My son has a fever, what do I do?

Question

I currently don’t have any thing to take his temperature. In the middle of the night he felt very hot so I took most of his clothes off and he seems to have cooled off a little. Should I take him to the doctor or get over the counter Tylenol? He’s 3 years old and I live in California.

Answer

He’s 3 has he never had a fever before? I’d get a thermometer, because you’re going to need to monitor his temperature over the next day or few days (and ultimately it’s good to have for the future) but yeah, typically Tylenol is where you start. Keep him hydrated. Let him rest. If the temperature keeps coming back up then possibly a doctor, but they’re going to ask what his temperature is, so get the thermometer first.

Answer

OK FIRST THING FIRST, a doctor cannot do anything for someone with a fever that you can’t do at home. And many people don’t believe in meds like Tylenol and Motrin. 
Monitor. Give a lukewarm bath. Dress in light layers. Even if he’s shivering, don’t let him pile under blankets. Popsicles and as much liquid as he’ll take. Hydrate, 
The body will do its work. 
My boy was the same, never had a fever until he was four.

Answer

Definitely invest in a thermometer. Being able to track whether you’re able to manage his fever or if it’s rising is important. My pediatrician told me anything over 103° warrants a hospital visit. 
With that said though, Kid’s Tylenol should do the trick to bring it down, and you can administer that every 4 hours if need be. Strongly recommend. And as someone else mentioned, a cool bath will also help bring his temp down. I do both. Cus I don’t want my kids fever getting dangerously high and them having a febrile seizure. 
Let him rest and keep him hydrated. Water, Gatorade, or Pedialyte. Whichever he’ll drink. If he’s getting sick and can’t keep anything down, especially even just liquids, that may also warrant a visit because what a hospital can do that you can’t do at home, is push IV fluids to keep him from dehydrating. Lots of sick kiddos die from dehydration. 
Not to scare you, typically they can be managed at home - I’ve never had to take either of my kids to the hospital for a fever, but sometimes they are not so text book easy to treat and they do require medical attention and it’s important to know when that may be necessary.

Answer

You need a thermometer.

My son has a fever, what do I do?

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