminated and the disease has been cured.

What to do if your baby has a fever

In case of a mild fever, first check whether the baby is wrapped too much or the room is too stuffy, and observe the baby's eating, mental state, and whether the urine volume has decreased. After simple treatment, take the temperature again about half an hour later. If there is no improvement, you should seek medical attention immediately.

The immune system of a newborn is not yet fully developed, so special care should be taken if the body temperature reaches 38°C. Normally, the body temperature should not be higher than 38.5°C no matter how you wrap it.

If the body temperature is as high as 40°C and exceeds 39°C twice within two days, the chance of contracting a viral or bacterial infection is quite high, and the risk of complications and death is also relatively increased, which is quite dangerous.

Therefore, when a newborn has a fever, it is best to seek medical attention as soon as possible and have the doctor take necessary measures or even hospitalize for examination for safety reasons.