Skip to Content

The dish on parenting ... check out the new ParentDish!

Do parents worry too much about their child's temperature?

No one likes to see their kids get sick, and fevers can be especially worrisome. When my daughter caught the flu this winter, her fever soared to 104.5 and she felt like she was on fire. I think I checked her temperature every hour that night, until I could feel that she had cooled back down.

But researchers say that parents may be worrying too much about childhood fevers, and that many tend to medicate (or worse, over-medicate) a condition that doesn't even need treatment, even waking up comfortably sleeping children to give them medication.

Most germs, say doctors, can't live at temperatures over 101 degree, and fevers actually help our bodies immune systems work more efficiently. In fact, fevers may actually shorten the duration of the illness.

When deciding whether or not to treat a fever, say doctors, observe your child closely. If he or she is comfortable, active, and playing, then you can hold off on treatment. But if the fever is making your child uncomfortable, go ahead and give the appropriate dose of acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Recent Posts

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

New Users

Current Users

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Recent Comments

Featured Galleries

Jenna Bush Wedding Photos
Sarah Jessica Parker
Gretchen Wilson
Jason Lee
Amy Poehler & Will Arnett
WEEMADE Entries
Jodie Sweetin
Safety Tats
Lindsay Lohan
Celine Dion Finale

 

Featured Bloggers

Sponsored Links

MomLogic.com

Weblogs, Inc. Network