My child has a fever. What should I do?

Fever is common in children, especially those under 5 years of age. A child has a fever when the temperature in the body is 38 degrees or higher.

How to measure?
Measure the temperature with a thermometer in the anus (poo hole). This is the most reliable. An ear thermometer is easy, but less reliable. For children younger than 3 months, an ear thermometer is not suitable. The entrance to the ear is still too small to be measured properly.

What do you need to do yourself?
If your child has a fever, they usually don’t need to see a doctor. Fever is often a normal reaction of the body to a bacterium or a virus. Give a child with a fever extra fluids. You don’t need to give medication for the fever.
Usually, fever goes away on its own within a week.

When should you call your doctor?
But in these situations , you should call the doctor immediately.

For more information, visit Thuisarts.nl or download the leaflet My child has a fever