Why 100.4 F is the magic number in the first 6 weeks of life.
We don’t mess around with fevers in newborns!
Full Transcript
Why Newborn Fevers Are Urgent 0:00
Hi friends. It's Dr. Ah with Adak and the fam. I'm here to talk to you today about newborns and fevers. We take fever super seriously in the newborn period because babies do not yet have a good barrier between their blood system and their brain system. And that means a infection that they could normally handle fine in their. Blood can very quickly make them sick all the way to meningitis, all of it. ICU all. The way. To brain damage that we can't come back from. So without. a lot of fear mongering.
I need you to just know this is why your doctor or nurse practitioner or PCP has asked you be very vigilant if your child has a fever. A tiny little urinary tract infection can rapidly become something very serious. So the fever in the newborn is 100.4 Fahrenheit, that is 38 centigrade, okay?
Fever Thresholds and Sepsis Risk 0:49
100 point four, not a hundred and four. One zero zero point 4. Gets them into the clinic to check them out. Now, when I was training, we used to do a ton of spinal taps. Every baby that got 100 .4 fever would basically get a needle in the back. We don't do that quite as aggressively anymore, thank goodness. But we do wanna check blood and we wanna do check urine and want to treat that infection if there is one there. Okay, so up till six weeks of age, this is the case. And the risk is sepsis. Sepsis is when an infection has basically run rampant like a wildfire.
We can control the fire if we identify it early enough, but once it's out of the gates, it is a little bit harder to get control of. If you had a positive group B strep test in pregnancy during your screenings, this is an important thing to know because those babies are at some risk of delayed onset sepsis or infection, even up to 28 or beyond 28 days of life.
How to Check a Baby's Temperature 1:51
So it doesn't mean you need to go check your baby's temperature, you know, neurotically at all. It just means be aware. What do they feel like? Are they a little bit lethargic? Or are they not waking up And then if they do feel warm, go ahead and check that temperature right away. Maybe you're wondering, how do I check my baby's temperature? A gold standard temp is erectile temp. It's also a tiny bit invasive. So I just don't always recommend people go straight there. They do sell rectal thermometers at the drug store or Amazon, your favorite on tail.
online retailer, or you can just use a regular thermometer and I would do under the armpit, add one degree. So it says 98, think it's 99. I will not in infancy, not use ear thermometers or forehead scanners. Those are not my favorite. Do not think of them as highly accurate at that time. If you really need an accurate temp, do the rectal. if you need a pretty accurate, temp do that armpits and add 1 degree, All right. Tell me what other questions you might have around newborns and fevers.
When to Worry Less as Kids Get Older 2:57
Um, we're going to give you this kind of message at newborn age. And then once you get a toddler, We're gonna be telling you they can have a high fever and we don't get quite as worried quite early. So stay tuned for us to sound like we are, um, contradicting ourselves, even though it's a different thought process. I'll give a peek at that then. All Right. See you later.
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