Newborn fever: what can be the causes?
When the newborn has a fever, it is a situation that creates a lot of agitation in the parents. Furthermore, the fever also agitates the newborn himself who manifests his physical ailments with crying. When the child has a fever, it can happen that the child eats little, and it is normal, so better not to force it, rather make sure that he drinks enough. But if your baby is inappetent even when he is healthy, it is important to intervene. Watch the video!
Newborn fever: why does it happen so often?
It happens very frequently and usually while you are planning a weekend with grandparents or a holiday is approaching! Obviously we are kidding, what is certain is that the fever in the newborn is very frequent, his immune system is in formation and therefore the newborn does not have sufficient immune defenses but only the antibodies that the mother transmits to him during breastfeeding. The fever it may indicate that there "is an" infection in progress due to the lack of immune defenses typical of the first months. In particular, if the fever appears in the first days of the newborn's life, the cause must be what doctors call a "vertical infection, that is transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy. If the fever appears at least a week after delivery then it is a "horizontal infection, that is, it derives from the outside". When we speak of fever also in the newborn as in the adult we indicate a high body temperature, high compared to what is normally the temperature of a newborn. The body temperature of the newborn is on average higher than that of adults. For a newborn, we therefore speak of fever starting from 38 ° C if the measurement is made with a thermometer under the armpit (eye, if a rectal thermometer is used for the measurement, it is fever starting from 38.5 ° C). home it is good to always measure the temperature with a thermometer under the armpit, the digital one is fine which is fast and reliable. (Read the thermometer carefully, don't get caught up in fatigue and stress). A traditional or digital rectal thermometer is used for measurement only in a hospital environment because this type of measurements, if not made by expert hands, can harm children. If the baby has a fever, you should always notify the doctor, and as soon as possible!
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See also
The main causes of fever in newborns and recurrent symptoms.
Sometimes the baby can have a high body temperature just because he is very covered or in a very hot place. The causes, as we have seen, can be many and it is not always necessary to be alarmed. In these cases the fever passes very quickly because it is not triggered by an infection and obviously does not require treatment. But if the fever is persistent and does not subside, it is very important to promptly take the newborn to the emergency room. Very often, in fact, childhood fevers they can be a symptom of an infactive disease: we are not talking about worrying things, but in such a small child it is better to understand immediately what disease it is to treat it in an appropriate and timely manner. The typical symptoms of a newborn's fever are pallor, marbling, skin rash or even cyanosis, blue discoloration of the baby's skin, pale mucous membranes, lack of liveliness and lack of response to external stimuli. These symptoms do not always occur in the case of fever but can sometimes accompany the higher temperature in the newborn. Other symptoms indicative may be respiratory fatigue, weak but continuous crying, lack of appetite, vomiting and change of the ant fontanelle which may appear deformed. The newborn with a fever makes pee less frequently: this is also a symptom that should not be overlooked because it could indicate an "important alteration of the state of health.
Read this article and find out what are the best behaviors parents should practice in case of a newborn fever!
Why the intervention of the pediatrician is essential and how does the diagnosis.
As we have said in case of fever in the first months of life it is good to contact the pediatrician as soon as possible and if this is not possible take the newborn to the emergency room to intervene immediately. The doctor will first do a "detailed analysis of the child's clinical picture, of course he will repeat the digital measurement of the fever and if he deems it appropriate he could carry out diagnostic investigations, a blood or urine test for example, or other tests such as ultrasounds and X-rays. Why these in-depth examinations? Why are they aimed at identifying as quickly as possible the cause that triggered the immune reaction and therefore the fever in the newborn: is it an infectious and contagious disease? Is it infectious in nature? high and persistent the doctor will order these tests to be performed in hospital: the parental anxiety about the health of newborns is imaginable, but you do not have to be alarmed necessarily. In fact, you must understand that at this age children are very delicate: the first months of life, and the entire first year, require scrupulous care and checks! the therapies needed to cure the disease and get rid of the fever.
So what if your baby has a fever?
If your baby has a fever, and your body temperature is persistent and high, go to the emergency room. As you head to the doctor don't cover the baby excessively to keep him warm, covering him too much will only raise the temperature. If the fever is very high, you can put a bag of lukewarm water on his forehead, wrists and ankles (not cold, because the thermal shock would be too strong). When children are so young, the drug that is used is always paracetamol which activates a biochemical mechanism in the newborn as in adults capable of lowering the temperature. Paracetamol even in children has a pain relieving effect and also an anti-inflammatory effect. However, it should never be administered to newborns with a temperature below 38.5 ° C and in any case never without the positive opinion of the pediatrician. The doctor, just as happens in adults with particularly persistent forms of fever, could also opt for antibiotic therapy, this must always be performed in a hospital setting because when children are so young, the administration of drugs must always be monitored by a specialist, day and night. Even in the case of hospitalization, if you are breastfeeding your baby the doctor will ask you to continue to do so, constantly: breast milk is rich in antibodies and is able to really increase the immune defenses of the newborn giving him protection. There are also psychological benefits that help the newborn to react to the fever, because by feeding from the mother's breast the newborn feels protected and safe and his body can react better.
