The causes of fever in babies are usually some kind of bacteria infection or an inability to regulate temperature. There are a myriad number of infections that can cause a fever and a fever is the body’s immune response to combat the infection. Babies also tend to overheat from heat exhaustion and this can also cause a fever response. The treatment for this is to cool the body down slowly to an ambient temperature.
Fever is not a disease but the body’s response to a disease. It is caused when the hypothalamus, the body’s internal thermostat, receives a chemical cue to raise the body’s temperature. The body then responds to this by making muscles shiver and even burn the stored fat in the body to create a fever. Burning fatty tissue is the mechanism of creating a fever in babies. The chemical triggers for initiating fever can come from the pathogens themselves or from the macrophages of the body. Macrophages are the body’s first line of defense against foreign intrusions.
Ideally, since you are dealing with an infant you require administering quick acting and powerful medication and acetaminophren works as an effective antipyretic, with no side effects like acidity. Home remedies for reducing a fever in babies can only be limited to externally reducing the body temperature by wet towels. As explained before, there are some pathogens that have the chemical triggers for inducing fever by signaling to the hypothalamus. In some infections, this is highly dangerous because the fevers can be extremely high and uncontrolled. Generally, a fever that is higher than 41 degrees centigrade or 107 degrees Fahrenheit are danger signals where you have to reduce the body temperature externally and consult a doctor as soon as you can. Teething babies also tend to show symptoms of fever. This can be confirmed if the fever is below the 101-Fahrenheit mark and your child is teething as well. Again, external regulation of the body temperature is all that you have to do at this time. It is very important you do not attempt to medicate your child by yourself as you could end up causing more harm than good. While there are parallels between the medicine in children and adults, the dosages differ and some medicines should be avoided like decongestants and non-acetaminophren based analgesics. You should also reduce the ambient temperature of the area where you keep you baby to avoid over heating and dehydrating your child.