Fevers Temperatures Children

Health: Protect you children from the perils of summer activities

With summer fun on children's minds these days, parents everywhere want to make sure their tykes, toddlers and teens are safe and free from the typical summer injuries. Follow these tips on how to keep your children safe while having fun in the sun and out of the doctor's office or emergency room.

Biking

Helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent, according to safekids.org. Make sure your child has the right size helmet and that he wears it every time he rides his bike. Also, it's important to have an adult supervise children as they ride bikes, skateboards and scooters and make sure they are riding away from cars and trucks. Test your child's bicycle brakes, air pressure in the tires and bike reflectors before he goes for a ride.

Playground safety

Playground injury is the most common school-related injury among children ages 5 to 14, with many injuries resulting from falls, according to safekids.org. In order to prevent playground injuries, check playgrounds for age-appropriate equipment. Look out for hazards such as rusted or broken equipment. Make sure children's shoes and neck drawstrings are tied to avoid tripping and strangulation. Make sure children know playground etiquette such as no pushing or shoving.

Bee stings

There are 40 fatal allergic reactions to bee, wasp and other insect stings in the U.S. each year, according to WebMD.com. The study also suggests that 1 percent of children and 3 percent of adults have life-threatening allergic reactions to stings that go beyond the expected swelling and pain. These reactions could range from slight difficulty breathing and dizziness to shock.

Bee stings can be dangerous because unlike other insects with stingers, the honey bee leaves behind its stinger. When stung by a honey bee, said Randy Thornton of Jacksonville Pediatrics, do not pull out the stinger with tweezers or with your fingers. This can worsen the reaction. Instead, use a dull blade to scrape it out.

After removing the stinger, family physician Adam Dimitrov with Baptist Primary Care of Ponte Vedra Beach, said to put an ice pack on the wound and give your child Benadryl. Add baking soda or an itch-relief cream to infected area. Antibiotics are only needed if a bee sting becomes infected.

Dimitrov said bee stings are mostly dangerous for children who have had allergic reactions in the past. He said you can tell if your child is having an allergic reaction if he has a racing heart, is wheezing or has swelling. If this occurs, contact a physician.

Fever in Children and How to Overcome Them: Parenting

Fever is not a disease. Fever is a sign that the immune system is fighting against germs. Currently there are germs, the body issued a substance commonly called Pyrogene in the blood which then gives an alarm to the thermostat in the brain to increase body temperature. Higher temperatures required for the body’s defense system work more effectively so that germs do not grow more. Thus, fever is more a friend than foe.

Fever begins when the body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius. Child’s body temperature may rise between 36.5 º C to 37.5 º C. In this temperature range, pediatricians typically do not call it a fever. In other words, infant or child can be said of a fever when the temperature has reached 38A º C or more. Children with fever usually become restless and irritable. When the child’s body was sweating and body temperature drop usually he will be able to sleep in peace.

Every child has its own characteristic fever. There are children whose condition is bad, but the new body temperature 37.9 º C, or body temperature did not increase significantly. There is also a new child deteriorated condition when the body temperature reached 39.2 º C. On the other hand, there are other children where the temperature reaches 40 º C and he still can sleep. This is where the need for repetition in your child’s temperature. These measurements should be done in time and the same body part every day, so the results can be compared. But when the child was sleeping in when the temperature measurement time arrives, do not be awakened. Procrastinate until he wakes up. Do not forget to read well how to use a thermometer that you use for accurate results.

Fever increases the body’s need for body fluids. Therefore, you should breastfeed or give him to drink more often than usual, put the clothes and bedding is warm, do surface cooling.

Do not always need fever-lowering drugs. You just do the surface cooling on some body parts of children, for example the head, armpits, or neck with warm water. Do not use alcohol or cold water.  The decision whether the child should be given the drug or not, depending on the condition of her child. In essence, the child should not be given fever-lowering drugs, before you consulted with your doctor. In addition, you still have to pay attention to the doses listed on the packaging of these drugs. Especially, for tablet or syrup medicine containing paracetamol. Because if it gives the wrong dose of paracetamol, the liver of children will be at stake. Another alternative is to give drugs that contain ibuprofen (both can be bought without a prescription).

The Canadian Paediatric Society Guide to Caring for Your Child from Birth to Age Five

American journal of diseases of children

Textbook of pediatric infectious diseases

Encyclopedia of Family Health

The Diseases of children