General
The occurrence of fever in children is a common phenomenon. Babies and infants in particular often experience elevated temperatures. One should therefore not panic when a fever occurs in a baby, but observe the baby first.
In principle, fever is a natural defence mechanism of the body and serves to combat invading pathogens. Babies and small children are very often ill, have a cold, a flu-like infection or sometimes a gastrointestinal infection. During these illnesses, babies often have a fever. It is important to remember not to lower the fever at any price.
Symptoms
If a baby has a fever or very high fever, typical symptoms develop which the mother can recognize just by looking at her baby. These include a red face or even reddened cheeks. The face is also hot.
In contrast to the face, the body is rather pale and cold at the beginning. A baby can appear sleepy and tired when it has a fever. Some babies appear more nagging or restless.
Babies may want to eat less or a complete refusal to eat may occur in the context of fever. However, children and babies react individually to fever. Despite fever, it is possible that some babies appear quite healthy by moving, playing or laughing.
Some babies therefore give more or less cause for concern depending on their behavior. In addition to the symptoms caused by the fever, there are a number of other symptoms that vary according to the type of illness. In the case of a respiratory infection, for example, the baby may also have a cold and cough and show a clearly reddened throat. In the context of gastrointestinal infections, diarrhea or vomiting can occur in addition to fever.
Causes of fever
The occurrence of fever can have many different causes. Mostly it occurs in the context of an infection. Such an infection can be relatively localized, such as an inflammation of the middle ear.
However, it can be just as systemic as the typical childhood diseases of measles or rubella. Fever as part of an infection occurs significantly more frequently in babies than in infectious diseases in adults. The most common diseases that lead to fever in babies include gastrointestinal infections, which are also accompanied by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
However, the inflammation of the middle ear that typically occurs in babies and children can also cause fever. Sick babies and children often reach for the affected ear. Another disease that occurs relatively frequently and is associated with fever in babies is a respiratory infection caused by bacteria.
It is often accompanied by coughing, rhinitis, sore throat and sometimes inflammation of the tonsils, making it painful to swallow. Rather seldom, the trigger of fever in babies is serious infectious diseases such as pneumonia or diseases from the so-called rheumatic field. However, rheumatic diseases that lead to fever in babies are rather rare.
Much more often, however, one has to think of the typical childhood illnesses when a baby has a fever. These typical childhood diseases include scarlet fever, rubella, measles or even the three-day fever. The so-called febrile convulsion is also not uncommon.
It usually occurs from the 6th month of life until the 5th year of life. The picture of febrile convulsions is usually very frightening for parents, because the children twitch as in an epileptic seizure, no longer react to response and often hold their breath during the convulsion and therefore turn blue. Further symptoms can be twisting of the eyes, short-term unconsciousness or even complete cramping of the entire musculature.
The febrile spasm looks very threatening, but is usually harmless and does not normally cause any damage to the children’s brain. It has nothing to do with an epileptic seizure. Fever in the baby can be caused by the three-day fever, among other things.
It is a relatively common childhood disease and is also known as Exanthema subitum or Roseola infantum. The 3-day fever is caused by a harmless virus, which is highly contagious. The virus belongs to the large group of herpes viruses.
The viral disease occurs acutely and suddenly and disappears by itself after a few days.This disease is therefore self-limiting and mainly affects babies and toddlers. Unlike many other childhood diseases, there is no prophylactic vaccination for 3-day fever. As the name suggests, the main symptom is sudden onset of fever up to 40° C for mostly three days.
After the fever has dropped, the typical appearance of a rash on the body finally occurs. This classic combination of a drop in fever followed by a rash is classic for 3-day fever. The rash disappears after some time on its own.
The sick infants can often appear seriously ill, even if it is actually a rather harmless disease. The rash that occurs in 3-day fever is small spots and red. It appears within a few hours.
Especially the trunk (i.e. belly, chest and back) are affected. The rash rarely affects the face or head. Additional symptoms of the three-day fever can be vomiting and diarrhoea, but also swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
Diarrhoea is also relatively common in babies and children. If the baby gives off more than five thin stools a day, this is called diarrhoea. In the context of a diarrhoea illness, there is often an additional occurrence of fever or fever attacks.
If both diarrhea and fever occur together in a baby or infant, one can assume a gastrointestinal infection. This can be caused by both bacteria and viruses. The most frequent infections are those with the Noro virus or Rota virus.
These are highly contagious and often spread via toilet seats, door handles or even railings. The Noro virus causes sudden severe diarrhoea in the infant or baby, as well as vomiting. Fever can also occur.
The thin liquid stool is usually foul-smelling. In the context of a diarrhoea illness in a baby, it is especially important that the baby eats and drinks enough to compensate for the fluid deficit caused by both the diarrhoea and the fever. If this can no longer be guaranteed, it is recommended to consult a doctor or a hospital, as this circumstance can be very dangerous for the baby.
It can sometimes happen that the baby’s temperature rises or has a fever as a result of teething. Often, however, this fever is not caused by the actual teething but by a disease that occurs at the same time. Teething in babies is a completely normal process that can be accompanied by pain, as the tooth has to make its way through the gums.
However, experts are mostly of the opinion that the fever does not come directly from teething, but often from accompanying illnesses such as an incipient middle ear infection or a cold, which may otherwise be unremarkable except for the fever. One of the reasons for this is that babies are much more susceptible to infections during the period of teething. A good indication of whether a tooth is about to erupt or not is the occurrence of increased drooling.
- Fever while teething
