All fevers are bad for children:
Fevers turn on the body’s immune system. Fevers are one of the body’s protective mechanisms. Most fevers are good for children and help the body fight infection.
Fevers cause brain damage or fevers over 104 F are dangerous:
Fevers with infections don’t cause brain damage. Only body temperature over 108 F can cause brain damage. Fevers only go this high with environmental temperatures (e.g. confined in a closed car.)
Anyone can have a febrile seizure:
Only 4% of children have a febrile seizure.
Febrile seizures are harmful:
Febrile seizures are scary to watch, but they usually stop within five minutes. They cause no permanent harm.
All fevers need to be treated with fever medicine:
Fevers only need to be treated if they cause discomfort. Usually fevers don’t cause discomfort until they go over 102 F
Without treatment, fevers will keep going higher:
Wrong. Fevers from infection top out at 105 F or lower, due to the brain’s thermostat.
With treatment, fevers should come down to normal:
With treatment, fevers usually come down 2 or 3 degrees.
If the fever doesn’t come down (if you can’t “break the fever”), the cause is serious:
Viruses or bacteria can cause fevers that don’t respond to fever medicine. It doesn’t relate to the seriousness of the infection
If the fever is high, the cause is serious:
If your child looks very sick, the cause is serious.
The exact number of the temperature is very important:
How the child looks is what’s important.
Temperatures between 98.7 and 100 F are low grade fevers:
Oral temperatures between 98.7 and 100 are normal temperature variations – often peaking in the afternoon and evening. (For rectal, normal elevations are from 99.5 to 100.3 F)