Question
The baby is seven months old and had a high fever of 38.5 degrees for the first time two days ago. There were no symptoms of coughing or running nose. After taking fever-reducing medicine for two days, the fever persisted at 38 degrees, and diarrhea began today. I would like to ask if this is due to not taking fever-reducing medicine?
Answer
After ruling out the possibility of enteritis or food poisoning, some fever-reducing medicines may cause diarrhea because the baby’s digestive system is not fully developed, and the medicine can be quite irritating to the gastrointestinal tract, leading to diarrhea. It is recommended to use fever-reducing medicine, such as acetaminophen, on the basis of physical cooling when the body temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees. You can also use alcohol mixed with water to wipe the baby’s armpits for physical cooling. If the body temperature does not exceed 38.5 degrees, you can use fever-reducing medicine in combination with physical cooling. If the baby feels nausea or vomiting, increase the amount of food intake and focus on light, easy-to-digest foods to reduce gastrointestinal stress and promote full recovery. If the baby’s gastrointestinal condition is poor, you can use fever-reducing patches in combination with physical cooling.