Children under one year of age, due to the peculiarities of their physiology, may have a temperature exceeding the usual 36.6 °C. However, it can change throughout the day. Medical studies indicate what body temperature a child should have at 3 months. These indicators are equal to the normal values for children who are already six months old.
The baby's temperature is taken
Normal hyperthermia value for a 3 month old baby
It is impossible to answer with one value what temperature a child should have at 3 months. It can be argued that the permissible upper limit is 37.5˚C. If there are no additional symptoms, there is no need to talk about the child’s illness. An increase in body temperature within acceptable values, as a rule, occurs as a result of overheating. Parents often dress their children in too many clothes, wrap them in pajamas and cover them with duvets at night, trying to prevent the baby from becoming hypothermic. Overheating is much worse for a child than hypothermia.
The danger of overheating is due to underdeveloped sweat glands. During active play, dressed in several layers of clothing, the child certainly begins to warm up; the still imperfect sweating system does not give him the opportunity to sweat and cool down. As a result, the body overheats, the child feels unwell, and adults have cause for concern. Therefore, it is very important to keep the air in the room within normal limits: the thermometer and hygrometer readings must be within the specified values at t = 18-22˚C, humidity 55-65%, then the child’s normal body temperature will be ensured.
Indicators are normal
Attention! The normal temperature for a child differs significantly from the normal value for an elderly person. Therefore, if the older generation experiences discomfort when the air temperature in the room is 20 degrees, then this is not a reason to wrap up the child. Children feel comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt at this air temperature.
Possible causes of low body temperature
In infants, the ability to thermoregulate goes through a developing stage: the baby can easily overheat or become hypothermic. A body temperature of 36 degrees or lower can occur in newborn babies, as well as in infants with low body weight. Babies born prematurely may also suffer from heat loss and low body temperature.
The baby has a temperature of 37
Also, a child’s temperature of 36 degrees can be a consequence of:
- Hypothermia;
- Staying outside in wet or damp clothes;
- Improper use of vasoconstrictor drops.
It happens that the causes of hypothermia are certain problems in the functioning of a small organism, namely:
- Chronic diseases;
- Iron-deficiency anemia;
- Weakening of the immune system;
- Avitaminosis;
- Prolonged cold;
- Poisoning;
- Malignant neoplasms.
Additional Information. Don’t worry if your baby’s temperature was only low at night and stabilized in the morning. This may mean that the child is very tired all day, and this is how banal fatigue manifests itself.
Measuring temperature with a thermometer
Very often, the causes of low body temperature are physiological, psychological factors and the characteristics of thermoregulation, which is characteristic of a particular age. Also, one should not exclude the possibility of developing diseases that provoked such changes in the child’s body.
Immature thermoregulation in infants
Thermoregulation in infants up to one year of age goes through a developing stage, which means that this factor should not be attributed to an unhealthy state. A baby can easily either overheat or become hypothermic. Even with slight hypothermia, a decrease in body temperature can occur. This is especially true for children in the first 3 months of life. There is no need to worry if, with a thermometer reading of 34.9-36°C, the baby is active and cheerful, sleeps soundly and eats well.
Decrease in temperature for physiological reasons
If a child has recently suffered any infection, then a mark on the thermometer of 36 degrees or even 35.5 is considered normal. Since the baby spent a lot of energy recovering from the illness, his immune system is in a weakened state. A weakened body that has suffered any infectious disease cannot control thermoregulation for several days. In addition, a temperature of 36 in a baby can occur due to an overdose of vasoconstrictor drops.
Note! Vasoconstrictors for the nose can lead not only to a decrease in temperature, but also to dizziness and fainting. Before using the drug for a child, you should always carefully study the instructions. Failure to comply with the rules of admission may result in an ambulance being called.
At low temperatures, the child is tired and sleeps a lot
Development of internal diseases
A child’s body temperature is 36, what does this mean - sometimes such thermometer readings indicate more serious health problems than simple hypothermia. These include:
- Oxygen starvation of the brain;
- Blood diseases;
- Anaphylactic shock;
- Micro hemorrhages in the brain;
- Diseases of the bronchi and lungs;
- Cardiovascular failure;
- Chronic liver diseases;
- Renal failure, decreased functioning of the adrenal cortex;
- Hypoglycemia;
- Hypothyroidism;
- Mitral valve collapse.
