Causes of fever in children

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thi My Linh - Neonatologist - Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec International General Hospital Da Nang and The Resident Doctor of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Fever is a symptom of many diseases and is the body's natural immune response. It is important when a child has a fever to determine the cause for timely intervention. The following article will outline the possible causes of fever in children.

1. Viral fever

Children with viral fever may fall into one of the following cases:
Dengue fever: a child with dengue fever has a high fever continuously for 2 - 6 days, then appears hemorrhagic patches under the skin and disappears. gradually. Fever caused by influenza virus: Children with flu will have a fever and stuffy nose, constantly sneezing, runny nose, may be accompanied by cough, cough with phlegm... Fever caused by measles virus: the manifestation of measles is fever persistently high, cough a lot, runny nose similar to flu but with red eyes. Fever due to foot - hand - mouth disease: The child has a fever and blisters appear on the hands, feet, around the mouth and in the mouth of the child. The child refuses to eat, is tired and fussy. Chickenpox fever: the virus that causes chickenpox will cause a low-grade fever and headache.

2. Fever due to infection

Most cases of fever are caused by an infection. Common illnesses that cause fever are:
Sore throat: Sore throat is one of the common causes of fever in children. Children can have a high fever up to 39-40 degrees with symptoms of sore throat, pain when swallowing, hoarseness, fatigue. Respiratory tract infections: Common respiratory infections that cause fever in children such as laryngitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, pleurisy, bronchiolitis... When suffering from these diseases, the child will have a high fever, cough with phlegm, difficulty breathing, even coughing up blood and chest pain... Urinary tract infection: If the child has a fever with painful urination, frequent urination, and the urine has a strange smell and color, low back pain ... the child may have glomerulonephritis, cystitis... Typhus: children with typhus are often accompanied by symptoms of tiny red spots all over the body. The rash will disappear in the order in which it appeared. Hepatobiliary tract infection: in case the child has fever and yellow skin, yellow eyes, feels pain in the liver and biliary tract, it may be a liver - bile infection Infection of the brain - meningoencephalitis: the child has a high fever, pain headache, nausea and vomiting. More severe, the child may have a high fever to convulsions, lethargy, coma. Children under 6 months of age have a fever with signs of bulging fontanelle... Some other infectious diseases such as otitis media, tonsillitis, sepsis...

3. Fever due to vaccination

Low-grade fever is one of the normal reactions of infants and young children after vaccination, especially with severe injections. Parents, when taking their children for injections, should discuss with the doctor about the child's reactions after the injection and the appropriate treatment.

4. Fever due to teething

Teething is one of the causes of fever and crying in children. Normally, a fever due to teething is a mild fever, below 37.8 degrees Celsius. The phenomenon of teething fever will go away after about 1-2 days. Therefore, parents do not need to worry too much.
It is important for parents to understand how to take care of a child with a fever and implement ways to help reduce fever and control child's temperature.
If the child has a fever above 38.5 degrees, give the child fever-reducing medicine. If a child under 6 months has a fever above 37.5 degrees or a child over 6 months has a fever above 38.5 degrees, has a fever for a long time, taking antipyretic drugs does not reduce or has dangerous symptoms such as convulsions, foaming at the mouth. , coma... then it is necessary to take the child to an emergency hospital so that the doctors can have a timely treatment plan.
Doctor Tien has more than 8 years of experience in the field of Pediatrics - Neonatology, specializing in Emergency Resuscitation, Pediatric Cardiology, Neonatal Resuscitation. The doctor has been trained nationally and internationally such as: National Children's Hospital; the University of Sydney, Australia; Seoul National University, Korea before being a Resident Doctor of Pediatrics - Neonatology at Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital as it is now.

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