When an infant becomes feverish, the first thing you think of is to take them to the doctor. Then you are throwing things around, trying to fully dress your baby so you can run out the door. When you are a first time mom you are going to panic. Don’t worry, here are a few things that will be helpful to you before you go rushing out the door.
When your infant is beginning to show signs of a temperature, just keep a close eye on them. Keep a log of what time you check their temperature and what the reading is. Then you want to keep checking it about every hour or so. If you begin to notice that their temperature keeps rising then do the following. Check to see if they are eating in their usual pattern. Then you want to check to see if they have had plenty of fluid intake during the day or night. Then lastly, check to see if they are playing around normally. If their temperature is high, but they are playing fine and eating and drinking normally, don’t panic just yet.
This is what the pediatricians call “looking at the bigger picture.” This means if your infants temperature is high and they are still active and eating then chances are they just have a little internal virus. There are many ways to look at the bigger picture. Some children can run a high fever and still be very active as others can run low grade fevers and be very sick.
What to look for with low grade fevers. If your infant is running a low grade fever you still want to check them for all the symptoms that usually accompany a cold or illness. If your infant is still playing around and acting normal to you then the case may be that they are teething. Or as most of the pediatricians may say, just a common cold that hasn’t sprouted out and they should be fine in a few days. Just give them a little Tylenol or Motrin (Motrin only if they are older than 6 months of age). You can go by the weight on the dose preference.
What to look for in a high grade fever. Keep checking your infant every 30 minutes to an hour, which ever one you prefer. If you feel that your infant is coming down with a cold or illness they will show some of these signs. They may have the runny nose, red puffy eyes, a sore throat, not wanting to eat or drink and may want to lounge around. Also if your infant isn’t as active as normal and shows any of theses signs they may be running a fever.
Your infant can and will run a high fever during teething so don’t be alarmed. Even if your infant isn’t running a high fever but shows signs of not wanting to ear or drink, take them in to see their pediatrician to get a diagnosis. If in any event that your child is subdued to a fever, you always want to make sure that they have plenty of fluids such as water, juice or pedialyte; don’t give your infant formula or any form of mild because it will not settle on their stomachs. When in doubt take your infant to the pediatrician to insure your security.
