If my baby has a fever, is it "heat stroke" or "cold"? How to tell the difference?

The summer is hot, and many places have entered "stove" mode. Babies may have fever due to heatstroke. For parents, it is difficult to distinguish whether it is heatstroke or a cold? Today we will talk about:

As the weather gets hotter, babies who are active by nature and have poor body temperature regulation ability are prone to heatstroke. Fever is also a common symptom in babies.

Fever is not a disease, it is just a symptom caused by the disease. When the body faces the invasion of bacteria or viruses, our body’s physiological response to fight against infection can prevent the growth and reproduction of bacteria and viruses. Commonly seen in acute upper respiratory tract infections, also known as colds. Many parents easily confuse their babies with heat stroke and cold and fever, because both have symptoms of body fever.

First, is it heat stroke or fever?

In fact, the pathophysiological processes of the human body are different during heatstroke and fever.

Heat stroke refers to a thermal injury disease caused by excessive loss of water and electrolytes and failure of heat dissipation in high-temperature environments. It is mainly caused by excessive heat production and insufficient heat dissipation, and the failure of the body temperature regulation center.

Fever involves the body temperature set point hypothesis. Warm-blooded animals have a certain body temperature set point value (37°C). If the body temperature deviates from this value, it will be fed back to the body temperature regulation center to adjust heat dissipation accordingly. Or produce heat to maintain a constant body temperature. When a pathogen invades, the body will launch an immune response to eliminate the pathogen. During this period, some pyrogens will be produced, which will raise the body temperature set point (such as 39°C) and cause fever symptoms.

Second, the baby’s body temperature will rise both for heat stroke and cold and fever. So, are there any other symptoms that can distinguish between “heat stroke” and “cold and fever”?

Symptoms of heat stroke:

Common cold and fever are divided into common cold (abbreviation: cold) fever and influenza (abbreviation: flu) fever. The main symptoms of a cold are sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, accompanied by fever, while the most common symptoms of the flu are fever, in addition to sore throat, headache, cough, muscle pain or body aches, fatigue and weakness. In addition, it is necessary to judge whether the baby has the possibility of serious disease (such as bronchopneumonia, epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, etc.) based on the skin status (normal or pale), behavioral status (normal or uncomfortable), breathing status (normal or rapid), etc.

3. How to scientifically deal with different fevers?

Rapid and effective cooling is a first-aid measure to treat heat stroke;

First of all, the baby should be placed in a cool and ventilated place immediately. If conditions permit, the baby can also be transferred to an air-conditioned room. Use warm water and then a cold water towel to bathe the whole body. For older children with good health, you can also use well water, ice water or 35% ethanol soaked towels to bathe, and constantly massage the limbs to prevent poor peripheral circulation. Use a fan to blow air and apply air to the head and forehead during bathing. , Place ice packs on both sides of the neck, armpits and groin. You should observe whether the baby has a chilling reaction and do not force it too quickly or too hard.

In addition, it should be noted that it is generally recommended to use antipyretics with caution when babies have heatstroke. Because the mechanisms of heatstroke and fever are different, the use of antipyretics cannot achieve the purpose of reducing fever. Blindly giving antipyretics to children will cause the body temperature to drop, but it does not mean that the disease has been completely cured. Therefore, when your baby has a fever, you should first go to the hospital to check the cause of the fever and treat the cause.

Fourth, you still need to do the following after the fever subsides:

The reduction of the baby's fever does not mean that the disease has been cured, so you need to pay attention to the baby's status through the following measures to ensure that the baby recovers.