What are the dangers of having a fever that lasts for a long time?

Fever is a symptom of disease that children will experience as they grow up. This symptom has a particularly great impact on children's bodies and can cause disorders in their various physiological indicators. Severe fever symptoms may even endanger children's lives. Fever usually lasts for several days in severe cases and a few hours in mild cases. It is rare for a fever to last for a long time. Let’s take a look at the dangers of a fever that lasts for a long time.

1. Cramps due to high fever. Generally speaking, children under 6 months old or over 6 years old will not suffer from cramps due to high fever. Among children aged 1 to 6 years old, only 2% to 5% will experience this type of cramps. Cramps often occur when a high fever suddenly occurs. Cramps only occur once per fever and rarely more than twice. As long as the convulsions do not last long and are handled properly, they will not have much impact on the child's health. But repeated or persistent cramps can cause cerebral hypoxia and damage the brain.

2. "Burning the brain". Generally, fever has little effect on the body's tissues and organs, and can accelerate the development of resistance. When the body temperature exceeds 41°C, proteins in the body will decompose, causing cerebral edema and resulting in death or sequelae of encephalopathy in the child. Therefore, if a child has a high fever above 40°C, emergency treatment is required.

3. Dehydration. In the hot summer, children lose more water through breathing and skin than in other seasons, and the amount is even greater when they have a fever. For every 1°C increase in body temperature, the amount of water lost per kilogram of body weight per hour increases by 0.5 ml. When you sweat profusely while taking antipyretics, you lose more water from your body. Dehydration not only makes it difficult to reduce fever (dehydration itself can cause fever in young infants), but also affects metabolism and blood circulation, causing acidosis, etc. Therefore, children with high fever must be encouraged to drink water and, if necessary, receive intravenous drips under the guidance of a doctor.

4. Hypernatremia or hyponatremia with fever and initial dehydration. The sodium concentration in the blood increases and the blood becomes hyperosmotic, causing extreme thirst, irritability, and even nonsense or cramps. The fever will not only not subside but will become even higher. If the fever persists for a long time and the diet is not appropriate, hyponatremia will occur, and the child will become extremely tired and even apathetic or comatose. These conditions are more common in infants and young children who are usually malnourished.