What temperature is ‘normal’ for my child?

WHAT is a normal temperature for a child to have? Is there a best-practice way to record this?

YOU know this might seem like a really basic question but I think it’s a brilliant one. In children a temperature of over 37.5C (99.5F) is considered high.

For babies, we tend to use a digital thermometer under the arm — this is must for babies under four weeks. It is generally kept there for 15 seconds.

Ear thermometers are also used but tend to be more reliable in older children. You can use either an arm-pit thermometer or an ear thermometer in babies from four weeks to five years old.

We don’t advise using forehead thermometers or old-fashioned mercury ones. Try not to take the child’s temperature after a bath, if they have been very active, are in a very hot room or they are layered with clothes.

As temperature goes, you don’t have to see a doctor for every fever. Generally, in any child under six months, I would always seek medical advice.

This also applies for any child with a fever lasting five days, a child with high-pitched crying or one who is inconsolable.

It’s also worth seeking a health-care professional’s advice for a child with a rash and a fever. This is because serious conditions such as meningitis may manifest like this.

As a parent, if you are concerned about your child, regardless of their age or temperature, then your intuition is probably right so get them checked out.

Don’t under-estimate the power of treating them with children’s medicines which help reduce fever.

Paracetamol is shorter acting and impacts pain and fever only, ibuprofen does the same and acts as an anti-inflammatory, so it’s good for things like ear aches. The longer action means that if timed correctly, no additional doses are due overnight, making for a better night’s sleep.

Both of these are available in pharmacies without prescription. While they are considered safe, it is imperative to follow the dosing regime. I always advise parents and carers to keep a log of who gave what, when and how much. This avoids over-dosage, which is dangerous. Aspirin should never ever be given to children. I HAVE a flaky red rash on my eyebrows and the creases of my nose, and dandruff. I think stress is causing it. I’m feeling run down too. Any advice? IT SOUNDS like you have sebhorreic dermatitis. Yeast normally lives harmlessly and naturally on the skin but it prospers in this condition, resulting in a skin eruption.

This particular dermatitis refers to skin which can be itchy red and flaky. The ‘sebhorreic’ refers to the fact that the condition favours the greasy areas of skin namely the face, scalp and chest. So why might you have got it? Yes, any stress to you physically or personally may trigger it. For some reason, cold weather can aggravate it, as can alcohol. Diet doesn’t impact it. The yeast involved bears no relation to the yeast involved in triggering thrush infections, neither has it anything to do with baker’s yeast. The condition is seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease and also more frequently in those with HIV.

SO what can you do? It’s interesting that your scalp is affected because this is often found as a driver towards facial eruptions. So it is important to treat your scalp in conjunction with your face. This prevents yeast falling from the scalp on to the face.

As the offending yeast can not only contribute to flaky scalp, it can also affect the eyelashes resulting in flakiness.

Treating the scalp is easily done by means of an anti-yeast shampoo, such as ketoconazole (which is available without prescription).

As for the rash itself, an anti-yeast and anti-inflammatory combination are used to tackle this. Your doctor can prescribe this for you. Other issues in terms of self-help include avoiding any triggers.

Hopefully with a bit of focused treatment the skin of the face and the scalp can be remedied, and in turn this will give you one less thing to worry about!