You know the signs: Your little one is acting lethargic and when you feel her forehead it?s hot to the touch. Fevers are common in kids, but the good news is they?re not dangerous. ?People worry about fevers harming the child in some way, especially if they are high, but fevers just tell us something is going on,? says Joanna Holland, a paediatrician at IWK Health Centre in Halifax. ?A fever is a sign that the body?s immune system has been activated and it?s fighting an infection, which is exactly what it?s supposed to do.? So when it comes to treating your kid?s fever, it?s really a matter of making her comfortable.
Here?s what you should know to bring down a fever.
Detecting a fever
The most reliable way to check whether your child has a fever is to use a standard digital thermometer. But as Natalie Orovec, an assistant clinical professor of paediatrics at McMaster University and a paediatrician in Stoney Creek, Ont., says, how you use it will depend on your child?s age and ability to hold still through the process. The most accurate way to take a temperature is rectally, and that?s the method Orovec recommends for kids under the age of two, but this might not be the best option for your squirmy toddler. So, from ages two to five, the armpit method tends to be easier for parents. When measuring the underarm temperature, the end of the thermometer should be in the armpit itself, not sticking out the other side, with the arm folded down so the device can measure the tempera...