How often have you used Paracetamol for treating fever in your baby or child? Did you know that most of the fever in children relieve automatically? You can use paracetamol and use other home remedies to treat your child’s fever. But, you should know some things before you do that!
I talk on this topic in this video.
To read on how to manage fever in your children, go to this article on BeingTheDoctor.
Cold Water Sponging to Manage Fever
Is cold water sponging effective in controlling fever of your baby? should you give paracetamol along with cold water sponging? This is what I’m going to tell you.
Cold sponging, it’s also called as tepid sponging. Using a sponge which is dipped in water which can be cold or warm and using that sponge wet the surface of your child so that a thin layer of water is always there on the body surface.It works by promoting heat evaporation from the body surface rather than by localized cooling. I have seen many parents who keep this same piece of wet cloth or sponge on the body surface in order to maximize the cooling effect. But it actually doesn’t help, What happens is that the process of evaporation doesn’t take place as there is a barrier which is the clothe or the sponge which prevents the evaporation and thereby the cooling process doesn’t actually take place.So it should not be done. According to NCBI, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of cold sponging alone then combining cold sponging with paracetamol and by giving paracetamol alone.
Most of these studies have shown that a combination of cold sponging and paracetamol seems to deliver the best results in lowering the temperature.It is concluded that cold water sponging although it has a rapid effect in lowering the body temperature. It only acts for a short period of time, that is for only the first 30 minutes after sponging. Paracetamol on the other hand produces a much gradual but sustained effect. The effect of Paracetamol starts only after 30 minutes of the intake of the medicine. But, once the effect of paracetamol starts, it has a sustained effect in lowering the body temperature which acts for approximately six to eight hours.
The reason why most kids and adults hate cold sponging is because of the discomfort it causes. This discomfort should not be a limiting factor when using cold water sponging to lower the body temperature when you have a fever. Coldwater sponging particularly helpful if your child has febrile seizures. Now body temperature rapidly reduces after sponging and by the time Paracetamol starts its effect on lowering the body temperature, cold water sponging can be used simultaneously to keep the body temperature at a reduced level in order to prevent further seizures and other complications.
If you have any doubts about cold water sponging just ask a doctor using chat, video call or audio call sitting in your home. So have you tried cold sponging to lower your babies or child body temperature? Did your child like it? Please remember that there are many doctors on Dofody who are willing to help you out. Some of them are friendly pediatricians who are waiting to help you out. Book a consultation with a child specialist now.
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