Fever (Age 6-21)

Definition

• Your child has a fever if:
• Ear or Forehead temperature: 100.4° F (38.0° C) or higher
• Oral or Mouth temperature: 100° F (37.8° C) or higher
• Under the arm (Armpit) temperature: 99° F (37.2° C) or higher

• Your child looks or acts very sick
• Any serious symptoms occur, such as trouble breathing
• Fever goes above 104° F (40° C)
• Fever lasts more than 3 days (72 hours)
• You think your child needs to be seen
• Your child becomes worse

Causes

• Main cause: colds and other viral infections.
• Fever may be the only symptom for the first 24 hours. This often occurs with a viral illness. The start of symptoms (runny nose, cough, loose stools) is often delayed.
• Most often, you won't know the cause of the fever until other symptoms develop. This may take 24 hours.
• Bacterial infections (as with a Strep throat or a kidney infection) also cause fever.

Normal Temperature Range

• Forehead or Ear. A reading of 98.6° F (37° C) is just the average forehead or ear temp. A normal low can be 96.8° F (36° C) in the morning. It can change to a high of 100.3° F (37.9° C) late in the day. This is a normal range.
• By Mouth. A reading of 97.6° F (36.5° C) is just the average mouth temp. A normal low can be 95.8° F (35.5° C) in the morning. It can change to a high of 99.9° F (37.7° C) late in the day. This is a normal range.