Fever Facts

• Heat is a product of internal work and fever occurs when more than the usual internal work is being done.
• In most cases, lowering a fever is counterproductive, prolonging the course of the illness.
• It is because children’s bodies are in such good condition that they can raise a fever of 104° for a minor infection like a cold.
• Temperatures will not rise to a harmful level unless the child is kept too warm or is allowed to dehydrate.
• Normal temperatures vary according to activity, time of day, weather, amount of clothing.
• Fever is only part of the illness picture.
• Fever is an unreliable indicator of the severity of an illness.
• Knowing the temperature gives little useful information about how your child is doing.
• Fever does not indicate that your child is contagious.
• Colds may not include a fever, yet they are contagious.
• Fevers are often highest in the late afternoon.
• During Fever:
• White blood cells increase.
• Antibodies are produced at a faster rate than normal.
• Heart beats faster to propel the white cells and antibodies to where they are needed.
• New blood vessels are built where the infection is taking place so that the white cells & antibodies can reach the problem.      

• Rate of breathing increases in order to supply the oxygen for all this additional work.
• Other less common reasons for fevers are juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, tumors,medications, immunizations, dehydration and possibly teething.

• If child’s fever lasts more than 4 days, you may want to have the child examined.
• Newborns with fever should be examined.
• Brain damage can be a result of infections like meningitis and encephalitis, but not because of the fever.

• Convulsions are a rare phenomenon in small percentage of children’s fevers and are not determined by the height of the fever.

Information based on Fever in Children, Richard Mittleman, MD; How to Raise a Healthy Child… In Spite of Your Doctor Robert Mendelsohn, MD and Desktop Companion to Physical Pathology, Roger Morrison, MD