What should I do if my baby has a fever in summer? Should I keep warm or cool down first?

With the arrival of summer, many parents find that their babies often have fevers. So, what is the reason why babies have fever in summer? If the baby has a fever, should he keep warm or cool down first? Why do babies tend to have fever in summer? The baby\’s body is relatively weak and has poor resistance. The weather is hot in summer and bacteria are more active, making the baby susceptible to invasion. In addition, babies are prone to poor appetite and poor sleep in hot weather, which will also affect the baby\’s resistance. In addition, babies who sweat a lot after exercise also need special care. Pay attention to drying the sweat, otherwise they will easily catch colds and fevers. Should you keep warm or cool down first? The baby has a fever. At this time, whether parents help the baby keep warm or cool down first depends on the degree of fever: when the temperature does not exceed 38°C, or the baby feels subjectively cold, we need to add appropriate clothing and quilts to keep warm. When the body temperature rises further and exceeds 38.5°C, measures must be taken to prevent excessive body temperature from damaging the body. Physical Cooling VS Medicinal Cooling As soon as the baby has a fever, the parents become uneasy: It will be troublesome if the baby burns his head, so he should be sent directly to the hospital! In fact, fever is self-limiting. Children\’s fever is mostly caused by self-limiting infections. It is an adaptive response of the human body. Regardless of whether to go to the hospital or not, the baby will ultimately have to rely on the mother\’s caring care for the baby to recover. 1. The commonly used physical cooling method is warm water bathing. Simply put, use a warm and wet towel at about 37°C to bathe. The wiped area is the whole body, including the baby’s forehead and face. The principle of reducing fever is to dilate blood vessels in the skin to allow body temperature to dissipate, and the evaporation of water vapor left on the body after wiping with a warm wet towel will also take away part of the body heat. Infants and young children have a large body surface area, and the fever-reducing effect of warm water bath is better than that of adults and older children. Some studies have shown that the combination of warm water baths and antipyretic drugs is more effective in cooling the body than the drugs alone. It is forbidden to use alcohol to bathe small babies, and it is forbidden to use ice pillows for infants who have no ability to express themselves. 2. Precautions for drug cooling. The use of antipyretic drugs is a symptomatic treatment. It can only temporarily lower the body temperature and increase the body\’s comfort. In principle, it is recommended to use it when the axillary temperature is above 38.5℃. The frequency should not be too many and the intervals should not be close. Avoid overuse to avoid risk. Causes hypothermia and damage to liver and kidney function. Commonly used dosage forms for children are oral and suppository. Oral is the most commonly used method and usually takes effect about half an hour after taking it. Suppository is directly absorbed through the rectal mucosa and is suitable for those who cannot take oral medication or who have febrile convulsions and need immediate cooling. It is not suitable for children with diarrhea. It is not absolute to use antipyretics when the axillary temperature is above 38.5℃. You should also consider the baby\’s general performance. If the baby is in good spirits and can eat and play, there is no need to use them. If the value is measured during the chill period, it means that the body temperature is very high. It may continue to rise, so you need to consider whether to use antipyretics based on your baby\’s condition at that time and your past care experience. Commonly used oral cooling drugs in children include: ibuprofen suspension or acetaminophen suspension. When high fever persists, the effect is good when used alternately. 3. For other households with fever, open windows for ventilation once a day in the morning and evening, for no less than 30 minutes each time. Reduce the temperature inside the house, making the home cool and comfortable, and baby\’s clothesWear less. Bed rest Babies with fever need to stay in bed and eat an easily digestible diet. If you are in the stage of adding complementary foods, you should suspend the intake of new foods and add them again after the disease is cured. Ensure fluid intake Ensure your baby\’s fluid intake, especially water intake, because high fever will cause the baby\’s metabolism to accelerate, sweating or apparent water loss, and drinking more water will help the excretion of toxins. How to accurately measure body temperature? When taking the baby\’s temperature, the mother is most concerned about the accuracy of the thermometer. Thermometers can generally be divided into 5 types, and the temperatures measured by each type of thermometer are different. A mercury thermometer is the most accurate for measuring oral or rectal temperature: a temperature exceeding 38°C (over 37.5°C for older babies) is considered a fever. ▌Measure armpit temperature: anything over 37°C is considered a fever. Note: The thermometer used to measure the baby\’s oral or rectal thermometer must be specially designed and disinfected with alcohol before and after use. Electronic thermometers need to be calibrated frequently. Electronic thermometers have a short measurement time and can produce results in about 1 minute. They are more suitable for active babies. However, each time the electronic thermometer is started, it needs to be calibrated before it can be used. Infrared ear canal thermometers are not suitable for babies under 3 months old. This type of thermometer is similar to an electronic thermometer, but the measurement part is different: ▌Measure ear canal temperature: exceeding 37°C is considered a fever. Note: The ear canals of babies under 3 months old are delicate and ear canal temperature measurement is not recommended to avoid hurting the baby. Infrared forehead thermometers are greatly affected by the environment. Measure forehead temperature: if it exceeds 37°C, it is considered a fever. Note: The forehead thermometer is greatly affected by the ambient temperature. For example, if the baby is exposed to sunlight or direct cold wind, the forehead temperature may be higher or lower. The forehead temperature patch is not specific in temperature measurement. The LCD forehead temperature patch is a one-time chemical mark thermometer. If you stick it directly on the baby\’s forehead for about 1 minute, it will show the temperature changes through color changes. However, it cannot display the accurate temperature. It can only Approximate range provided, not recommended for use on babies. Through the above comparison, mothers must know how to correctly measure their baby\’s temperature. But mothers should remember that body temperature is not the key to observing children\’s diseases: because the baby\’s body\’s temperature control is not perfect yet. Some babies may have a fever of up to 40°C when infected with a mild illness, but may only have a fever of 38.3°C when suffering from a more severe illness.