Your little one's fever won't go down, find out the cause.

Fever is one of the symptoms that children often experience. Fever is a sign that the body is being attacked by an infection or is experiencing inflammation. Fever is an early symptom of various diseases and usually recovers on its own 3–5 days after a febrifuge. However, if the fever persists for more than a week in a row, this could indicate a more serious problem.

The following are possible causes of fever in children that do not go down:

1. Improper use of drugs

The use of antipyretic drugs aims to reduce body temperature and make children feel more comfortable, but they are not effective in preventing febrile seizures. Paracetamol is the first line of choice to reduce fever and relieve pain. The combination of two antipyretics, paracetamol and ibuprofen, alternately every 4 hours is not scientifically proven to have a stronger antipyretic or analgesic effect than using one type of antipyretic.

Indications for giving a febrifuge:

The main indication of giving fever-reducing drugs is to make children feel comfortable and reduce parents' anxiety, not to reduce body temperature. Children with a fever of 38 degrees Celsius (measured from the armpit fold) should be given a febrifuge. 

By lowering body temperature, the child's activity and alertness will improve, and mood and appetite will also improve.

• The recommended dose of paracetamol for children aged 1 month to 12 years is 15 mg/kg of body weight. Drink as much as three to four times a day, or every 4-6 hours.
• The dose of ibuprofen for children aged 3 months to 12 years is 5 mg to 10 mg/kg body weight. Drink no more than three times per day, or every 6-8 hours. 

Improper use of the rules can lead to ineffective drug performance. Maybe this is what causes the fever in children to not go down.

2. The main cause is not addressed.

As previously stated, fever is not a disease but a symptom of inflammation or infection in the body. Therefore, while taking febrifuge, you also need to provide treatment for the infections that your little one is experiencing so that the child's fever goes down immediately. It is better to check the cause of the child's fever with the doctor if it has not decreased for 3 consecutive days even though it has been given a fever reducer.

Apart from being given medical treatment, some physical treatments that can support what can be done at home include:

• bed rest:

High levels of physical activity can increase the body temperature of children with and without fever. However, the movement of a feverish child during normal activities is not enough to cause a fever. Forcing a child with a fever to go to bed rest is ineffective, unpopular, and psychologically disturbing. Bed rest did not significantly lower temperature in a case-control study of 1082 children with fever. 

• Warm water compresses (tepid sponging):

To compress or sponge with warm water is referred to as tepid. Using warm water compresses on the armpit folds and groyne folds (inguinal) for 10-15 minutes will help reduce heat by way of the heat coming out through the pores of the skin through the evaporation process. If the doctor and parents feel that compresses are needed (for example, if the body temperature increases by more than 40 degrees Celsius, which does not respond to febrifuges), it is important to give febrifuge drugs first to reduce the temperature regulating centre in the hypothalamus of the brain and then continue compressing warm water.

As additional information, cold compresses are not recommended for treating fever because they can increase the hypothalamic set point, causing the body to shiver and resulting in an increase in body temperature. Cold compresses cause blood vessels to constrict (vasoconstriction), which increases body temperature. In addition, cold compresses make children feel uncomfortable. Alcohol compress. Compresses using 70% ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol in water are also not effective in reducing temperature but are superior to those using water. Alcohol inhalation during compressions is dangerous for hypoglycemia and coma.

When should you see a doctor if your child's fever doesn't go down?

As previously explained, if a child's fever does not go down after 3 days, you should immediately consult a doctor to find the best solution.

Aside from that, you can also perform the following tasks. 

• Fix the dosage of drugs and the rules for their use. Make sure he drinks on schedule and regularly.
• Attempting to switch medications, such as from paracetamol to ibuprofen. However, make sure your little one eats before taking ibuprofen.
• To treat fever in children, do not combine ibuprofen and paracetamol. Do not also give aspirin to infants or toddlers.
• Compress your head or take a warm shower to lower your body temperature more quickly.

• Make sure your little one drinks lots of water and eats nutritious food, especially fruits and vegetables.

Bringing babies and children who have a fever to the doctor will help optimise treatment as soon as possible while preventing their condition from getting worse.