Fever Won't Cook Your Baby's Brain!

Many parents fear that high fever will hurt their children.  A common visit to my Emergency Department often starts with "My baby had a fever of 103, so I rushed right in."  Many times I look the toddler over and he is jumping up and down on the bed, pounding it with both feet.  Just how sick is this kid? After determining that the baby has no more serious condition than a virus or ear infection, I often start my talk with the parents with "fever won't cook your baby's brain," which causes the parent to giggle nervously and say that that is exactly what they feared. Fever is actually a good thing- it is part of how your body fights infection.  Just like you heat food or wash in hot water to kill germs, your body sets its natual thermostat higher to help your immune system get rid of germs.  In fact, there are many renowned pediatricians who say we should not treat fever with Motrin or Tylenol because that may slow the recovery process! However, many moms have a story about how a friend or relative's child died because of fever.  It is important to know that it was not the fever that hurt the baby, it was the infection that caused the fever that hurt the baby.  Fever is just another symptom of illness, it is not bad itself.  What I tell parents is that the important thing about fever is not that the child has a fever, but how the child is acting with the fever.  Is the child short of breath?  Is the child difficult to wake up?  Does the child have a funny color?  Is the child drinking poorly?  Is the child under three months old with a fever?  These are the signs of serious illness, not the fever.  These are the real reasons to take a child to the Emergency Department. Next time your child has a fever and is free of those troubling symptoms, relax.  Give your child some Motrin or Tylenol and wait.  If your child is breathing comfortably, will wake up and talk to you, is drinking ok, then you can probably hold off coming to the Emergency Department.  You can usually even wait a day or two to see if the fever will go away on its own before going to the doctor's office.  When in doubt, you can always call your doctor on the phone to ask if your child needs to get seen sooner.