Let me describe a common nightmare for parents.
No, I’m not talking about the time that you forgot to pack your daughter’s suitcase in the car on your family’s annual trip to the Sunshine Coast.
I’m talking about your child coming down with a fever.
In Victorian novels (think 1840s England, not the state to the south of New South Wales) the fever made a common appearance. In Jane Eyre, a terrible fever strikes Lowood School mid-winter – with tragic consequences. In Sense and Sensibility (which admittedly was written before the Victorian era), the wayward Marianne decides to turn her life around after surviving a terrible fever.
The advent of modern medicine has changed things, meaning that the fever is no longer the bogeyman that it once was.
However, you still may need to take your child to see a GP; speak to a medical professional that you trust to see if this is the case. This means that it is important to know when your child has a fever.
What is a fever?
The truth is this: as uncomfortable as a fever is, it is a natural process.
It is a sign that your body is fighting an infection. Infections are the most common cause of fevers, and most of these infections are caused by viruses such as the cold or flu.
Think of a battle scene from Lord of the Rings, or Braveheart. If those references are too old for you, I think my point will still make sense: you can’t win a battle without generating a little heat. Generally, a fever is a sign that your body is in fight-mode, pushing back against the forces arrayed against it. Sound epic? It is epic – the body is an amazing thing.
Of course, it can be heartbreaking to see our child struggling with the effects of a fever.
And, it can be more than heartbreaking: it can demand action.
Your child will need further medical attention if they have a fever and are below twelve months of age, have accompanying symptoms as outlined by a trusted medical professional, or have underlying health conditions.
Furthermore, if your child is aged 0-3 months and has a fever, then they need to be taken to an emergency department. If they are listless or unresponsive, lose consciousness, have a seizure for the first time, or has trouble breathing, then they will need an ambulance.[1]
In contrast to such situations, it will be appropriate to manage the fever from home in many instances, which means that it is important to seek relevant health advice.
Whether you are faced with the best-case scenario or the worst-case scenario (and I hope that you never are in this situation; I wouldn’t wish it on any parent) it is important to determine the nature and severity of the fever.
Why it can be difficult to measure a fever
- We use insufficient measuring equipment. Instead of making use of a Braun Thermoscan or a Vicks Insight Thermometer, parents tend to rely on the classic hand-on-forehead technique. Now, as a preliminary step, this might work for you! But I am yet to meet a parent whose hands can accurately tell the temperature down to the tenth of a Celsius. If you can, then congratulations: you have what I like to call an Ordinary Superpower; your invitation to join the Avengers is in the mail.
- We lack sufficient knowledge about what should be considered normal and what should be considered high. Do you know off the top of your head what the normal temperature range of a child is? Perhaps you do – great job. What you may not know, however, is that this range changes depending on the age of your child. When this is combined with the hand-on-head measurement, parents can find it hard to correctly determine whether their child has a fever.
- We find it difficult to assess the severity of accompanying symptoms. It is important to seek advice first and foremost from your trusted health professional. They can help talk you through the implication of any accompanying symptoms, and whether you should seek further medical attention. According to the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, initial assessment for a fever should be done by a GP.
Ear thermometer or forehead thermometer?
Clearly, it is important to take your child’s temperature easily. But what is the best way to do this? For ease of use with children, an ear thermometer or a forehead thermometer could be suitable for your family’s needs. Both give rapid results, are easy to use and interpret, and are reusable. That means that they’re good for you and good for the environment.
The Braun ThermoScan range are a family of ear thermometer. There are seven reasons why I recommend this range:
- Fast results and in-build guidance to help you interpret them. Some things in life are good when they’re slow. Think of a lazy Saturday afternoon, for example. No need to speed that up! But the old adage ‘slow and steady’ simply does not apply when it’s a thermometer that we are talking about. The Braun ThermoScan range of products give you the results you need, when you need them. Here’s something even better: a simple colour system makes it easier than ever to determine whether your child has a high temperature.
- Sophisticated German engineering. Braun aren’t exactly the new kid on the block. They’ve been operating since 1921, so they know a thing or two about consumer technology (you tend to get good at something when you do it for a hundred years). When you hold a Braun product – whether it’s a thermometer, a shaver, or an electric toothbrush – you are holding a machine designed to perfection. I wouldn’t want my family to have anything less.
- Cost effective and good for the environment. Being reusable, the Braun ThermoScan is good for your pocket and good for earth. In a world of disposable food and fast fashion, it’s nice to have something that lasts. Of course, there is something important that is disposable! That’s the protective filter that helps keep the lens of the thermometer clear, clean, and comfortable.
- Sheer popularity. Usually I wouldn’t mention the popularity of a product that I’m recommending. Who cares whether everyone else uses it? The key question is not does my neighbour have one too? but Is it a good product? I’m making an exception here because the Braun ThermoScan is Australia’s number 1 ear thermometer brand. If you use a Braun ThermoScan product, you join 1.5 million others around the world doing the exact same thing. That means that each second, there are just under twenty people using one of these products.
Nightmare no more
It is concerning when your child has a fever, especially as there are times when immediate action is required. For this reason, every family medicine cabinet needs a thermometer that is easy to use, easy to read, and easy to trust. For these purposes – and for your piece of mind – the Braun ThermoScan range is a winner.
[1] https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/fever-in-children-infographic
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Image Author: @DCStudio
