At what temperature should you begin taking a fever reducer?
Anika H. Ahmed, MD August 2020
A fever is a physiological reaction of the body to any infection due to a virus or a bacterium, triggering an inflammatory reaction. The first questions a parent may ask a child complaining about being sick, or a doctor may ask any patient, are: “Do you feel hot? Do you think you may have a fever?” There are two schools of thought in the medical community regarding how to manage a fever. The first is to observe and “let it ride” and the second is to actively manage it, with supportive therapy and fever-reducing drugs. There is still an ongoing debate in the medical field on whether to treat or not to treat a fever, whether it is good or bad to “let the fever ride,” and what the cut off level should be for starting a fever reducer. These are all important questions chalking out the future management of the patient. In the case of COVID-19, there is consensus regarding fever management steps according to conditions observed.
Most physicians and medical workers believe that observing the pattern of the fever can help in diagnosing the exact cause giving rise to the fever. Therefore, low-grade fevers up to 99.9 degrees F (Fahrenheit) should not be suppressed with a fever-reducing drug. Above 99.9 F, doctors have agreed that each case must be managed individually, but generally the threshold of starting treatment is dependent mainly upon the age of the patient. Generally, the following guidelines are followed with the assumption that the patient has no underlying chronic medical condition and is not on an immunosuppressive or chemotherapy regimen:
AGE | BODY TEMPERATURE | MANAGEMENT |
0-3 months | 100.4 F (38 C – Celsius) or higher taken rectally | Connect with your doctor fast on a telemedicine platform. Do not give any pain-reducing medicines, especially Aspirin. |
3-6 months | Up to 102 F (38.9 C) taken rectally | Give plenty of fluids and rest. No medication is needed. Observe! Connect with your doctor immediately on a telemedicine platform if the child appears irritable, exhausted, uncomfortable, or dehydrated. |
3-6 months | Above 102 F (38.9 C) taken rectally | Connect with your doctor immediately on a telemedicine platform, follow instructions and be prepared to take your child in for a test, as advised by the doctor. |
6-24 months | Above 102 F (38.9 C) taken rectally | Give the child a fever reducer (except Aspirin) according to the dosage indicated on the bottle and connect with your doctor immediately on a telemedicine platform. |
2-7 years | Up to 102 F (38.9 C) taken rectally or orally | Give plenty of fluids and rest. No medication needed. Connect with your doctor fast on a telemedicine platform if the child appears lethargic, dehydrated, or toxic. |
2-17 years | Above 102 F (38.9 C) taken orally | Give the child a fever-reducer according to the dosage indicated on the bottle. Connect with a doctor immediately on a telemedicine platform if the child appears more lethargic, toxic, or dehydrated, or if the fever does not respond to fever-reducing medicines or does not go away in three days. |
18 years and over | Up to 102 F (38.9 C) taken orally | No medication needed. Rest with plenty of fluid. Connect with a doctor fast on a telemedicine platform if the fever is accompanied by other symptoms like breathlessness, a stiff neck, a severe headache, or any other unusual symptom. |
18 years and over | Above 102 F (38.9 C) taken orally | May take a pain-reducing medicine to stay comfortable. Connect with a doctor on a telemedicine platform fast if the fever does not respond to medication, is consistently high, or does not go away in three days. |