The Best Way to Treat A Child’s Fever

If your child’s temperature was 100.3 degrees, would you consider that a fever? Would you wake him or her to administer an anti-fever medication? If you answered yes to both questions, you have a lot of company. You are also wrong.

A study published in the March issue of the Journal Pediatrics found that roughly half of all parents erroneously believe a body temperature of less than 100.4 degrees is a fever and about 85 percent say they would wake a sleeping child to give medication to lower his temperature. Another one-quarter said they would give OTC anti-fever medicines to kids with temperatures below 100 degrees.

Not only does the study suggest that Dr. Mom and Dr. Dad overreact when they think their kids have a fever, but a frightening 50 percent of parents give the wrong dose of medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen for their child’s weight, which could result in excessive doses that might be harmful. Instead, parents should focus more on their child’s comfort than solely the thermometer reading.

Use these tips to prevent the flu at school.

While it’s alarming when your little one has a fever—I’ll never forget how frightened I was when one of my daughters spiked a temperature of 105 degrees—most of the time fever is not serious. After all, a fever is the body’s natural way of battling infections. When viruses or bacteria attack, white blood cells come to rescue by producing interleukin, a hormone that raises body temperature. In effect, the heat helps kill germs that are making your child sick.

Here’s what you should know about treating a child’s fever.

How to take a temperature:

Most pediatricians consider a rectal temperature to be the gold standard in accuracy in kids, while armpit temperatures and pacifier thermometers are the least reliable. Body temperature varies according to time of day and is lowest in the morning and early evening. To qualify as a fever, the rectal thermometer reading must be 100.4 or above.

Moms guide healthcare decisions for the entire family.

When to call the doctor:

Seek medical help if a baby younger than three months has a rectal temperature of 104.4 or higher, if there are no other symptoms, or if a baby this age has a temperature below 97 F. In kids this young, even a mild fever or below normal temperature may indicate a serious infection. Also alert the pediatrician if a baby older than three months has a temperature of 102 or higher, if a child under two has a fever for more than one day, or an older child has a fever for longer than three days. Contact your MD about any symptom that concerns you, regardless of what your child’s temperature is.

Treating a fever without medication:

Medication usually isn’t necessary for mild fevers. Dress your child in a light, single layer of clothing when indoors and use minimal bedcovers. A sponge bath with lukewarm water helps quell a fever. The main goal should be keeping your child comfortable—not reducing the temperature to normal, the Pediatrics report emphasizes. Also make sure your child is well hydrated. Fruit juice, popsicles, soup and Jello are all choices with kid-appeal.

Fuel your child's body with the right foods.

Which OTC medications work:

Give children’s versions of acetaminophen (Tylenol) or if your child is over six months of age, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) according to instructions on the package. Many parents don’t realize that dosing should be based on weight, not age. Combining the two products can be more effective than using just one of them. Consult the pediatrician before doing so, since correct dosing can be a bit complicated. Without medical guidance, a combined dose may contribute to unsafe use of these drugs, the report cautions.

What not to do:

Never give kids aspirin, which has been linked to Reye’s syndrome, a potentially fatal disorder. Avoid use of rubbing alcohol because it can be absorbed through the skin. Do not give adult medications to kids even if you try to adjust the dosage. Also avoid cold baths or ice to lower temperature. These cool the skin, then causing shivering, which in turn boosts temperature. Nor is it necessary to wake up kids to give anti-fever medications. Above all, don’t panic—even if your child spikes a fever high enough to trigger a seizure (a relatively infrequent problem), it’s still extremely unlikely to do any lasting harm. Most kids bounce back from a fever in a day or two. With a healthy dose of TLC, your child should soon be well again.

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MEDITERRANAEN SEA FEVER

By Dr.Sally Zeinatie




SYNONYMS:

periodic disease,
recurrent polyserositis,
familial Mediterranean fever

DEFINITION:

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an inherited disorder of the inflammatory response characterized by recurring attacks of fever, accompanied by intense pain in the abdomen, chest, or joints. Attacks usually last 12-72 hours, and can occasionally involve a skin rash.

Kidney disease is a serious concern if the disorder is not treated. FMF is most prevalent in people of Armenian, Sephardic-Jewish, Arabic, and Turkish ancestry.

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY:

Nonsense or missense mutations in the MEFV (Mediterranean fever) gene appear to cause the disease. This gene produces a protein called pyrin (derived from the association with predominant fever) or marenostrin (derived from the phrase "our sea," because of the Mediterranean heritage of most patients).

Mutations occur in exons 2, 3, 5 and 10.
The function of pyrin has not been completely elucidated, but it appears to be a suppressor of the activation of caspase 1, the enzyme that stimulates production of interleukin 1β, a cytokine central to the process of inflammation.

