Fever in children often manifests itself as lethargy and a red face. Therefore, parents worry about that such a serious manifestation may indicate sever harm to their children.
Actually, fever can make children feel uncomfortable, it is not proven that fever can cause harm to children except in a state of persistent febrile convulsion and heat stroke - which are certainly rare.
On the contrary, studies have shown that an elevated body temperature reduces the replication and reproduction of microorganisms in children's body to improve anti-stress and the ability of eliminating disease- causing microbes. Fever is beneficial to the recovery of children.
As parents, it is important to clear the following misconceptions to avoid delaying the diagnosis.
1.Fevers in children are caused by comm on self-limitted viral infections mostly, except for a small percentage of which caused by serious diseases. For the children with underlying cardiopulmonary disease and anemia, parents should actively reduce fever to prevent fever from leading to severe cardiopulmonary failure.
For normal fever caused by common illnesses, it is more relevant to focus on children's mental status than on the change in body temperature.
2.Fever does stimulate metabolism and increases the burden on the heart by increasing oxygen consumption and cardiac output, but it has little effect on the healthy children. Common fever does not cause irreversible damage to the children's heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and other vital organs.
Instead, drug abuse due to anxiety of parents can increase the organ burden and produce high-risk toxic side effects.
3.Fever is not a "disease", but a normal physiological mechanism of the body in response to illness.Children need to experience to improve anti-stress and anti-infection and reduce morbidity to promote growth and development.
So remember, a fever by itself will not harm children's brain, heart or other organs, it is more important to completely remove the pathogen of illness. Parents who lose their minds and take drugs blindly may cause unnecessary harm to their children.
