Antipyretic medicine for children

Antipyretic medicine for children

Fever is a common symptom in children, but not a disease in itself. Small children can easily get a fever of 39 °C, even with normal viral infections. The general condition is a much more important indication of how ill the child is than the fever itself.

What is fever?

The body's temperature is regulated from the thermoregulatory center in the brain. This center receives information from the whole body about the temperature, and if we are too hot, measures are initiated to lower the temperature. In the event of a fever, this "thermostat" is set to too high a temperature, which results in a fever.

Fever is defined as a body temperature equal to or higher than 38 °C, measured in the rectum. Read more about fever here.

Simple advice when children have a fever

• Give the child plenty of fluids

• Let the child be lightly dressed and make sure that the room temperature is not too high

• It makes sense to keep the child indoors until the child is fever-free

• In the event of a high fever of unknown cause, you should wake the child at least a couple of times during the night to check that you have good contact with the child.

General information about antipyretic medicine for children

• Using fever-reducing medicine does not make the child recover faster, but reduces the discomfort that comes with a high fever.

• Products with paracetamol are the first choice for fever.

• Children should generally not be given antipyretic medicine until the temperature is above 39 °C. This is because our immune system works more efficiently at an increased temperature. Something that can help the disease go away faster.

• Children under three months should only be given antipyretic medicine in consultation with a doctor.

What antipyretic medicine is recommended?

Medicines with paracetamol are recommended as the first choice when antipyretic medicine is needed. Paracetamol works to reduce fever by affecting the thermoregulatory center in the brain. Paracetamol is available in various medicinal forms. The main differences between the medicinal forms are the time before effect, how easy it is to take the medicine and what the medicine tastes like.

When should you contact a doctor for fever and medicine for children?

For fever in children under 3 months.

• In case of fever and severely impaired general condition.

• If the fever does not decrease clearly after 3-4 days.

• If your child has febrile seizures.

• If your child has difficulty breathing or coughs profusely.

• In case of high fever and symptoms such as neck stiffness, stomach pain or skin rash that does not go away when you press a glass against the skin.

• If serious illness is suspected.

Sources:

Apotekforeningen, Norwegian drug handbook for healthcare personnel, Norwegian health informatics, Forskning.no and Felleskatalogen.