Your child’s actual body temperature is only one of several important indicators of his health. Parents often have questions about whether to add a degree or subtract a degree when gauging their child’s temperature. The exact temperature of your child is not usually that critical if he is eating and drinking, urinating and having regular stools, sleeping as usual and generally not more fussy than usual. There are a few situations that having an exact temperature is important.
One of these situations is if your child is younger than three months and has a temperature higher than 100.4 F
Another factor in evaluating your child’s health is how your child is acting: eating, sleeping, urinating, etc. If your child is lethargic or unusually fussy, not eating or drinking, not urinating, etc. please call our office immediately.
In sum, how your child is acting can be as important or even more important than your child’s temperature in determining if your child needs to be seen by Dr. Berry or an after hours medical office.
These are guidelines and are not inclusive of every situation regarding your child. Please call our office if you have concerns about your child.
What is the normal body temperature using oral, rectal, auxiliary, and tympanic thermometers?
“Normal” temperatures vary according to child and also the instrument used to measure the temperature. Generally, the rectal temperature is more accurate for babies but other thermometers can be used. If you call our office and report a temperature, just give us the actual reading and the type of thermometer used, and we can interpret the reading.
For more information about fever and your child, you may consult a number of websites including: