Children
Give me fever
28/02/11 16:08
by Kate Whimster, BCom, MIFHI, ND
I just read this article called “Lifting a veil of fear to see the benefits of fever” and I had to share it. This is a hot topic (excuse the pun!) among parents and healthcare providers that, despite logic, evidence, and experience, is still widely misunderstood.
Key messages:
The article cites the following research:
“Fever phobia: misconceptions of parents about fevers”
“Fever phobia revisited: have parental misconceptions about fever changed in 20 years?”
I also found a study called “Pediatric emergency department nurses' perspectives on fever in children” which concluded that “fever phobia and inconsistent treatment approaches occur among experienced pediatric emergency registered nurses. These phobias and inconsistencies subsequently could be conveyed to parents.” So it’s not just parents who are confused! Healthcare providers are perpetuating this misconception through ignorance: “‘Doctors are part of the problem,’ Schmitt said. Some of the phobia comes from doctors and nurses, he said, ‘doctors and nurses who weren’t taught about fever and all the wondrous things fever does in the animal kingdom.’”
I think another major reason that parents fear fever so much is that they are far too influenced by the sheer number and force of advertisements for medication to suppress fevers in children. I think I see at least one ad daily for children’s Tylenol or Advil these days - all sending a clear message that fever is not OK and you must medicate!
So what is a worried parent to do?
I just read this article called “Lifting a veil of fear to see the benefits of fever” and I had to share it. This is a hot topic (excuse the pun!) among parents and healthcare providers that, despite logic, evidence, and experience, is still widely misunderstood.
Key messages:
- Fever is a signal that the immune system is working. Fever is actually a useful tool of the immune system that helps your body fight infection.
- There is a widely held misconception that fevers are dangerous. “In fact, fever does not harm the brain or the body, though it does increase the need for fluids. Even untreated, fevers rarely rise higher than 104 or 105 degrees.”
- Despite ongoing efforts to educate parents, fever remains a major concern and causes a lot of panic.
The article cites the following research:
“Fever phobia: misconceptions of parents about fevers”
“Fever phobia revisited: have parental misconceptions about fever changed in 20 years?”
I also found a study called “Pediatric emergency department nurses' perspectives on fever in children” which concluded that “fever phobia and inconsistent treatment approaches occur among experienced pediatric emergency registered nurses. These phobias and inconsistencies subsequently could be conveyed to parents.” So it’s not just parents who are confused! Healthcare providers are perpetuating this misconception through ignorance: “‘Doctors are part of the problem,’ Schmitt said. Some of the phobia comes from doctors and nurses, he said, ‘doctors and nurses who weren’t taught about fever and all the wondrous things fever does in the animal kingdom.’”
I think another major reason that parents fear fever so much is that they are far too influenced by the sheer number and force of advertisements for medication to suppress fevers in children. I think I see at least one ad daily for children’s Tylenol or Advil these days - all sending a clear message that fever is not OK and you must medicate!
So what is a worried parent to do?
- Remember that the body is designed to heal itself. Symptoms (including fever) are part of this process, so be careful to support the body rather than suppress.
- Equip yourself to understand and manage illness at home where appropriate. This also means knowing when to seek professional help! A naturopathic doctor is a vital part of learning about your health and can equip you to take responsibility.
- Don’t seek medical advice from advertisements! Go to those who are educated and trained to address your issue, and always think critically about advice you receive.
Comments
Sick kids
09/02/11 10:08
by Kate Whimster, BCom, MIFHI, ND
Wow, there are so many topics to choose from when writing about kids and health! I have a lot of issues I want to explore, but I’m going to start with a couple of articles about kids and getting sick.
First up, a study called Short- and Long-term Risk of Infections as a Function of Group Child Care Attendance published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that, as we all know, children start getting more infections when they start spending lots of time around other kids! And, when children start group child care before age 2 and a half, they get more infections at that time, but less infections during elementary school years. Again this makes total sense! Kids are programmed to expose themselves to all kinds of pathogens from a very early age and this is an important part of their “immune education” which is done during those crucial childhood years before puberty and must last a lifetime. So getting sick is not a bad thing at all, as long as parents know how to manage it in a health-promoting way being careful to avoid suppression. A naturopathic doctor is a great resource to learn how to manage common childhood infections.
The second study I want to share is called Antibiotic Exposure by 6 Months and Asthma and Allergy at 6 Years: Findings in a Cohort of 1,401 US Children published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and adds further information to the association between antibiotic use in infancy and the development of childhood asthma. This article called Early Antibiotic Use Can Lead to Increased Risk of Childhood Asthma does a great job of summarizing the findings and explaining the mechanism behind this effect, which may be that antibiotics have a major impact on the beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, which are an important factor in immune response. When these bacteria are disrupted, the type of immune response mounted is altered, resulting in pathologies such as asthma. Something the article does not mention that is a great tool in preventing, mitigating, and treating this type of issue longer term is the use of probiotics. There is already loads of evidence that probiotics are effective in both the prevention and treatment of asthma and many other childhood illnesses. Perhaps I will explore the topic in more detail in a future blog...
The importance of building a healthy immune system and ensuring appropriate and effective immune response cannot be emphasized enough. Personally, based on the evidence that exists and continues to emerge, we are only just beginning to understand how our choices and medical treatments impact our immune systems in both the long and short term. This idea has implications far beyond asthma; it also ties into allergic, autoimmune diseases, vaccines, and many other issues.
Wow, there are so many topics to choose from when writing about kids and health! I have a lot of issues I want to explore, but I’m going to start with a couple of articles about kids and getting sick.
First up, a study called Short- and Long-term Risk of Infections as a Function of Group Child Care Attendance published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that, as we all know, children start getting more infections when they start spending lots of time around other kids! And, when children start group child care before age 2 and a half, they get more infections at that time, but less infections during elementary school years. Again this makes total sense! Kids are programmed to expose themselves to all kinds of pathogens from a very early age and this is an important part of their “immune education” which is done during those crucial childhood years before puberty and must last a lifetime. So getting sick is not a bad thing at all, as long as parents know how to manage it in a health-promoting way being careful to avoid suppression. A naturopathic doctor is a great resource to learn how to manage common childhood infections.
The second study I want to share is called Antibiotic Exposure by 6 Months and Asthma and Allergy at 6 Years: Findings in a Cohort of 1,401 US Children published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and adds further information to the association between antibiotic use in infancy and the development of childhood asthma. This article called Early Antibiotic Use Can Lead to Increased Risk of Childhood Asthma does a great job of summarizing the findings and explaining the mechanism behind this effect, which may be that antibiotics have a major impact on the beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, which are an important factor in immune response. When these bacteria are disrupted, the type of immune response mounted is altered, resulting in pathologies such as asthma. Something the article does not mention that is a great tool in preventing, mitigating, and treating this type of issue longer term is the use of probiotics. There is already loads of evidence that probiotics are effective in both the prevention and treatment of asthma and many other childhood illnesses. Perhaps I will explore the topic in more detail in a future blog...
The importance of building a healthy immune system and ensuring appropriate and effective immune response cannot be emphasized enough. Personally, based on the evidence that exists and continues to emerge, we are only just beginning to understand how our choices and medical treatments impact our immune systems in both the long and short term. This idea has implications far beyond asthma; it also ties into allergic, autoimmune diseases, vaccines, and many other issues.
