8 yrs, 6 mths ago

Body temperature

when I was 4 I went to hospital with a body temperature of 42c (which I am told is quite high). I know that the average adult (oral) body temperature is 37c and the maximum is 47c, but what is the maximum for a child? Is it 47c too?

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Replies

  • 8 yrs, 6 mths ago

    With kids it’s even more serious, and I don’t even have kids. This comes from having a lot (and I mean a lot) of nieces, nephews and godchildren. So, when they spike a fever of two or more degrees, they can’t defend themselves, and you have to advocate for them. If it doesn’t regulate or decrease with Panadol and cool baths (etc.) at home, then you need to get them to either the doctor or the emergency room asap.

  • 8 yrs, 6 mths ago

    It may not seem like a lot but even 1-2 degrees already is serious…

  • 8 yrs, 6 mths ago

    Where did you read that the maximum is 47 degrees as someone would be dead way before that! Fevers of over 41 are generally fatal.

  • 8 yrs, 6 mths ago

    Hi Alycia

    When I had a serious infection recently I was told that I needed to get to emergency if I hit 38.5 so 42 is definitely high! For children I believe they’re even more conservative in when they recommend getting medical advice.

    I’m not sure if you’re just asking for curiosity or not but I would say if you have a child with a fever that you’re not sure about I would recommend giving the afterhours GP Help Line a call which is free. I’ve used it before and they saved me a trip to the hospital post-surgery and my friends with young children call it quite a bit. They will assess the risk on the phone and let you know what to do. Depending on the situation they either just put you in touch with a registered nurse or may direct your call to a GP.

    You can reach them on 1800 022 222 and there’s more info here – http://www.healthdirect.gov.au/after-hours-gp-helpline

    They also have some resources to read up on about this kind of thing that are much more informative than I could possibly be –
    http://www.healthdirect.gov.au/fever

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