Everyone knows that normal body temperature is 36.5-36.8 degrees. High fever in case of illness is an occasion to consult a doctor. But what about when a child keeps a temperature within 37-38 degrees for a long time without other accompanying symptoms and causes great excitement in parents?
If the child does not have obvious symptoms of the disease, such as a cough or runny nose, doctors talk about subfebrile temperature. Many parents are faced with this phenomenon and often simply do not know what to do in such a situation.
Subfebrile temperature in a child is a condition in which a thermometer shows a value from 37 to 38 degrees. In this case, the child is active and this temperature does not cause discomfort. Prolonged subfebrile temperature indicates subfebrile condition. This is a condition, the main symptom of which is a constant, not very high temperature, but still, exceeding the norm.
Low-grade fever in a child: causes
The low-grade fever in a child is an alarming symptom, since it indicates a violation of the functioning of the body. The causes of this phenomenon may be hidden diseases or inflammatory processes in the body. Without a thorough examination, it is quite difficult to find out the cause of subfebrile condition.
Such a temperature can be accompanied by allergic conditions, vitamin deficiencies, helminthic infestations, anemia, and brain diseases. They can also cause subfebrile metabolic disorders and immune defenses.
In order to find out the cause of this condition, you should contact your doctors. As a result of complex studies, analyzes, consultations of narrow specialists, it is often possible to find out the cause and, based on this, apply treatment methods. If the child has a low-grade fever for a long time, you should visit specialists such as an endocrinologist, otolaryngologist, immunologist, gastroenterologist, and neuropathologist.
Sometimes the cause of subfebrile condition can be thermoneurosis. This is a condition in which the processes of regulation of heat transfer are disrupted, and an excess of heat appears in the body, which cannot be consumed during the day.
Often subfebrile condition is associated with autonomic dysfunction or may appear as a result of taking certain medications.
Low-grade fever: treatment
Definitely, it is necessary to treat such a pathological condition. A prolonged increase in temperature is a great stress for the body. In order to cope with subfebrile condition, the root cause should be identified. If the cause is a violation of thermoregulation, it is necessary to bring the heat exchange back to normal. For this, the child needs to observe the correct regimen of the day, get enough sleep, eat right.
If the low-grade fever in a child is not associated with heat transfer, a general healing method such as hardening can be used. It should be used systematically and regularly, without interruption (you can interrupt the procedure only during illness).
Other effective methods are acupuncture and hypnotherapy. Usually, several sessions are enough to bring the temperature back to normal.
Many parents whose children experience this condition panic and even some transfer their children to home schooling . However, if the child feels normal, this is not necessary. The only condition that must be observed is a decrease in physical activity. It is not at all necessary to completely free the child from physical education and create greenhouse conditions for him, it is enough to protect him from serious loads.
Children with subfebrile conditions should spend more time outdoors. A child with this feature of the body can be tired more than his peers, therefore, mental stress should be gentle.