Question
Symptom Description: The child is normal during the day but has a fever at night. Previous treatments with injections and medication have been ineffective. What could be the cause of this fever?
Answer
Firstly, the causes of a child’s fever are diverse, and the treatment approaches vary. Common causes include bacterial infections, viral infections, and mycoplasma infections. For fevers caused by infections, targeted treatment should be adopted; if the fever is severe, it should be treated with antipyretics as prescribed by a doctor. For infants under 6 months old, due to the incomplete development of the liver and kidneys, physical cooling methods should be used. Common antipyretics include: (1) Aspirin. It has a strong antipyretic effect but significant side effects, and the UK has explicitly banned the use of aspirin for children under 16 years old. Currently, domestic pediatrics tends to avoid using this drug, so it should not be administered to children. (2) Paracetamol. It is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended first-line antipyretic for infants and children over 2 months old experiencing high fever. It is available over-the-counter, such as in the form of syrup (e.g., Merck syrup) and drops (e.g., Children’s Tylenol).