{"id":2061,"date":"2017-05-16T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T09:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/degree.cosinuss.com\/?p=2061"},"modified":"2020-07-29T13:23:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T11:23:03","slug":"fever-children-febrile-seizure-continuous-body-temperature-measurement-matters-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cosinuss.com\/en\/2017\/05\/16\/fever-children-febrile-seizure-continuous-body-temperature-measurement-matters-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"Fever in children, febrile seizures and why continuous body temperature measurement matters \u2013 a lot"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am Greta. I am a mother of three. Today I would like to share with you my thoughts on fever in children, febrile seizure and the story of my daughter. One day our 3-year old daughter suffered from a viral infect causing high fever that suddenly led to a febrile convulsion. I sat at her bed, taking the temperature every hour. But still I could not see the seizure coming.<\/p>\n

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Here is what I learned: The reason for a febrile convulsion is not the absolute height of the temperature, but the fast rise of it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This incident didn’t let me rest. As I recognised that febrile convulsions are quite frequent and not just an incident in our family we bet everything on finding a perfect solution for this problem. Parents should be able to continuously see what is going on with their kids. They should be able to see the whole temperature curve of their child during fever in order to be able to manage fever more relaxed and without stress.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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And here is why.<\/p>\n

Fever in children \u2013 why it is actually a good thing<\/h2>\n

You might know what I am talking about. You wake up in the middle of the night. Your kid is crying and seems to be in serious pain. You notice that her forehead is hot. You take her temperature and guess what? The temperature is reading is higher than normal. Your natural reaction might be: let\u2019s call a doctor. But in most cases here’s what experts say you should do instead: Take a deep breath and relax.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a fever\u201d is actually a good thing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Easier said than done. Many parents freak out when their child’s body temperature spikes. This is understandable. Almost 30 percent of pediatric acute-care visits are related to fever, according to a study published earlier this year in\u00a0Pediatrics in Review<\/em>. According to Robert W. Steele, M.D., a pediatrician at St. John’s Children’s Hospital, in Springfield, Missouri. “a lot of parents think a fever is really dangerous<\/em>“. But in the most cases, fever is nothing really to worry about.<\/p>\n

In some sort of way, having a fever is a good thing.<\/p>\n

It means that your child’s immune system is doing its job by fighting an underlying cold or another infection. The brain asks the body’s temperature to rise. This directs the white blood cells to attack and destroy invading viruses and bacteria.<\/p>\n

What is considered to be \u201cnormal body temperature\u201d?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This chart tries to provide a range of temperatures that are considered to be \u201cnormal body temperature ranges\u201d depending on age.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"chart<\/span><\/div><\/div>
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As you can see, the differences are not that big. Which means that precisely measuring a body temperature might be rather important. Having 100.00 or 100.5\u00b0F does matter for kids at the age of 3 to 10 years.<\/p>\n

But it is not only about precision of measurement at the right place (where taking the temperature<\/a>). It is also about \u201ctrends\u201d. Is the temperature on the rise? Is it dropping off? You might not feel small temperature changes directly on the forehead.<\/p>\n

However, if you had a continuous measurement device, you can instantly see which direction the temperature is going. In case it is rapidly going up, you can make sure you know what to prepare for (e.g. either call a doctor or prepare some calf treatment). If temperature stabilizes or is even going down, you can be sure that the peak is already in the past.<\/p>\n

What and when you should act as a parent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So what should you do as a parent:<\/p>\n