Physical treatment of fever

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood Vol. 82; no. 3; pp. 238 - 239
• Main Author: Purssell, Edward
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 01-03-2000; BMJ; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Group
• Subjects: Acetaminophen - administration & dosage; Adolescent; Analgesics; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic - administration & dosage; antipyretic drugs; Biological and medical sciences; Body temperature; Child; Child, Preschool; Climate; Combined Modality Therapy; Crying; fever; Fever - therapy; General and Specialist Paediatrics; General aspects; Heat; High temperature; Human infectious diseases. Experimental studies and models; Humans; Hydrotherapy - methods; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Narcotics; Pediatrics; physical treatments; tepid sponging; Treatment Outcome; Water; Young Children; Human; Antipyretic; Clinical management; Treatment; Child; Fever
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/adc.82.3.238

Fever is a common symptom of childhood illness, and much time and effort is spent in the pursuit of reducing high temperature. Although antipyretic drugs are the main form of treatment, this report considers the part that physical treatments might play in reducing the temperature of febrile children. Such treatments include tepid sponging, removing clothing, and cooling the environment. Of these treatments, tepid sponging has been studied most extensively, as an addition to paracetamol, but seems to offer little advantage over paracetamol alone. It is likely that other methods might be equally ineffective because they all rely on similar methods of heat loss.