Is 40 centigrade a high temperature for a baby?

Answer 1

• Remember, fevers are your body's natural response to infection, and not necessarily a sign that something serious is taking place.
• Low-grade fevers are generally not serious, are easily treated, and can wait until the morning to be evaluated by your doctor.
• Fevers of 101 to 103 (38.4 to 39.5 Celcius) are also generally not serious and can wait until morning to be evaluated, except as indicated below.
• High fevers of 104 (40 Celcius) or higher that quickly come down to 100 or 101 (37.8 to 38.3 Celcius) with the treatment measures below are also generally not serious and can wait until morning, except as indicated below.

So for now, don't rush to page your doctor. Read through this section, and call your doctor during office hours, or page your doctor according to the following guidelines:

Here are the situations that usually warrant an urgent call to your doctor. If none of these fit your current situation, then you probably don't need to page your doctor. Follow our treatment advice below and call your doctor during office hours.

• If your infant is 6 weeks or younger, and has a fever of 101 or higher, this is considered a medical emergency. Your doctor should evaluate your infant right away, either during business hours, or in an emergency room after hours. Do not give any fever-reducing medications in this situation (you don't want to hide the fever until after a doctor has evaluated your baby). Be sure to confirm any fevers with a rectal thermometer (if available) before contacting your doctor.
• Infants age 7 weeks to three months with a fever over 101 warrant an appointment with your doctor within the next several hours. You generally don't need to page your doctor in the middle of the night in this situation if the office opens within the next few hours. Simply follow our recommendations on treating fever below and call your doctor in the morning. If it is the early evening you should probably page your doctor, since the office won't be open until the following day. Be sure to confirm any fevers with a rectal thermometer (if available) before contacting your doctor.
• If your child of any age has one or more of the following symptoms, you should probably call your doctor right away:
  • High fevers of 104 (40 Celcius) or higher that don't come down to 101 or 102 (38.3 to 38.9 Celcius) with the treatment measures below.
  • Lethargy - this means more than your child just isn't acting right or laying quietly in your arms. Lethargy actually refers to your child being limp, lifeless, unresponsive, or won't make eye contact.
  • Irritability - this means more than just fussiness. A truly irritable child will cry for hours with minimal verbal interaction, and is almost impossible to console.
  • Meningitis - symptoms are high fever, stiff neck or pain in the back of the neck, vomiting, headache, bright light hurts the eyes. Before paging your doctor, you should also look up any other symptoms your child has, such as cough, vomiting, rash, etc and read those guidelines to determine your best course of action.

ARE FEVERS DANGEROUS?

No. Many parents have a misconception that fevers are a bad thing and a sign that there is some serious underlying illness. This simply is not true. Fever is a normal and healthy response of the body to an illness. The body's immune system releases chemicals that raise the body temperature. This is part of the normal infection-fighting process.WHAT TEMPERATURE CONSTITUTES A FEVER?

• Normal temperature - 97 to 99 degrees (36 to 37.2 Celcius).
• Low-grade fever - 99 to 100.9 degrees (37.3 to 38.3 Celcius).
• Common fever - 101 to 103.5 degrees (38.4 to 39.7 Celcius).
• High fever - any fever over 103.6 degrees (39.8 Celcius).