What is considered as a high fever?
Normal body temperature is between 36ºC (97ºF) and 38ºC (100ºF). A temperature above 39ºC (102°F) is considered a high fever.
Call your doctor immediately if:
- oral temperature of 38.3°C (101°F) for more than 24 hours;
- oral temperature remains raised after fever reducing medicine is given;
- any time the temperature exceeds 39°C (103°F) in children over 3 months;
- anytime an infant under 3 months has a fever (no matter how mild);
- fever that runs for more than 3 days (no matter how mild);
- behaviour that is unusually fussy, sleepy, cranky or quiet, especially if the child becomes unresponsive or hard to wake;
- abdominal pain for longer than 2 hours;
- any purple spots are present on the child’s skin;
- noisy or difficult breathing;
- if the child does not urinate (or the diaper is not wet) for 6 hours;
- convulsions (seizure, fit);
- inability to move or painful joints, or a stiff neck;
- any confusion or hallucinations;
- any time you feel uncomfortable about the way your child is looking or feeling.
A higher fever does not necessarily mean that a child is sicker. Some mild virus infections, such as roseola, may cause a very high temperature, while a serious hospital-acquired infection in a newborn baby may cause no fever, or a drop in temperature. Similarly, a rise in temperature during the course of a day does not necessarily mean that the infection is getting worse.
