35% of parents unnecessarily give fever-reducing medicine to children

About one-third of parents may unnecessarily provide fever-reducing medication for their children, according to results of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

Susan Woolford, MD, a pediatrician and co-director of the Mott Poll, said in a press release that parents often worry about their children having fevers and want to do everything in their power to help reduce their temperatures. But, she said, “they may not be aware that, in general, the main reason to treat a fever is just to keep their child comfortable.”

“Some parents may immediately rush to give their kids medicine but it’s often better to let the fever run its course,” she said in the release. “Lowering a child’s temperature doesn’t typically help cure their illness any faster. In fact, a low-grade fever helps fight off the infection. There’s also the risk of giving too much medication when it's not needed, which can have side effects.”

In the survey of 1,376 parents of children aged 12 years and younger, the vast majority — 89% — agreed that a low-grade fever helps fight off infections, according to the report.

Additionally, 65% reported being very confident in their ability to know when their child needs fever-reducing medicine. However, the thresholds for the temperature at which they would give the medication varied:

• 35% said below 100.4° F;
• 50% said between 100.4°F and 101.9°F; and
• 15% said 102°F or higher.

Although child health experts usually define fever as a temperature at or above 100.4°F, according to the report, “if the child is otherwise doing well, this level of elevated temperature does not require fever-reducing medication. “

After providing the medication, 26% of parents said they typically gave another dose to prevent the fever from returning.

“A quarter of parents would give their child more medicine to prevent a fever from returning even though it doesn’t help them get better,” Woolford said.

If their child is not experiencing other symptoms, she said that “parents may consider monitoring them and using alternative interventions to help keep them comfortable.”

Parents of newborns or infants aged younger than 3 months are advised to seek out a health professional immediately if their child has a fever, according to the release. For parents of children aged 4 to 12 months, the release said they should contact the child’s physician “if a fever is accompanied by signs such as decreased activity, increased fussiness, or decreased urine output.”

Also, a fever that hits 104°F or persists for an extended period of time — more than 24 hours for children aged younger than 2 years and more than 3 days for those older than 2 years — “should prompt contact with the provider, as should symptoms like a stiff neck, difficulty swallowing/drooling, vomiting or being very drowsy,” the release said.

References:

• New from the Mott Poll: 1 in 3 parents may unnecessarily give children fever-reducing medicine. https://chear.org/news-publications/2023-02-20/mott-poll-fevers. Published Feb. 20, 2023. Accessed Feb. 23, 2023.
• Mott Poll report: figuring out fever in children. https://mottpoll.org/sites/default/files/documents/022023_Fever.pdf. Published Feb. 20, 2023. Accessed Feb. 23, 2023.