It’s too quick a fix to reach for the meds. As ever the best thing we can do for our kids is model what we want to see. If they see us reaching for the pills all the time, that’s what they will also learn to do.
My first mantra when it comes to any illness is ‘sleep, eat, fresh air’ as in to check if I/the patient needs any of those things. Meds have to be last resort not first port of call.
Children are, however, prone to febrile seizures, and they are far from normal or natural. They can be dangerous. So I agree that parents shouldn't treat 99.6°, but neither should they neglect a significant fever.
Even the American Academy of Pediatrics is moving away from the outdated notion that fevers are dangerous and must be treated.
From UpToDate, the bible of clinical practice guidelines: "There is no evidence that reducing fever reduces the morbidity or mortality from a febrile illness."
In the case of children with pre-existing epilepsy (not a history of febrile seizures but true diagnosed seizure disorder), fever reduction may be indicated to prevent epileptic seizures. Children without epilepsy will not become epileptic from a febrile seizure event.
Evidence shows that giving Tylenol and other fever reducing medication does not actually prevent febrile seizures in non-epileptic children prone to febrile seizures. A 2013 systematic review and meta-analysis that included three randomized controlled trials in 540 patients with febrile seizure concluded that fever reducers did not reduce the rate of recurrent febrile seizures, compared with placebo.
Fever phobia remains rampant in our culture, even though mainstream medical associations no longer promote the myth that fevers cause brain damage. Meanwhile, the drug parents are giving to lower fevers (Tylenol) may actually be causing brain damage.
Oof. Shocking, yet not surprising. Thank you for sharing this, Mary Lou.
Great piece.
It’s too quick a fix to reach for the meds. As ever the best thing we can do for our kids is model what we want to see. If they see us reaching for the pills all the time, that’s what they will also learn to do.
My first mantra when it comes to any illness is ‘sleep, eat, fresh air’ as in to check if I/the patient needs any of those things. Meds have to be last resort not first port of call.
Children are, however, prone to febrile seizures, and they are far from normal or natural. They can be dangerous. So I agree that parents shouldn't treat 99.6°, but neither should they neglect a significant fever.
While frightening to witness and experince, febrile seizures are benign and have no long term health consequences.
(NIH source here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448123/#:~:text=Febrile%20seizures%20are%20not%20uncommon,term%20complications%20in%20most%20children.)
Even the American Academy of Pediatrics is moving away from the outdated notion that fevers are dangerous and must be treated.
From UpToDate, the bible of clinical practice guidelines: "There is no evidence that reducing fever reduces the morbidity or mortality from a febrile illness."
In the case of children with pre-existing epilepsy (not a history of febrile seizures but true diagnosed seizure disorder), fever reduction may be indicated to prevent epileptic seizures. Children without epilepsy will not become epileptic from a febrile seizure event.
Evidence shows that giving Tylenol and other fever reducing medication does not actually prevent febrile seizures in non-epileptic children prone to febrile seizures. A 2013 systematic review and meta-analysis that included three randomized controlled trials in 540 patients with febrile seizure concluded that fever reducers did not reduce the rate of recurrent febrile seizures, compared with placebo.
Fever phobia remains rampant in our culture, even though mainstream medical associations no longer promote the myth that fevers cause brain damage. Meanwhile, the drug parents are giving to lower fevers (Tylenol) may actually be causing brain damage.