How to bring down a child’s temperature at home

If the baby, who played fun with other children yesterday, starts to act up, cry, if he suddenly has a fever and complains of poor health, his mother will seriously worry. How to quickly bring down the fever? What is the most effective drug to give in the first place or is it not worthwhile to resort to drastic measures? After all, everyone knows: high fever is nothing but the body's resistance to infection.

When the temperature can be knocked down

The temperature within the norm is considered a universal indicator of 36.6. Minor deviations are not cause for excitement. So, if the mercury thermometer shows 37, then you can not worry. Doctors advise against interfering with the natural process and knocking down the temperature to 38 degrees with drugs, but if it rises above, then you need to immediately take action. But what should really alert parents is the course of the disease without a fever.

Doctors recommend taking time out with pills and trying to bring down the fever by folk methods. Their advantage is that they are no less effective, and when properly applied, they do not harm the body.

Types of hyperthermia. First aid

Before you bring down the heat, you need to know that there are two types of hyperthermia (fever) - pale and red. The second type is more common, it is characterized by redness of the skin, heat, moistened hands and feet, frequent breathing. The behavior of the child in this case, as a rule, does not change. In this case, wraps are recommended, wiping - physical methods.

The first thing to do is to keep the baby cool. It is impossible to wrap it in blankets, since overheating from the outside and from the inside can cause a heat stroke. The temperature in the patient’s room should not exceed 20 degrees. You can even use a fan or air conditioning, but so that the air flow does not go to a sick child.

Pale hyperthermia is much more dangerous. Her signs: a sharp jump in temperature, pale skin, chills, cold limbs, bluish lips. The behavior is changing. Parents should provide the child with a warm environment: wool socks, blanket. This is necessary so that the heat goes out. Pale hyperthermia is quite difficult to fight.

Before the arrival of the pediatrician, the child needs:

1. Bed rest taking into account the type of hyperthermia. A large amount of warm liquid that will help bring down heat: tea, decoctions. If the baby does not want to drink, you need to persuade him to drink warm (not hot) tea.
2. During the heat, the water balance is disturbed. To prevent dehydration, the child should drink drinking water without adding sugar. It is useful to give a mineral water.
3. The coolness in the room, as well as the humid environment in the room. In dry air, the body will lose more fluid, so you need to hang wet towels near the crib, and often wipe the floor.

In any case, after first aid to the child and removal of the high temperature, it is necessary to call the attending physician. It is dangerous to engage in self-medication!

We bring down the temperature with home remedies

There are many effective folk methods to bring down the heat of a child, which our grandmothers and mothers used: body wraps, wipes, cool baths, enemas, compresses and much more.

For infants up to a year, a decoction of raisins will help to bring down the heat, older children are fed with dried fruit compote. Drinking should not be too hot, but it is important that it is warm.

Raspberries are an excellent antipyretic.It causes profuse sweating, therefore, in order to prevent dehydration, the child needs to be properly drunk before giving him tea with raspberries. In summer, you can give fresh raspberries, but only if the baby has no allergies.

Wet wrap is equally effective. This procedure is safe for health, but does not work as fast as we would like. To do this, you will need room temperature water, a large towel or sheet, and a warm blanket. Moisten a towel with cool water, wrap the baby with it, wrap it in a blanket on top. After the baby sweats, it needs to be washed in the shower to wash off the sweat and dressed in clean, dry clothes.

Instead of rubbing, you can make a bath with cool water. The child is placed waist-deep in a slightly warm bath, the procedure lasts up to 20 minutes and is repeated twice. The body cannot be wiped dry.

The first place among the tested folk remedies is wiping with vinegar. However, in order to avoid unpleasant consequences, including burns of the skin, you need to know some safety rules:

1. Only warm water is used for breeding, because cold water causes not very pleasant sensations, and it can also cause seizures.
2. In no case can vinegar be rubbed into the delicate skin of a baby with enlarged pores.

To prepare a solution for wiping, you need to dilute vinegar in water in a ratio of 1: 5. Water should not have a pronounced smell of vinegar and be slightly acidic in taste. Dampen a soft rag or sponge in the solution and wipe the baby's skin: abdomen, back and limbs - feet and hands. The procedure is carried out every two hours.

Doctors believe that you need to resort to vinegar wipes at a very high temperature - from 39 degrees. This method is absolutely safe both for the skin of the child and for the stomach, in contrast to drugs.

The temperature after vinegar wraps drops in an hour and not for long, which is why it is not one-time and requires repetition.

Quickly remove the temperature using vodka, which is divorced from water. The proportion is 1: 1. With pale hyperthermia, this method cannot be used, since vodka or alcohol causes an even greater narrowing of blood vessels and cooling of the body.

An effective remedy for high temperature is an ordinary enema. In warm boiled water (250 ml) you need to dissolve the salt (1-2 teaspoons). For babies up to 6 months, 30-50 grams of this solution is enough. Salt can be replaced with a solution of chamomile, which is diluted 1 to 1 with sunflower oil.

Helps relieve heat and various compresses, for example, with mint. Wet wet wipes in a warm solution of mint and apply to the forehead, inguinal folds, wrists. Change every 10-15 minutes. It is necessary to ensure that the wipes are moist, not wet, otherwise the baby will experience discomfort.

Medications

Alternative methods can reduce the temperature without harming the body, but do not underestimate the effect of drugs. Antipyretic drugs include paracetamol, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), ibuprofen. If the house does not have the above drugs, you can give a regular analgin, the effectiveness of which has been tested by time.

Doctors consider paracetamol to be the most powerful tool for controlling high fever. This is an old tried and tested drug. To date, virtually no contraindications and side effects from its use, with the exception of individual intolerance, have been identified. That is why paracetamol is part of modern antipyretic drugs.

Sometimes paracetamol can be ineffective. What to give in this case? There is no better drug than ibuprofen. It begins to act very quickly and has a lasting effect. The advantages of this medication can also include its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.

Rectal suppositories are popular, for example, Tsefekon. They give the desired result in 15-20 minutes. Many mothers prefer candles, because with hyperthermia, the vomiting reflex may increase, which will complicate the intake and effect of the tablets. For babies, rectal suppositories are the best antipyretic.

If you tried all the means and none of them had the desired effect - the high temperature continues to hold - do not hesitate and call the ambulance team. As a rule, paramedics in such cases will give the baby an injection consisting of dipyrone, no-shpa and diphenhydramine. This is not the most beneficial procedure for health, but intramuscular injection will quickly reduce the fever.

Video: temperature control