Fever in children

A fever is common in children and is usually a normal reaction by the body to a virus or bacterium. A child has a fever when their body temperature is 38°C or higher. The fever often clears up on its own within a week.

What can you do yourself?

• Make sure your child drinks plenty of fluids. A fever causes the body to lose more fluid.
• Make sure they get plenty of rest. Your child doesn’t necessarily have to stay in bed.
• Dress your child in light, breathable clothing and don’t use too many blankets.
• Keep an eye on how your child is getting on.

How to measure?

Measure the temperature with a thermometer in the anus; this is most reliable. An ear thermometer is easy, but less accurate. For babies younger than 3 months, an ear thermometer is not suitable because the entrance to the ear is still too small.

How often to measure?

Taking the temperature once a day is enough. Do you think your child is getting sicker and sicker? And do you think the fever has gone up? Then you can always measure again. If your child does not feel ill, you do not need to take a temperature reading.

How long does fever last?

Fever can last for a few days. How long the fever lasts does not say much about how bad the illness is. Once the body clears the infection, the temperature goes down again. Does your child have a fever for 5 days or more? If so, call your GP's assistant for advice.

When should you ring your GP or the GP out-of-hours service?

In most cases, a child’s fever is nothing to worry about. However, sometimes it is important to ring your GP straight away.

Call immediately your GP or the out-of-hours GP service if your child:

• is difficult to wake up or is unresponsive or less responsive;
• continues to cry or moan inconsolably;
• suddenly starts jerking their arms and legs (possibly a febrile convulsion);
• has neck pain or a severe headache;
• is breathing with difficulty or much more rapidly;
• makes a wheezing sound when breathing;
• drools when breathing;
• sometimes stops breathing;
• looks very pale or patchy;
• has blue or grey lips;
• becomes ill more quickly or is ill in a different way to what you’re used to;
• drinks far less than usual (less than half);
• has not urinated for more than 12 hours;
• in the case of a baby: has not had a wet nappy for more than 12 hours;
• keeps vomiting;
• has red or dark spots that do not fade when you press on them;
• has an arm, leg or joint that is swollen, warm or red;
• is unable to use an arm or a leg, or is unable to stand on that leg.

Please also ring us straight away if:

• your baby is under 3 months old;
• your child has a heart or lung condition;
• your child has diabetes;
• your child is taking medication that weakens the immune system;
• your child has a weakened immune system, for example due to leukaemia or Down’s syndrome;
• your child develops a fever again after a few days without one;
• you have serious concerns about your child.

Does your child have a fever, but are they behaving normally, drinking and urinating enough, and breathing normally? And does your child not seem seriously ill? If so, you can usually keep an eye on them at home.

Medicines

Medication is not usually needed to bring a fever down. Does your child feel very ill or is he or she in pain? If so, paracetamol can sometimes help. Antibiotics are not usually necessary for a fever.