The difference between low fever and high fever

Everyone knows that when you go to the hospital, if the fever is not particularly high, the doctor will not give the patient antipyretics. This is because the hospital has clear regulations and there is a certain scientific basis. So when we have a fever at home, we should also distinguish between low fever and high fever, and when to use medicine. So what is the difference between low fever and high fever?

How many degrees are low fever and high fever

In the pediatric outpatient clinic, there are long queues of children coming to see a doctor due to fever every day. Simple colds, infectious diseases, etc. can cause children to have a fever. Most parents understand the concept of fever, but few have a clear understanding of the degree of low-grade and high-grade fever. This can lead to parents improperly handling their children's fever, causing the child's low-grade fever to turn into a high-grade fever. So what are the degrees of a low-grade fever and a high-grade fever?

Children between 1 and 3 years old are considered infants and toddlers. Their metabolism is faster than that of adults, so their basal body temperature is higher than that of adults. Generally speaking, the normal body temperature of infants and toddlers should be between 36 and 37.5 degrees. It should be noted that the body temperature of infants and toddlers is prone to fluctuate. If the child's body temperature is above 37.5 degrees and below 38 degrees, it is a low fever. Between 38.1 and 39 degrees is called a moderate fever. Between 39.1 and 41 degrees is a high fever. Anything over 41 degrees Celsius is considered hyperthermia.

Since the body temperature of infants and young children is prone to fluctuate, a temporary increase in body temperature may be normal. In other words, a child's increased body temperature does not necessarily mean that he or she has a fever. If the child's body temperature fluctuates temporarily, but there are no abnormalities, and the child's appetite and mental state are good, parents do not need to worry too much.

Which is more serious, a high fever or a low fever?

Most parents learn about children's fever from books. Another part of the information comes from friends and colleagues, and a small number of parents learn about their children's fever from medical staff. This lack of systematic understanding affects parents' management of their children's fever. Many parents are not particularly worried when their children have a low fever, but become overly anxious once the fever turns to a high fever. In fact, a high fever is not necessarily more terrible than a low fever, and a low fever is not necessarily safer than a high fever.

Compared with high fever, what pediatricians are most worried about is that the child "cannot get rid of the fever", that is, the child always lingers in a low fever state. Fever is actually a self-protection mechanism activated by the human body after encountering a disease. It is a manifestation that the body is fighting the infection, so high fever or low fever does not represent the severity of the disease. Although some children have high fever, they are in good spirits and their eating and drinking are not affected. In fact, the high fever at this time is not scary at all.

However, for children who are weak and sickly, due to their poor immune system function, the immune system cannot mobilize its strength to fight pathogens when they invade. Therefore, even if the condition is very serious, the body temperature continues to hover in a low fever state, which is actually very dangerous. Long-term low-grade fever will affect the child's body's regulatory function, reduce the body's vitality, and make the child's physical fitness weaker and weaker, so parents should pay attention to their children's low-grade fever.