The number one after-hours call we get at MVP? MY CHILD HAS A FEVER!

We know that it can be very scary when your child, no matter their age, has a fever. A few things we want to clarify to help calm your nerves in these stressful moments.

1. Fever is considered anything 100.4 F or 38 celsius and above.
2. Fever is not harmful to your child- it is a sign that your child’s immune system is working hard to fight off an infection.
3. If your child is < 2 months of age you have to call MVP right away if your baby has a fever. For older children, you can monitor them at home unless they are ill appearing.
4. A high fever will not hurt your child or cause them to have a seizure.
5. Febrile seizures (seizures associated with fever) can happen at any time from 6 months of age to 6 years.  They are rare and although very scary for the family, are harmless.
6. Fever is best controlled with ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) at the appropriate dose.  Children < 6 months of age cannot have ibuprofen, so should only be given acetaminophen. You can look at our dose chart on our website to check doses and our providers write the correct dosage on a paper at every well-visit. Take a pic and save!!!
7. You can give acetaminophen and ibuprofen at the same time if need be, they do not cross-react.
8. You cannot expect the temperature to go down to normal after giving acetaminophen/ibuprofen, it will go down, but if it started very high it will likely not go back to normal (~98.6)
9. Often fever can make a child appear very fatigued, develop a headache, or vomit. If these symptoms do not improve after the fever is controlled you should call the office and speak to a provider.
10. If your child has a fever for more than three days we should see them in the office for further evaluation.
11. Children get higher fevers than adults. Some kids tend to get higher fever than others.

We hope these tips help our MVP families and we’re still here if you need us or don’t see the answer you’re looking for.