Treat your child, not the number.
A two page fever plan for the fridge. What to do at home, when to reach for medicine and when not to, the red flags that need a doctor today, and a log to fill in as you go.
Where should we send it?
Two pages, free.
- Built on Royal Children's Hospital and NICE guidance
- Red flags written out plainly
- One page to print and stick on the fridge
What is in the plan
Two pages. Looking after them at home on the first, knowing when to call on the second.
At home
- Three states and what each one calls for: playing and drinking, asleep and breathing comfortably, or miserable and unable to settle
- What paracetamol and ibuprofen do and what they do not do, including why they will not prevent a febrile seizure
- Fluids, which is the first job. Small sips every fifteen minutes, what to offer by age, and counting the wees
- Icy poles for a child who will not drink, including a cooled lemon balm tea version and the simple alternatives
When to call, and the log
- See your GP today if, written as a plain list you can scan at midnight rather than a paragraph
- Go to hospital or call 000 straight away if, including the thresholds for babies under three months and under one month
- The healthdirect number for a registered nurse, any hour of the day or night
- A fever log for time, temperature, drinks, wees, medicine and how they seem, which is exactly what your GP will ask for
It is 39.2. Do I give something or do I wait?
A fever is a temperature of 38 degrees or more, and it is the immune system turning up the heat to fight an infection. Most fevers are looked after at home, and how your child is acting tells you far more than the reading on the thermometer does.
Paracetamol and ibuprofen help a child feel more comfortable. They do not clear the infection, and they do not prevent the febrile seizures some young children have with a fever. So the question is whether your child is miserable, rather than whether the number has crossed a line.
This plan is built on guidance from The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne and the UK NICE guideline NG143, written out in the order you need it at two in the morning.
Why we made it
Fever is the thing parents ring about most, usually at an hour when nobody wants to decide anything. The information exists and it is good, but it is spread across several pages of several websites, and nobody is reading those at 2am with a hot child on their lap.
So this is one sheet for the fridge. Print it while everyone is well, and the night it happens you are reading rather than searching.
The red flags are the part that matters most and they are written without softening. When the plan says see a doctor today, or go to hospital now, it means exactly that, and nothing on this sheet is a reason to wait.
Send me the plan
Free, two pages.
General information only, and not a substitute for medical advice. Based on The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Fever in children, and NICE guideline NG143. If you are worried about your child, contact your GP, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, or in an emergency call 000. © The Family Naturopath, The KAN Clinic.