Fever is a typical sign of infectious diseases. At the same time, the opinions of parents about whether it is necessary to bring down the temperature, when and how to do it, differ. What does E. Komarovsky think about fever and how does he advise to act when it appears in young children?
Why does the temperature rise?
By increasing the temperature, according to Komarovsky, the body activates the production of substances that resist pathogens. One of the main such compounds is the special protein interferon, which has the properties of neutralizing viruses. The amount of synthesized interferon is directly related to fever - the higher the numbers on the thermometer, the more interferon is formed. Its maximum level in the blood is observed on the second or third day of elevated temperature. Komarovsky emphasizes that it is during these periods that most viral infections end.
In cases where the body of the crumbs is so weakened that fever is not observed with ARVI, or the parents at the very beginning knocked down the temperature and did not give an incentive to the formation of interferon, the disease lasts much longer. The virus in such situations is destroyed by antibodies developed in the child's body, and recovery occurs by about the seventh day.
When should the temperature be brought down?
A well-known doctor emphasizes that all children are individual, therefore, they suffer fever in different ways. There are kids who are not prevented from playing at 39 degrees, and there are kids who are already very bad at 37.5. That is why Komarovsky emphasizes that there is no universal recommendation as to at what numbers of fever an antipyretic agent should be given.
How to act at a temperature in a child?
According to Komarovsky, the main goal of parents should be to provide the baby with conditions in which his body can lose heat. Heat loss occurs in two ways - when the air that he inhaled is warmed in the baby's lungs, and also when sweat evaporates from the baby's skin. Taking into account such paths, the popular pediatrician necessarily recommends to all children with fever:
- Provide cool air in the room. The most optimal temperature for a nursery Komarovsky calls + 16 + 18 degrees. In this case, the clothes on the child should be quite warm so that the vessels of the skin do not spasm.
- Give a lot to drink. This will allow the child to sweat more and eliminate blood clots. Komarovsky advises to drink toddlers up to one year old with broth of raisins, and older children - with dried fruit compote. The popular tea with the addition of raspberries, the doctor does not advise giving babies the first year of life in general, and for children older than a year, use it only as an additional drink, since raspberries strongly stimulate sweating.
If the child refuses any drink, Komarovsky recommends giving any drink to which the baby agrees. The temperature of the liquid for drinking should be approximately equal to the body temperature, then it will be absorbed faster in the digestive tract.
What not to do?
A popular pediatrician advises against using physical methods to cool the child's body, for example, using ice warmers, cold soaked sheets, and the like. All of them cause a spasm of the vessels that are in the skin, which leads to a slowdown in blood flow, a decrease in sweating and a decrease in heat waste. In this case, you will only lower the temperature of the baby's skin, and the temperature inside the body will still remain high, which poses a significant danger.
Komarovsky also strongly opposes rubbing with vinegar or alcohol. A sweating child already loses enough heat, which leads to a decrease in temperature. Rubbing with alcohol-containing solutions, according to the pediatrician, additionally causes alcohol poisoning of the baby, and rubbing with vinegar increases the risk of acid poisoning.
Komarovsky also advises against striving to increase sweat evaporation using a fan. It also causes vasospasm. According to the doctor, when a child is sweating, it is enough just to change into warm dry clothes and calm down.
Antipyretic drugs
Komarovsky calls indications for the use of such funds when:
- The child has a severe fever.
- The baby has concomitant pathologies of the nervous system, in which the risk of seizures increases.
- The indicator on the thermometer is above +39. Such a high temperature, according to the popular pediatrician, has more negative effects than advantages.
Komarovsky notes that non-observance of the conditions that help the child's body spend excess heat reduces the effectiveness of any drugs and increases the risk of adverse reactions.
The pediatrician calls paracetamol the most optimal antipyretic for children. Komarovsky considers its main advantages to be the safety of action and ease of use, since the drug is presented in many forms.
In addition, with regard to paracetamol, a renowned physician says that:
- This drug is especially effective for viral infections.
- Its effectiveness is not affected by the manufacturer and the form of release, but only by the dosage.
- This is not a cure for an infection, but only a way to eliminate one of the symptoms - high fever.
- It does not need to be used by the hour, but should only be given when the temperature rises.
- Paracetamol should not be used more than four times a day or longer than three consecutive days.
- Its independent use is a temporary measure to improve the condition of the child before the arrival of the doctor.
- Any other antipyretic should be taken only after a doctor's appointment.
