Question
Last month, there was a similar situation. The child had a cough and some fever. Suddenly, the child screamed loudly and then became unconscious, with eyes rolling back and limbs feeling cold. The child was immediately taken to the hospital for intravenous drip treatment. That’s it. It happened again today. The child had a cough for 2 days before, didn’t feel feverish during the day, but when the fever occurred at night, the hospital measured a temperature of 39.3 degrees Celsius. What caused this? Is it due to fever and cough? Does it affect the brain? How should we prevent it in the future? What should we do if it happens again? Do we need additional tests?
Answer
When a child aged between 6 months and 3 years has a high fever, that is, a body temperature above 38.5°C, active fever reduction methods should be adopted. Fever reduction can be divided into two categories: physical fever reduction and medication fever reduction. Physical fever reduction includes sponge baths and ice packs; medication fever reduction can use Aspirin tablets, where aspirin is a commonly used antipyretic and analgesic drug: phenobarbital is commonly used for calming, tranquility, and preventing seizures. It should be noted that when taking antipyretic drugs, the body temperature should be above 38.5°C to be applicable. If the body temperature remains above 38.5°C, it can be applied every 4 hours. After taking the medicine, drink plenty of water, as only after sweating will the body temperature of a feverish child decrease.