Young children and babies are in full development, just begin to form your body and body, so your immune system is not fully mature, making them more likely to get infections and diseases on a continuous basis. Over the years, as they strengthen their defenses and create antibodies, these diseases of childhood will be a great shield during adulthood.
When fever is considered in a newborn
If when you kiss or touch your forehead you notice that your temperature is higher than normal it is probably that your baby has a fever. It is common in newborns, so you do not have to worry too much, when you notice that your child is hotter than usual, take the temperature with a thermometer to know if you have a fever or not.
Generally, between 36 and 38 degrees we can talk about normal temperature in a baby, for that reason, if you suspect that your baby may be sick or have other symptoms other than fever it is advisable to consult a doctor so you can make an accurate diagnosis.
Stable temperature to lower fever
With a little common sense we can act in a timely manner. In this state, the baby does not need high temperatures that make him sweat and dehydrate or low temperatures that make him cold. The clothing retains body heat and keeps the child’s body in high temperatures, to avoid it we must remove the clothes. Of course, once we remove the clothes we must ensure that the environment is pleasant and will not go cold.
If it is winter we advise you to check the temperature at which you have the heating so as not to stimulate it to raise the body’s atmosphere even more, while if it is summer you should have it in a cool room but not having drafts or air conditioning.
Liquid diet to gather strength
One of the side effects of fever is the dehydration caused by excessive sweating and the little desire that children have to eat. To avoid both dehydration and to facilitate a good diet that helps you fight the disease, a good option is to design a liquid diet: water, juices, soups or breast milk and oral serum are foods that you can eat without difficulty and that they will benefit you greatly.
Water controls fever
Water will be one of our best allies when it comes to lowering the fever to a newborn, there are many ways that we can take advantage of its ability to steal fever.
Make bath with water at a lower temperature is a good way to control him fever. It is not advisable to do cold baths, there are people who do that and in no way help the baby, on the contrary, sudden changes in temperature can worsen their situation. So you have to lower the water temperature gradually. What you should do is make a bath at normal temperature, and instead of bathing directly wait a while until the heat of the water drops.
Another way to do it if you do not want your child to spend a lot of time soaking is to use cold packs to wet some key points. Forehead, head, feet and wrists will help lower your body temperature and control your fever.
Rest and tranquility
Unless you feel very sick, in that case you will not have the will or strength to do anything, if you have little fever you may still have the energy to play and not stop for a second. As in adults, the best way to recover from a physical setback is rest and rest. We do not say that you do not have to move even a moment, but it is preferable that you do not do physically demanding activities that can increase your temperature and make you sweat.
Natural remedy to reduce fever to a newborn
Sunflower has antipyretic properties that we can use to lower a fever to a newborn. For this we must use the petals of dried sunflower flower and mix them with boiling water. After about ten minutes they will have infused, at which time you should add honey or a sweetener that is the baby’s taste.
A couple of tablespoons every eight hours of this infusion will help to lower the fever naturally and effectively.
Feet lose heat
The areas where babies lose more heat are the head, hands and feet. Knowing this we can act in such a way that they lose enough heat to stop having a fever. A simple way that has been used for generations is to remove children with fever and make them walk around the house touching the ground directly. This, usually, is usually at a lower temperature, so in contact with the feet and hands of the baby can steal a lot of heat.
When to go to the doctor
As in everything, common sense can be your best counselor when it comes to evaluating if you should take your child to the doctor. You should know that cases of fever in newborns are very common and at the same time very volatile. It is not uncommon for a child to have a fever for a few hours and then it disappears.
When the fever appears, we recommend waiting at least 24 hours to see if there are any other symptoms. Normally it will be sore throat, ear pain or pain when urinating, if you do not wait for your condition to manifest you will go to the doctor and you will go back without knowing what you have.
However, if the fever is very high or you notice that the child is feeling ill, it does not make sense to wait. So, we recommend you visit the doctor:
- When the child is less than 3 months old.
- If other symptoms appear such as pain or mucus.
- If the fever lasts more than 24 hours.
- If the fever is very high.