When a small child grows in the house, then his parents will always have cause for concern. If these are newborn children who cannot yet independently say what is bothering them and what is happening wrong with their body, then it is especially difficult for adults to remain calm and not be nervous. The most common problem that haunts many parents is the high temperature of 3 days in a child without symptoms of damage to any organs.
The main reasons for the increase in body temperature
Not always a high body temperature in an infant is considered an occasion for an urgent call of a treating specialist. Doctors identify five main causes of high fever in a child (up to 3 days or longer):
- severe or frequent overheating;
- teething onset;
- negative reaction to a recent vaccination;
- damage to the body by a viral infection;
- the spread of bacterial infection.
Body overheating
It is important to know that in the first 5 years of life, the child has an active process of restoration of the thermoregulation system. The cause of fever in this case, the child may be:
- prolonged stay in a closed and not aired room;
- a long walk in direct sunlight;
- too warm or vice versa tight wardrobe items;
- games in which the child needs to move too much;
- strong wrapping of the baby or prolonged exposure to the sun.
In all these cases, the child may have a temperature of 37 to 38.5 degrees without pronounced symptoms. To do this, move the child out of the sun, remove excess clothing, give water, wipe with cool water, and also ventilate the room well. If the cause of this condition was just overheating, then the temperature level normalizes after an hour.
Teething onset and backlash
The opinion of experts about fever and teething varies greatly. But if the parent noticed that the gums in the baby were swollen, turned red, then most likely the reason for the temperature increase is precisely this.
In this case, the temperature of 39 in the child lasts 3 days. If the condition is not complicated by other unpleasant symptoms, then you can improve health through the use of local medicines and taking plenty of fluids.
If after visiting a medical institution for vaccination, the childās body temperature has risen dramatically for 3 days, but the baby does not feel any negative symptoms, then you should not worry immediately. This condition, as a rule, disappears on its own within a few days.
Virus spread
If on the first day after infection with the virus the childās body temperature has risen dramatically, then the next day he will have other symptoms of damage: redness of the throat, severe coughing, rash or nasal congestion. In this case, you should not immediately give the child a large amount of medication.
It is important to enable the immune system, which is actively developing at this time in the baby, to fight the infection on its own. In this case, it is important for parents to provide all the conditions for recovery: give a large amount of water to drink, wipe them with warm water at a temperature, and change their clothes regularly. It is also important to often ventilate the room in which the child is most of the time.
Bacterial infection
Another common reason why a child's temperature rises significantly and there is a characteristic weakness, a feeling of malaise is a bacterial infection. In the early days of the development of the lesion, only the attending specialist can determine it. Some parents may think that a childās temperature of 37 (3 days or more) does not indicate a disease. But in this condition, it is important to carefully examine the throat, oral cavity, and also to determine the root cause of such a lesion.
There are other symptoms of malaise that occur much less frequently. These include: congenital heart defects, bruises and injuries of the skin, mucous membrane, which suddenly become inflamed.
When is a doctor not needed?
If a child at 3 years of 3 days has a high temperature, then it is important to carefully monitor his condition before calling a doctor. An early and unreasonable visit to the doctor can lead to the appearance of other dangerous infectious processes in the child. In addition, in the absence of other characteristic symptoms of the disease, the treating specialist cannot make an accurate diagnosis of the disease on the first day. It is for this reason that you should not rush to call a doctor at home or go to the clinic yourself.
If a child suddenly rises in body temperature, then this indicates the beginning of an active fight of the immune system against infection. Do not immediately start taking medications, as they only worsen the immune system.
If the thermometer for a long time shows a temperature of 37.5 degrees without the characteristic symptoms of damage, then no timely measures should be taken. Children at this time have the strength to deal with this condition on their own.
If the childās temperature is at around 38 degrees, it is best to use the following measures: wipe the childās body with warm water, increase the amount of fluid consumed per day, carefully monitor the temperature in the room where the child is.
If the childās temperature lasts 3 days at a mark above 38.5 degrees, it is important to start taking antipyretic drugs to prevent its further increase.
Also, parents should remember that if the temperature suddenly rises above 40 degrees, then you should not immediately worry and panic, picking up medications yourself. What medicines to use, in what quantity - all this will be decided only by the attending specialist. In this case, one should not forget about physical treatment measures (wiping, fluid intake, etc.).
When should I see a doctor?
If the parent is trying to independently reduce the body temperature of the child, but has not yet determined for what reason she nevertheless rose, then it is important to consult a doctor immediately.
