fever is generally harmless. as a matter of fact fever helps fight infection so it is more therapeutic than dangerous. fevers under 105 in older children is not uncommon. any fever in babies under 6 months are taken more seriously but as the child ages seasoned medical providers do not get excited. certainly not as excited about fever as parents. i have been treating children for over four decades and i have not encountered a fever (alone) that would prompt an er visit but of course that is me. it is not the fever that is the issue but rather the cause of the fever and those other symptoms that accompany the fever. for instance a fever with a severe sore throat could be strep or a fever with a dozen other cold symptoms could just mean a viral infection. a fever with lethargy stiff neck and a very ill-appearing child could be meningitis. roseola a common childhood illness can mount a fever in the 105 range for three days in a row before the characteristic rash appears. during the fever stage this high temp certainly gets attention. fever is probably one of the most misunderstood and improperly treated symptoms (it is not a disease) that people encounter so the more your read about it the better you will be informed and the more comfortable you will be when you see it again. and again. and again. comfort comes with practice but until you can keep you cool when kids are hot you will need to engage the expertise of your friendly medical provider.
my 7 yr. old son's normal fever is 103. 8 when he is ill. at what temp. should i be concerned and take him to the er? . i usually have him take several showers to bring down the temp as well as light clothing fluids and fever reducing meds. this particular time the fever reducing meds are wearing off before i can give him more and the luke warm shower didn't bring down the 103. 8 temp like i expected it to. just concerned how high of a fever constitutes an er visit if it continues to rise and i can't bring it down. thanks