Infant temperature: important information

A large number of diseases manifest themselves by a change in body temperature, a symptom in many cases at first appears to be the only sign of the disease. Therefore, if the baby's temperature has changed (and this can be both its increase and a significant decrease), no matter how long this change lasts, the child should be shown to the doctor. Only a doctor can make the right diagnosis, find and eliminate the cause of temperature changes, and prevent the development of complications of the disease. Features of thermoregulation in children
The organism of the child, especially the first year of life, has significant differences from the adult immaturity of all systems, including the system of heat regulation. A healthy newborn is able to keep the temperature of his body at the same level, but the range of fluctuations in external temperatures at which this ability persists is much smaller.

In children, the heat release prevails over its production, and the heat transfer in young children is passive. This is due to a larger surface of the skin on a unit of body weight and closely located to the surface of the vessels. The active heat transfer, which is carried out by evaporation, is practically impossible in a child under 2 months, since the sweat glands do not yet function. Therefore children of the first months of life easily overheat and cool.

Easy cooling of the child contributes to the limited ability to produce heat energy. In adults, the contractile thermogenesis is sharply activated during freezing, that is, the heat is formed when the muscles contract (the person "trembles" from the cold). In children, this ability is reduced. Heat production at them occurs due to disintegration of a special fatty tissue, which is called "brown fat". Its reserves are limited and depend on the maturity of the child. In preterm and immature children, stocks of brown fat are minimal, and they are even more sensitive to cooling.

Also, the lability of body temperature is due to the immaturity of the thermoregulatory center. Therefore, the range of body temperature fluctuations in a child is greater than that of an adult. The normal skin temperature is 36.0-37.2 ° C, measured in the body cavities (in the mouth, rectum) - 37.0-37.8 ° C. The child does not have a diurnal rhythm of temperature fluctuation. But due to the limitation of the processes of active heat transfer and heat production, the temperature varies within a day within the limits of normal values, depending on the general state of the child. So, physical activity (feeding, crying, charging) strengthens metabolic processes, and accordingly the body temperature rises. In a dream or with quiet wakefulness the temperature will be lower.

How to measure temperature
During the temperature measurement in babies infants, it is necessary to take into account their overall state. Do not measure the temperature if the baby just ate or yells: in this case, its value will be above the norm.

There are various methods for measuring temperature. It can be measured epidermis (usually done in the armpit) by an electronic or mercury thermometer. Special frontal thermometers are applied or brought to the forehead, and the temperature is displayed on them. There are thermometers-nipples for measuring temperature in the oral cavity. Ear thermometers are also used. Children can measure the temperature in the rectum. It must be remembered that the temperature in the internal cavities of the body (in the mouth, in the anus) is higher than the cutaneous temperature by about 0.5 ° C.

How to behave to parents?
Causes that lead to a rise in temperature in children are many: overheating, infectious and inflammatory diseases, nervous system disorders, fever after vaccination, dyspnoea syndrome, etc. Moreover, some diseases, the first symptom of which is a rise in temperature, can be dangerous for the life of an infant (for example pneumonia - pneumonia, meningitis - inflammation of the membranes of the brain). Other symptoms of the disease can be erased at this age, in addition, the child can not complain, because he can not speak yet. Therefore, the true increase in temperature in the baby is the reason for the obligatory immediate call of the pediatrician.

How to behave properly while waiting for a doctor? First of all, you need to remember: not every temperature requires an immediate reduction.

Often, an increase in temperature serves as a protective reaction of the body to any effect (for example, on getting a virus or introducing a vaccine) and helps the immune system to cope with the infectious agent more quickly.

If the fever occurred in a child older than 2 months and does not suffer from his health, that is, his sleep, appetite, contact is not broken, he is interested in toys, the skin is pink and hot to the touch, and the body temperature is not higher than 38.5 ° C, then you can wait for the doctor to come and, together with him, decide on the treatment of the child and the need to reduce the temperature.

If the temperature rise is accompanied by coldness of the hands and feet, and the skin becomes pale, the child freezes, then we can talk about the development of the so-called "pale" fever. This variant of temperature rise is considered unfavorable and requires an immediate drop in temperature. "Pale" fever may be the first sign of hyperthermia syndrome - it is an unfavorable variant of fever development, which develops more often in severe infectious and inflammatory diseases in children of the first year of life. Toxins that enter the body of a child disrupt the activity of the thermoregulation center, which leads to a sharp increase in heat production and a decrease in heat transfer. This, in turn, increases the disturbance of blood microcirculation (movement of blood through small vessels), its stagnation occurs, the amount of oxygen entering the organs decreases, and metabolic processes deteriorate. The child becomes sluggish, drowsy or, conversely, very excited. He loudly, causelessly cries, refuses to eat, there may be regurgitation and vomiting, the volume of urine decreases (that is, the diaper remains dry for a long time). If the parents carefully observe the child, one can notice irregular breathing: periods of frequent and shallow breathing are replaced by pauses. The child is pale, with cold limbs and a hot head. The degree of rise in temperature does not reflect the severity of the hyperthermia syndrome. As a rule, it is accompanied by a rise in temperature to 39-40 ° C, but it is possible to develop it at a lower temperature. Everything depends on the individual characteristics of the child, the presence of chronic diseases, the pathology of the central nervous system.

Another feather complication is febrile seizures. These are convulsive contractions of different muscle groups that occur against the background of a temperature rise above 38 ° C. Usually they are accompanied by excitement or sluggishness of the child. In the future, there are alternate contractions and relaxation of the muscles, more often - of the face and limbs. Perhaps a prolonged muscle tension, without relaxation, mainly muscle, causing extension. Seizures pose a danger due to possible stopping of breathing during a convulsive period. Duration of febrile seizures from a few seconds to 15-20 minutes. If the cramps last longer, then perhaps their cause is not a fever, but a disease of the nervous system, which requires consultation of a neurologist and a thorough examination.