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Temperature in newborns — what you need to know
Often, when mothers bring babies home from the hospital, they decide to touch their forehead and are horrified to notice that it is warmer than it should be. Having measured the temperature and found a terrible figure of 37.2, a real panic begins. But in fact, this is not unusual, and if this surprises you, then you should read this article in order to better understand what the temperature in newborns is.
How to measure temperature correctly
Perhaps the numbers on the thermometer are too large due to the wrong way to measure the temperature of the baby. There are three methods, as for adults: rectal, oral and axillary. And the temperature may depend on which method the parents decide to use. Usually, the rectal method shows the temperature one degree higher than the oral one, and the axillary one one degree lower. Although in fact, it is not critical.
Therefore, it is optimal to measure the temperature by the oral or axillary method, because the rectal one has many risks. It is very easy to damage the rectum, which is still very delicate for this method. And this leads to death in more than half of the cases. So why take unnecessary risks when you can find another solution?
Overheating is one of the reasons
One of the common causes of fever in infants is overheating. Therefore, if you touched the baby’s forehead, and it turned out to be hot, you should not immediately panic. To begin, remove all clothing from the baby and let it cool down. If the temperature has not subsided, check which diaper you are using. If it is very bulky and warm — this is a bad option. Better take something thin, but of high quality.
Temperature is just one of the symptoms
From the above reading, it should be noted that the temperature itself is not so terrible. But if other symptoms of diseases appear (runny nose, sneezing …), then you should already be a little worried.
High fever and a runny nose are a dangerous combination for a baby. Due to nasal congestion, the baby experiences severe discomfort, since he still does not know how to breathe through his mouth, as adults do. And such difficult nasal breathing can lead to swelling of the mucous membrane, then to pneumonia.
If the baby has a sore throat, immediately run to the doctor. She has many varieties, so only a specialist can prescribe treatment, based on the structural features of the child’s body and his age. Even if you want to self-medicate, you will not succeed, because the main method of treatment in adults is rinsing the mouth and throat, which is completely inapplicable to an infant.
Summing up, I would like to say that even after reading this article, you should not think that now you know everything about fever in babies. The correct diagnosis can only be made by a qualified specialist!
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