What causes a child to run a fever or high temperature?
Parents get too worried about their kids’ fevers. When a fever strikes a child most parents overmedicate, use cold baths unnecessarily and check temperatures too frequently. Fever is the body’s defence mechanism against either viruses or bacteria. It is an important way by which the body fights infection. The body tries to create so much heat that the virus or the bacteria cannot survive. Having a temperature helps the child fight illness. The part of the human brain which controls body temperature is not fully developed in children. That means that children’s temperature may rise and fall very quickly. The temperature of their surroundings very easily affects a child’s body temperature. If it is very hot, take off some of your child’s clothes so heat can escape from their body. If it is very cold, parents can help their child stay warm by dressing him or her in warm clothes.