It is not conclusively known what exactly sets off the attacks, and why overproduction of IL-1 would lead to particular symptoms in particular organs (e.g. joints or the peritoneal cavity).

GENETICS:

The MEFV gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 16 (16p13). The disease inherits in an autosomal recessive fashion. Therefore, two asymptomatic carrier parents have a 25% chance of a child with the disorder. FMF patients who marry a carrier or another FMF patient have a 50% and 100% chance, respectively, in having a child with FMF.

CLINICAL SYMPTOMS:

Fever:
An FMF attack is nearly always accompanied by a fever, but it may not be noticed in every case. Fevers are typically 100-104°F (38-40°C). Some people experience chills prior to the onset of fever.

Abdominal pain:
Nearly all people with FMF experience abdominal pain at one point or another, and for most it is the most common complaint. The pain can range from mild to severe, and can be diffuse or localized. It can mimic appendicitis, and many people with undiagnosed FMF have had appendectomies or exploratory surgery of the abdomen done, only to have the fever and abdominal pain return.

Chest pain:
Pleuritis, also called pleurisy, occurs in up to half of the affected individuals in certain ethnic groups. The pain is usually on one side of the chest. Pericarditis would also be felt as chest pain.

Joint pain:
About 50% of people with FMF experience joint pain during attacks. The pain is usually confined to one joint at a time, and often involves the hip, knee, or ankle. For some people, however, the recurrent joint pain becomes chronic arthritis.

Myalgia:
Up to 20% of individuals report muscle pain. These episodes typically last less than two days, and tend to occur in the evening or after physical exertion. Rare cases of muscle pain and fever lasting up to one month have been reported

Skin rash:
A rash, described as erysipelas-like erythema, accompanies attacks in a minority of people, and most often occurs on the front of the lower leg or top of the foot. The rash appears as a red, warm, swollen area about 4-6 in (10-15 cm) in diameter.

Amyloidosis:
FMF is associated with high levels in the blood of a protein called serum amyloid A (SAA). Over time, excess SAA tends to be deposited in tissues and organs throughout the body.

DIAGNOSIS:

Symptoms involving one or more of the following broad groups should lead to suspicion of FMF: Unexplained recurrent fevers, polyserositis, skin rash, and/or joint pain; abnormal blood studies; and renal or other disease associated with amyloidosis

LAB STUDIES:

Results of routine blood tests performed during the acute attacks are nonspecific. Levels of acute phase reactants (ie, C-reactive protein, amyloid A protein, fibrinogen) are elevated, as is the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The white blood cell count is usually elevated during an attack. The elevated levels rapidly return to the reference range as the attack abates.
Proteinuria should raise a concern about possible amyloidosis. For unknown reasons, hematuria occurs in 5% of patients.


Synovial fluid is inflammatory, with cell counts as high as 100,000/mL.
From the successful cloning of the MEFV gene, researchers have developed a rapid test for the most common mutations. Compared with gene sequencing, the test has a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. However, not every patient with FMF based on clinical criteria has a mutation as determined by testing for specific mutations. One explanation for this is that, although at least 30 identified mutations exist, 5 of them account for 99% of FMF cases, so testing for all 30 mutations, particularly in defined populations, is not cost-effective.

TREATMENT:

Attacks are self-limiting, and require analgesia and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as diclofenac.

Since the 1970s, colchicine, a drug otherwise mainly used in gout has been shown to decrease attack frequency in FMF patients. The exact way in which colchicine suppresses attacks is unclear. While this agent is not without side-effects abdominal painmuscle pains it may markedly improve quality of life in patients. The dosage is typically 1-2 mg a day.

Development of amyloidosis is delayed with colchicine treatment.


Interferon is being studied as a therapeutic modality.

PROGNOSIS:

For those individuals who are diagnosed early enough and take colchicine consistently, the prognosis is excellent.

Patients who are compliant with daily colchicine can probably expect to have a normal lifespan if colchicine is started before proteinuria develops.
Even with amyloidosis, the use of colchicine, dialysis, and renal transplantation should extend a patient's life beyond age 50 years.

COMPLICATIONS:

AA-amyloidosis with renal failure is a complication and may develop without overt crises. AA (amyloid protein) is produced in very large quantities during attacks and at a low rate between them, and accumulates mainly in the kidney, as well as the heart, spleen gastrointestinal tract and the thyroid.

There appears to be an increase in the risk for developing particular vasculitis-related diseases (e.g. Henoch-Schoenlein purpura spondylarthropathy, prolonged arthritis of certain joints and protracted myalgia.

