Patient's question:
A 2.5-year-old child has a rectal temperature of 38°C and an axillary temperature of 37.8°C. Is this considered a high fever? Should the rectal temperature be adjusted by adding 0.5 or subtracting 0.5?History of treatment and effectiveness: None.
What kind of help is needed: Suggest an explanation as soon as possible.
Doctor's answer:
A 2.5-year-old child measured 38°C orally and 37.8°C axillary.Guidance: Normal body temperature in children is generally estimated as 36.5–37.5°C rectally and 36–37°C axillary. Under normal circumstances, axillary temperature is 0.2–0.5°C lower than oral temperature (sublingual), and rectal temperature is approximately 0.5°C higher than axillary temperature. If the axillary temperature is below 37.4°C and the temperature fluctuation within a day is more than 1°C, it can be considered a fever.
A low-grade fever is defined as 37.5–38°C axillary, moderate fever as 38.1–39°C, high fever as 39.1–40°C, and hyperpyrexia as above 41°C. If the fever duration is less than two weeks, it is considered prolonged fever.
For your situation, physical cooling methods can be used, such as applying alcohol to the body. If the axillary temperature exceeds 38.5°C, antipyretic medication can be administered. It is important to drink plenty of fluids, stay warm, and monitor the temperature regularly.
I hope my explanation brings you some relief, and I wish it helps you.