Decreased temperature in the child

To lower the temperature of a child is like cooling the air in a house. Suppose you are too hot in the house. First of all, you move the thermostat to a lower temperature so that the heating system does not turn on so quickly( or even turn off the heating).This is how antipyretic agents work, such as aspirin and acetaminophen. They reduce the production of heat by switching the thermostat in the human body. Then you open the windows to let out excess heat out. This is how you cool your child's body, taking off his clothes and putting the baby in a tub with hardly warm water. And you keep an eye on these processes of reducing heat production and heat transfer, while you in your home or your child will not be comfortable.

Suppose, however, that you opened the windows without shutting down the heating or reinstalling the thermostat. The heating system will still generate heat to maintain the temperature set on the thermostat, and the house will still be hot. Or suppose you turned off the heating. But they did not open the window - the house will cool down, but not so quickly. When it's hot in the house or when the baby's fever, you need both mechanisms: to reduce heat generation and increase heat output.

Paragraph one: Give the child antipyretics

Acetaminophen replaces aspirin as an alternative antipyretic for infants and young children. It is safer than aspirin and is equally effective. The three dangers to children that are concealed in aspirin are a possible link with Reye's syndrome, irritating effects on the digestive tract and the narrow line between effective dosage and dangerous in the language of pharmacists, which means that the dose that benefits is very close to the dose that bringsharm.

Acetaminophen starts to lower the temperature for half an hour and gives the maximum effect, reducing the temperature by an average of 1.7 ° C, about two to four hours after ingestion. But very rarely acetaminophen reduces heat to normal levels. Here's what else you should know about this drug.

• Children's acetaminophen is available in liquid form( drops and syrup), in the form of powder, chewing tablets and suppositories( candles).For children up to a year, drops are easier to apply;syrup and powder are intended for children from one year to two, and chewable tablets for children over two years old. Suppositories will be obtained if the child has vomiting and is unable to keep the drug if given orally, but the antipyretic effect in this form of the drug is less stable than in other forms.

• Pay attention to what form of drug you give. For example, acetaminophen drops and syrup have different concentrations. If you use a pipette( which is only available for drops) to give acetaminophen in the syrup, you will give the baby too little;if you start measuring out a teaspoon of a drop, then give the child too much.

• Acetaminophen overdose for children is unlikely, because

requires ten to fifteen doses recommended for single doses so that the child feels unwell. Studies have shown that many parents give their children too small doses of acetaminophen.

• There is nothing to worry about if you first give your child a double dose of acetaminophen once, when the child has very severe pain or feels uncomfortable from a very high temperature.

If you failed to bring the temperature down with acetaminophen, your doctor may advise you to give ibuprofen, an antipyretic, which may be more effective than acetaminophen.

Point two: release the heat

After giving the child the right dose of acetaminophen and reducing the heat production by the body, the next step is to release excess heat outside. Here's how to do it.

Dress the baby accordingly temperature. Do not undress the baby too much and do not wrap it too much. If the child is dressed too lightly, it intensifies the chills, and if it is overfed, clothing keeps the heat. In the summer, it is best to let the child walk around the house and sleep in one diaper or, at most, in light, spacious cotton clothes. This will allow excess heat to pass from your child's body to cooler air. One day I heard my mother and grandmother arguing in my waiting room about the need to wrap or undress a child who has a fever. Grandmother instructed a young mother: "Wrap it in something warm, otherwise it will catch a cold."Mother retorted: "He has already caught a cold. The heat needs to come out. "

This is one of those rare cases when the mother's wisdom prevailed over her grandmother's wisdom. Excess clothing keeps heat;it's like throwing a blanket on a house that's already hot. To me in the office more than once brought temperamentous children, wrapped up like little Eskimos.

You need to cool down. This applies to your home, your child and yourself. Open in the children's window or use the air conditioning or fan. Cool air absorbs heat better, which comes from the hot body of your child. A small draft will not harm your child. Also, your child with a temperature can go out. Fresh air is only good for him.

Drink plenty. Heat causes thirst. Sweating and rapid breathing lead to the fact that the body loses fluid, and he needs to restore it. Let the child all day long suck at the nutritious candy and gradually drink cool, sparse drinks. Breastfeeding is a good source of fluids and comfort.

Feed the child with a fever. When the body temperature rises, the body works in an accelerated mode, releasing excess heat and burning fuel, which requires the child to be recharged in the form of nutritious calories. Usually, children do not want to eat when they get sick and have a high fever, but they need to drink. Your child can refuse heavy, fatty foods. It is difficult to digest, because the work of the digestive system at a high temperature somewhat slows down. If the child will gradually eat

treats and sip drinks throughout the day - this will be a healthy diet for a child with a high fever. Calorie cocktails( milky-strawberry, milky-orange, etc.) satisfy both the need for food and the need for drinking - and they are cool.

Cool baths. If the child has a temperature of 40 ° C or higher, or if the temperature has already tired the child, put it on the waist in a little warm water. Adjust the water temperature so that it is just so warm that the baby feels comfortable. Children who are feverish, usually protest against cold water, and it only causes them chills, which increases body temperature. If water remains on the child's body, it speeds up the cooling by evaporation. Sitting the baby in the bath, walk on his body with a sponge to strengthen the circulation of blood in the skin and increase heat emission. Continue this sponge rubbing spree as much as the child will tolerate. Usually it takes at least twenty minutes to bring the temperature down one degree. After the bath, blot out the baby's skin, but leave it slightly damp to allow the water to evaporate, enhancing the cooling effect. If, within an hour or two after the bath, the temperature of your child again rises sharply, it's time to put it back in the bath and perform the sponge ritual.

Here are some more tips for baths:

• Be sure to before the way to put the baby in the bath, give him acetaminophen. If, after a cool bath, he begins to tremble, the temperature will rise again. Acetaminophen reduces this reaction.

• If you squeeze a screaming child into the bath, the temperature will just rise even more. Instead, try to sit in a bath with him and entertain the child with his favorite floating toys.

• Try to stand with the child under a slightly warm shower - this can bring even more effect than the bath.

• Do not resort to reducing the temperature to alcoholic baths. Alcohol can be absorbed through the baby's skin, or it can inhale its vapor into the lungs, which in both cases can only bring harm to the child. In addition, alcohol narrows the blood vessels in the skin, thereby reducing the heat release and contributing to the rise in body temperature.