Fever in children can usually be treated without medication unless your child is uncomfortable or has a history of febrile seizures. Even high temperatures may not be dangerous unless your child has a chronic disease or febrile seizure. You should note  that treating a child with a history of febrile seizures with medications doesn’t mean they wont get the seizures.

If your child has fever, it is important to monitor his behavior carefully. If he is eating and sleeping good and  has periods of playfulness, he probably doesn’t need any medication. You need to discuss with your pediatrician on how to treat your baby’s fever.

Here are some ways to deal with fever in your child without medication.

• keep your home and the child’s room comfortably cool
• give your child lots of fluids and liquids water, fruit juices and oral electrolyte solutions.You can also give the child chilled foods such as popsicle or yogurt
• remove layers of clothing so that it is easy for the child to lose water  through the skin
• place a cool, damp, wash cloth on the baby’s head while he rests
• if your child’s room is warm, keep a fan nearby to keep the room cool
• the child should not stay in bed or in his room during a fever. However he should not run around or over  stress himself
• if the fever is as a result of a highly infectious disease such as chicken pox, keep the child away from other children, elderly and people whose immune system are compromised like cancer patient

Another way to manage the fever is sponging your child. It is a preferred option if your child is allergic to or cannot tolerate anti fever medication.

It is usually advisable to combine sponging with acetaminophen or ibuprofen if the  child is

• exteremely uncomfortable
• vomiting and can’t  keep medication down in his stomach

It is important to  use a slightly warm water when sponging your child. Using cold water will make the child shiver. Shivering raises your baby’s body temperature and makes fever worse. Continue giving the child a sponge bath until his body temperature reaches an acceptable level.

DO NOT use rubbing alcohol in the water. It can reabsorbed into the skin or inhaled and cause a a serious problem such as coma. Sponging the child may bring the fever down about a degree or two.

If sponging makes the child uncomfortable, take him out of the water even if is fever has not changed.