In the presence of all these states, heat transfer significantly exceeds heat production.
How to measure a small child's temperature
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There are several types of different thermometers. Each of them reliably produces measurements, but has its own characteristics. Thus, the generally accepted 36.6˚C is the norm for the armpit. When measuring a child’s temperature using a pacifier thermometer, you need to keep in mind that the results obtained will be 0.6-1.2˚C higher than those that would be obtained when measuring in the armpit area. The same applies to devices equipped with an ear tip - it will also be 0.5-0.8˚C higher.
Various thermometers
Important! You should not measure the temperature of a child under 3 months of age in the auricle, since due to the characteristics of thermal processes in the body, the result may be unreliable. This method is more suitable for one-year-old children.
Using a traditional mercury thermometer, shake off the readings to below 35˚C before placing it in the armpit. The armpit should be dry, so if the child is sweating, the skin must be wiped clean of sweat. The duration of measurement in this way is 10 minutes. During the measurement, the child should be at rest and press the thermometer tightly with his hand to his body. To make the examination easier, the mother of a sleeping three-month-old baby can pick him up, insert the device into the fold between the arm and the torso and, pressing the device securely, hold the baby in her arms for 10 minutes.
Modern infrared thermometers allow you to measure indicators from the surface of the forehead without touching the head. Such devices are among the most expensive, but are considered the most accurate. The operating principle of such a thermometer is based on assessing the temperature of infrared radiation emanating from the surface of the body. The temperature of a 3 month old baby can be measured this way in a second.
IR thermometer
What causes the temperature to rise
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There can be several reasons for an increase in temperature: from banal overheating to serious illness. A doctor must understand each of them, but a parent is able to adequately assess the situation, knowing what temperature their three-month-old child should have, having carefully analyzed all the details. It is important to notice other symptoms that accompany an increase in body temperature. A set of complaints will help to get a complete picture of what is happening.
Possible symptoms associated with fever:
- Running nose, hoarse voice and cough are typical signs of an acute infectious disease;
- Swollen gums - the child is healthy, but he is teething. In this situation, clear nasal discharge may appear due to irritation and inflammation of the oral mucosa; the main accompanying symptoms are swelling and redness of the gums;
- Vomiting and frequent loose stools are symptoms of an intestinal infection;
- Whistling and wheezing when inhaling – bronchitis;
- The simultaneous appearance of a red blistering rash throughout the body – chickenpox;
- An increase in temperature after a walk under the scorching sun, accompanied by general weakness and loss of consciousness - heat stroke;
- Accompanying severe pain in the ear indicates acute otitis media.
It happens that, apart from temperature, there are no additional symptoms. Most often this is the cause of overheating. Parents should pay attention to the amount of clothing the child is wearing and the ambient temperature.
There is a disease - a viral infection, the symptom of which in the first 3-5 days will only be an increase in temperature and nothing else. The child remains active, eats well and sleeps peacefully, does not experience a loss of strength, and is not capricious. The temperature appeared suddenly and returned to normal on its own; a few days later, on the day the temperature normalized, a red rash appeared on the child’s body. It does not cause discomfort to the child and goes away on its own after a few days. This disease is called sudden exanthema or roseola.
Roseola
Hyperthermia is one of the most common consequences of vaccination. The temperature rises especially significantly after DPT. It can last for three days and reach 38-39 degrees. You can help your child in this case with the help of children's forms of antipyretics. To help your baby cope with the formation of immunity, you should not overload him with food: feed only at the child’s request, and also give plenty of drink.
Body temperature in infants
In a newborn baby, body temperature may change, but the scale of changes should not be too high or too low. Maintaining stable regimes directly depends on various factors. In infants, the thermoregulation system is not established, so the child’s body clearly reacts to changes occurring around it (air fluctuations, weather outside or the atmosphere in the house). Pediatricians are confident that the normal temperature of a two-month-old child may not meet the standards (36.6 degrees), since the baby’s body is not yet able to maintain stable conditions, so the child often overheats or, conversely, becomes hypothermic.