Dengue - fatal disease, causes and cures

By Health Tips & Technics

How to fight Dengue? Causes and Prevention of Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is a flu kind of illness spread by mosquito bites. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by any of the dengue family virus. This is also widely known as 'Break bone fever' due to the severe joint pain caused during the attack. Dengue can be diagnosed by blood test. The infected person as such cannot spread the infection but can be a source to spread it.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is often complicated and severe. This rather can be termed as a complication dengue fever. Those bitten by the mosquito can get dengue fever and those already infected once if infected again are prone to higher risk of getting dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Dengue is an infectious disease causing frequent epidemics. There are various factors that contribute like lack of effective mosquito control, lack of public health systems to control the epidemic, the increase usage of plastic items which are the breeding sites of the mosquitoes.

Dengue is spread by the bite of an 'Ades' Mosquito. This mosquito bites the infected person and then bites someone else who is not affected thus transmitting the infection. These mosquitoes are active during the day time and spread the infection during day time. These mosquitoes live among human beings and breed in discarded tyres, flower pots, water stores etc.

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Dengue fever starts suddenly accompanied by headache, severe joint pain ,rashes, nausea and lack of appetite. The illness can last up to 10 days and the complete recovery could take about four to six weeks. Widely the dengue infections result in relatively mild illness however in some cases it may lead to the dengue hemorrhagic fever. In the complicated stage the blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding through mouth, nose and gums. This is most prevalent among children and young adults. This stage requires close medical attention.


Treatment for Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever

As far as the treatment is concerned there is no specific course, However the affected person is treated with Paracetamol to bring down the fever. The person is usually adviced to drink lots of fluids. The infected person should be isolated until recovery from the rest of the family to prevent further infections.

Although there is no vaccine to prevent this epidemic certain preventive measures as specified below can be taken to control the epidemic.

Preventive Measures to control Dengue Fever

Use mosquito repellents.

discard all unwanted items getting gathered around the living area to avoid the breeding of mosquitoes.

Keep the water stores clean and closed.

keep yourself well covered when outside.

Take prompt medical advice once fever starts.

http://www.healthtips.in/dengue-causes-cure.asp

AIDS, malaria eclipse the biggest child-killers

By MARGIE MASON

HANOI, Vietnam – Diarrhea doesn't make headlines. Nor does pneumonia. AIDS and malaria tend to get most of the attention.

Yet even though cheap tools could prevent and cure both diseases, they kill an estimated 3.5 million kids under 5 each a year globally — more than HIV and malaria combined.

"They have been neglected, because donor or partnership mechanisms shifted their emphasis to HIV and AIDS and other issues," said Dr. Tesfaye Shiferaw, a UNICEF official in Africa. "These age-old traditional killers remain with us. The ones dying are the children of the poor."

Global spending on maternal, newborn and child health was about $3.5 billion in 2006, according to a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That same year, nearly $9 billion was devoted to HIV and AIDS, according to UNAIDS.

Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children under 5, claiming more then 2 million lives annually or about 20 percent of all child deaths. AIDS, in contrast, accounts for about 2 percent.

If identified early, pneumonia can be treated with inexpensive antibiotics. Yet UNICEF and the World Health Organization estimate less than 20 percent of those sickened receive the drugs.

A vaccine has been available since 2000 but has not yet reached many children in developing countries. The GAVI Alliance, a global partnership, hopes to introduce it to 42 countries by 2015.

Diarrheal diseases, such as cholera and rotavirus, kill 1.5 million kids each year, most under 2 years old. The children die from dehydration, weakened immune systems and malnutrition. Often they get sick from drinking dirty water.

The worst cholera outbreak to hit Africa in 15 years killed more than 4,000 people in Zimbabwe last year. The country recently reported new cases of the waterborne disease, and more are expected as the rainy season peaks and sewers overflow.

Rotavirus, a highly contagious disease spread through contaminated hands and surfaces, is the top cause of severe diarrhea, accounting for more than a half million child deaths a year.

A vaccine routinely given to children in the U.S. and Europe is expected to reach 44 poorer countries by 2015 through the GAVI Alliance.

"Every child in the United States gets it, even though they have access to clean water and hygiene," said John Wecker, of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, a Seattle-based nonprofit that is part of the vaccine alliance. "The only effective way to prevent these deaths is through vaccination."

Diarrheal diseases received more attention in the 1980s and 1990s, he said, but interest has waned or been diverted elsewhere, allowing them to creep back.

"How did the leading killers end up at the bottom of the global health agenda? I don't know," Wecker said at a recent GAVI meeting in Hanoi. "We've got the tools. We're not looking for the next technological breakthrough. It's here now and it's not being used."

Death can often be prevented by giving children fluid replacement, a simple recipe of salt and sugar mixed with clean water to help ward off dehydration. Yet 60 percent of children with diarrhea never receive the concoction, according to a WHO and UNICEF report released last month.

"It is so preventable," said Dr. Richard Cash, a Harvard University expert who helped develop the oral rehydration therapy 40 years ago. "Preventing the deaths is at the very least what we should be striving for."