नवीनतम
Third of parents may unnecessarily give kids fever-reducing meds: US study
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: One in three parents would give fever-reducing medication for spiked temperatures below 100.4 degrees, which isn't recommended, according to a study conducted in the US.
Researchers at the University of Michigan in the US also found that half of parents would also use medicine if the fever was between 100.4 and 101.9 degrees, and a quarter of parents would likely give another dose to prevent the fever from returning.
"Some parents may immediately rush to give their kids medicine but it's often better to let the fever runs its course," said Susan Woolford, co-director of C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at University of Michigan Health.
"Lowering a child's temperature doesn't typically help cure their illness any faster. In fact, a low-grade fever helps fight off the infection. There's also the risk of giving too much medication when it's not needed, which can have side effects," Woolford said. The report is based on 1,376 responses from parents of children ages 12 and under polled between August and September 2022.
Two in three parents polled said they are very confident they know whether their child needs medication to reduce a fever, the researchers found.
However, just over half are sure they understand how temperature readings can change according to the method used, they said.
The method used to take a child's temperature matters and can affect the accuracy of the measurement, Woolford said.
Parents polled most commonly take their child's temperature by forehead scan or mouth while less than a sixth use ear, underarm or rectal methods.
Remote thermometers at the forehead or inside the ear canal can be accurate if used correctly, according to the researchers.
However, forehead readings may be inaccurate, Woolford said, if the scanner is held too far away or if the child's forehead is sweaty, they added.
Three in four parents say they take their child's temperature as soon as they notice a possible problem, while a little less than a fourth wait to see if the problem continues or worsens before taking the temperature.