There are special tables that determine what normal body temperature a baby can have. Such graphs indicate average values, but it is important to remember that each person’s body is individual, therefore the norms for the corresponding regimes in children may be different.
It is important for parents to always monitor the behavior and well-being of the baby; they need to know what body temperature is optimal for the child. An elevated body temperature in a child does not always indicate overheating of the body (as a result of wrapping); often a change in the body patterns of a 2-month-old child is a sign of a respiratory or infectious disease.
What temperature is considered normal? A baby who was born healthy (Apgar scores range from 5 to 10) should have a body temperature between 37 and 37.2 degrees.
What to consider as a cause for concern
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Seeing a doctor will not be a mistake for any increase in temperature, but there are cases in which consultation with a specialist is necessary under certain conditions for sure:
- If the body temperature does not decrease on the third day even by a small number of divisions.
- When on the fifth day the temperature did not return to normal or, on the contrary, increased.
- If parents are unable to give their child something to drink.
- When antipyretics do not bring relief.
The most important task of parents is to free the child’s body from food, especially heavy and fatty foods. The liver, overloaded with nutritional tasks, is unable to effectively fight the pathogen. Drinking plenty and often can save a child from the most dangerous result of fever - dehydration. It is precisely because of the danger of dehydration due to intestinal infections that children are placed in infectious diseases departments, where they use drips to help the body replenish fluid loss due to overheating and vomiting.
Signs of dehydration:
- there is no urge to urinate for a long time (dry diaper for more than three hours in a row);
- when the child cries, no tears appear;
- dry mouth;
- no effect, an hour after taking the antipyretic.
For any antipyretic drug to be effective, it needs to be absorbed into the blood. This will not happen if there is not enough fluid in the body. Drinking large amounts of compote, water, juice, fruit drink or herbal tea is the key to a successful and speedy recovery.
IV
When to use an antipyretic
An antipyretic is used regardless of the thermometer readings, when the child does not tolerate even the slightest increase in body temperature, which provokes a feverish state and convulsions. Also, an indication for the use of drugs is obvious hyperthermia - 39 degrees and above.
Attention! Under no circumstances should you rub the skin of a sick child with alcohol or vodka for antipyretic purposes. Sleep is absorbed into the blood through the skin, and the child can become alcohol intoxicated.
In other cases, an increase in the value from 37 to 38 degrees is left without drug treatment, allowing the body to independently produce interferon to fight the pathogen. This does not mean that nothing needs to be done; it is important to bring environmental indicators back to normal:
- the air in the room where a healthy child lives should not warm up more than +22 degrees Celsius, in a room with a sick child the temperature should be closer to +18;
- be sure to humidify the air in the room with an infant - comfortable hygrometer readings should be between 55% and 65%;
- The room should be ventilated several times a day;
- A sick child is not force-fed and is given plenty to drink.
Following these simple rules helps to keep the temperature of a 3-month-old child at normal levels more effectively than any antipyretic drug. The mentality of parents does not allow them to accept the fact that putting the room in order is not inaction, but the real and best help for a sick child with any disease.
How to help a child with hypothermia at home
As body temperature decreases, the baby may become lethargic, drowsy, or moody. To improve its condition, it is recommended to take the following actions:
- It is good to insulate the baby. Children's clothing, diapers and bed linen must be kept dry.
- The newborn should be offered breast milk. If the baby is over six months old, you need to give him warm tea, compote or water.
- Adjust the temperature in the room; it should be at least 25 degrees.
- Maintain a proper sleep schedule. Until one year of age, a child’s body needs sleep at least 14 hours a day.
- Reduce the baby's physical activity. Active movements can cause pain and disrupt the heart rhythm.
- Massage and rub the body. In this case, movements should be as gentle and slow as possible. Rubbing should be done using a washcloth made of natural fabric.
How to wash a newborn boy
If, after performing this set of measures, the body temperature stubbornly does not rise, then the reason is not banal hypothermia, and you need to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible.
Attention! Under no circumstances should you use a heating pad or similar device, as there is a high risk of burns on the baby’s delicate skin.
If the child is hypothermic, give warm drinks