During the examination of the child, the doctor may prescribe additional tests that will help determine the exact clinical picture of the disease and identify its root cause.
There are also situations where it is important to immediately call an ambulance and send the baby to the hospital. This must be done in the following cases:
- if the temperature indicator is only growing, despite the start of the use of antipyretic drugs;
- the childās temperature rises to 39 degrees and above, while there is a feeling of malaise, fatigue, problems with the respiratory system, severe pallor of the skin;
- the occurrence of seizures of the extremities at a high temperature in the child (3 days kept at around 38-39 degrees).
Keeping calm is especially important in the latter case, when the child begins severe cramps. Despite the widespread belief that cramps adversely affect brain function, specialists most often give favorable predictions. However, the parent should be careful that the temperature does not lead to the appearance of such symptoms.
Body temperature measurement methods
It is important to determine what methods can measure the temperature in the newborn. There are three main methods for measuring body temperature:
- The oral method. With this measurement of body temperature in a child, a temperature of 37 degrees is considered a normal indicator. For the correct measurement, you need to put the tip of the thermometer under the tongue, close your mouth for several minutes. This method of measuring body temperature can not be used for children under the age of 4 years, as they may accidentally bite a thermometer.
- The rectal method. The body temperature in the anal passage will be a little higher, so the normal indicator in this condition is 37.5. The rectal method of measuring temperature is used in relation to children under the age of 4 years. The tip of the thermometer in this case is lubricated with oil and inserted into the anus for 60 seconds.
- Axillary method. This method of measuring body temperature is considered the longest. Keep the thermometer in the armpit area for 10 minutes, a normal indicator in this case is considered a value from 36 to 37 degrees.
Doctors Recommendations
The attending physicians do not recommend parents to do the following at high temperature in a child:
- Independently bring down the temperature if it is below 38.5 degrees. If the body temperature begins to rise, and the baby normally tolerates such a condition, then experts do not advise to bring it down on their own in the first days of the disease. Elevated temperature helps the body actively resist a developing infection, but if you start to regularly bring it down, then you can only worsen the condition of the child and provoke the progression of the disease. By knocking down the temperature, the infection gets a chance to spread through the body of the newborn and provoke complications. In addition, when churning a high temperature, the parent makes it difficult to recover.
- It is forbidden to use drugs that lead to an increase in body temperature. Many caring mothers and grandmothers with an increase in body temperature in a child immediately begin to put mustard plasters, alcohol compresses and other means that provoke only an increase in body temperature, but not a decrease. In addition, at high temperatures it is forbidden to take a hot shower, bath, drink teas and more.
- Do not wrap the baby much. It is important to remember that at elevated body temperature the process of sweating greatly increases. In this way, the childās body is actively trying to get rid of excess heat. If you wrap up the baby too much, this will lead to the fact that his body simply cannot cool normally.
Room temperature
It is forbidden to moisten and heat the air in the room where the sick child is. The air temperature should be tried to maintain at around 18-24 degrees. It should not be heated or moistened. This can be explained by the fact that with high humidity, bacteria quickly pass into the respiratory tract of the child, which increases the risk of another infection. In severe cases, bacteria spread to the lungs. The child should not be too hot, but he should not allow drafts in the room.
Sweet drinks
Do not give your child sugary drinks. Drinking a large amount of liquid is very important in the fight against defeat, but in this case it is important to abandon the use of sweet drinks and tea. It is best to limit yourself for a while to mineral water without gases. When taking sweet tea (with jam, for example), moisture will first be eliminated, and sugar will remain in the body and feed pathogens. In this case, the risk of additional infections, for example, damage to the genitourinary organs, will significantly increase. Bladder infection and pyelonephritis may begin.
The use of vinegar and alcohol
If the childās temperature is 39 degrees for 3 days, then do not wipe his body with vinegar or alcohol. Such procedures are considered very dangerous. Alcohol and vinegar can cool the skin, but fumes from such products can quickly penetrate the lungs and provoke an attack of dizziness, severe pain in the head and other unpleasant symptoms. In addition, when rubbing the skin with alcohol, the body temperature can drop sharply, which is considered quite dangerous, especially for children. After a rapid drop in heat, the child begins to tremble violently, which reports a worsening condition.
If the childās temperature is 3 days 38 degrees, then you should re-call the pediatrician at home. He will conduct a second examination and say what should be done next.