Childhood Fever

When your child’s temperature rises, it can get very worrying for parents. However, not all fevers pose a threat but how do you know when to head to the doctor?

- Angel Drewgus

Fever is the most common ailment parents see in children. A fever can range in importance from a trivial annoyance to a sign of a life threatening condition. Here are some general rules parents can follow when evaluating a fever.

Fever and its Causes

Fever is a physiological response of the body. It has beneficial effects in fighting infection and suppresses the growth and proliferation of bacteria and viruses. It enhances the body’s antibody response. The degree of fever does not always correlate with the severity of illness. Most fevers are harmless and of short duration, explains Dr Chew Chun Yang, family physician, Shenton Medical Group.

Fever is classified into infective and non-infective causes. Common causes of fever are mainly infective — viral, bacterial, rarely fungal or parasitic, explains Dr Chew. Rare causes of fever from non-infective causes include inflammatory / autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; malignancy like leukemia / solid tumours. With infection or other illnesses, various chemicals are released in the body which re-adjusts body regulation of temperature, resulting in fever. A temperature of 38.5°C and above is considered as a high fever.

Taking Your Child’s Temperature