Question
An eight-month-old baby has been running a fever and has a runny nose for four consecutive days. What should be done? On the first day, the body temperature was 37.5 degrees, with occasional coughing and vomiting. Starting from the second day, there was a runny nose, hoarseness in the throat, worsening cough, and occasional vomiting. On the third and fourth days, the baby still had a low-grade fever with symptoms similar to the second day, including wheezing after coughing and a slightly greenish color in the stool.
Answer
When a baby has a fever, their body is fighting off a virus, causing the body temperature to naturally rise. Therefore, it is not necessary to use fever-reducing medication. Fever is usually a sign of illness, and parents using fever-reducing drugs without medical advice may interfere with doctors’ ability to accurately diagnose the cause of the baby’s fever. When parents bring their baby for follow-up visits, they should not focus on how high the body temperature is but rather understand how long the fever might last. Finding the cause of the fever is more important than rushing to cool down the baby.