Fever in Children

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• Fever in Children Overview
• Fever in Children Causes
• Fever in Children Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care for Fever in a Child
• Diagnosis of Fever in Children
• Home Remedies for Fever in Children
• Medical Treatment for Fever in Children
• Follow-up for Fever in Children
• Prevention of Fever in Children
• Prognosis of Fever in Children
• Read more on Fever in Children from Healthwise

Fever remains the most common concern prompting parents to present their child to the emergency department. Fever has traditionally been defined as a rectal temperature over 100.4 F or 38 C. Temperatures measured at other body sites are usually lower. The threshold for defining a fever does vary significantly among different individuals, since body temperatures can vary by as much as 1 F. Low-grade fevers are usually considered less than 102.2 F (39 C).

Fever itself is not life-threatening unless it is extremely and persistently high, such as greater than 107 F (41.6 C) when measured rectally. Risk factors for worrisome fevers include age under 2 years (infants and toddlers) or recurrent fevers lasting more than one week. Fever may indicate the presence of a serious illness, but usually a fever is caused by a common infection, most of which are not serious. The part of the brain called the hypothalamus controls body temperature. The hypothalamus increases the body's temperature as a way to fight the infection. However, many conditions other than infections may cause a fever.

Causes of fever include

• bacterial infections, such as scarlet fever, or rarely, rheumatic fever (both related to "strep throat");
• viral infections, like influenza (the "flu");
• medications;
• illicit drugs;
• illnesses related to heat exposure;
• allergies;
• rarely, inflammatory diseases, like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

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