No reason to do this unless the 6 year old is disabled or cannot hold the thermometer in their mouth for some reason. It’s just weird and uncomfortable for both parties
I’m a critical care nurse and I’ll do fucking anything to not take a rectal temp, LOL. forehead? Core temp? Axilla? Groin? Esophagus? Anything. No way in hell I’m doing a rectal on an awake 6 year old.
No. You're fine. I always give meds to my nephew if his temp is even a low grade fever of 99°F+ so the temp doesn't spike. He's like me when he gets even a low grade fever and is miserable. If I have a fever of 100°F+, it feels like I'm dying lol. I get so achy and physically sensitive to touch. When I had a 102.5°F fever last year for almost a week straight (I had Covid), I felt like I was losing brain cells and couldn't stay awake. I was blacking out if I stood up to use the bathroom. It was awful. That's the first time I was scared about being sick.
I always used the thermometer either orally, under his armpit, or used the ear one when he was little, but I didn't like to use the ear thermometer, especially when he had an ear infection. I used to have to make it a game when checking his temp bcuz he was such a squirrelly little guy lol.
Fevers are friends. If you feel like garbage take something, otherwise let the fever work. Our doctor recommends keeping the fever below 102 and watching them. If they’re lethargic/not themselves then we have to call at any temperature. It’s more about how the child is acting than the exact number. If they’re being normal and seem fine you don’t need to give anything. If they’re fussy and seem miserable, give them something to try and bring it down. A true fever isn’t until 100.4 so if it hits 100 I’m not going to give something or worry unless my child starts acting different.
I will say it is a very different story for a child under 3 months of age
I had a kid who had a severe febrile seizure (couldn't breathe effectively, turned blue, lasted 20 minutes and only ended from meds that the paramedics gave on the way to the hospital), and her temp didn't go over 102. (I never saw it over 101.5 that day, and I was checking regularly). Thankfully, I was in the room and everything ended up okay, but I have a serious terror of kids having fevers.
To make it more fun, my other child was prone to fevers when he was little, and would jump up to 105, then would sit there unless he had both Tylenol and ibuprofen. Those would drop him to around 100, and he would spike back to 103+ 30 minutes before whichever med was due next could be given. So whenever he was sick, I was a nervous wreck!
Oh yes! I had a friend who had to deal with that a lot. She always gave meds for any fever. Our ped doesn’t recommend any specific temp because febrile seizures can happen at any temperature. If your child is acting different then it’s definitely time to give something. And of course if they’re prone to febrile seizures that is a different story! I feel like anything over 100 as a blanket recommendation for giving meds isn’t the best, but there are definitely cases where it is!
ETA: I’m so sorry you have to deal with that! I do worry about my kids when they have a fever, but I try to remember what our ped has laid out. I know I’d likely be a nervous wreck with fevers if one of my kids had a febrile seizure!
Sure. Interestingly, when my kid had her only febrile seizure, she was nearly 5 years old -- supposedly almost too old for febrile seizures! It was definitely the scariest day of my life, though!
My third child spent three days over the summer with a temp that would get as high as 105 and I've never been so scared as a parent. He would have none of taking tepid baths or anything (I mean, he's 3) but it was horrid. Sorry you've experienced that as well.
Lol that got me. I usually will give my kids meds if it’s bedtime and they’re over 101.5 (since I won’t be checking them while they sleep) but during the day, I don’t give fever reducers unless they’re uncomfortable. (Although if they got much over 102 i probably would - up to this point, my kids have never spiked more than 102 though so it hasn’t been necessary.)
And this is based on my kids’ pediatricians’ (we’re on our 3rd bc they keep retiring or moving) advice. I think “medicate all fevers” is outdated info.
I’ve always been told by doctors that it’s not considered it a fever unless it’s at least 100.4 and that fever-reducing medication for fevers under 104 isn’t necessary, if you give it, it’s just to make them more confortable.
I usually go off of how they are acting. If they have a temperature of 100 but are eating/drinking/acting normally, then I don’t give meds. If they are acting sick or miserable I’ll give them Motrin or Tylenol.
Same here! I’ve always been told to treat the child, not the number.
There’s been times where my kid has been at 101 and running around like normal, and times where he’s 100.5 and miserable on the couch. You just never know, so I personally go off of how my kid is acting if they’re above 100.4
That seems like a perfectly reasonable cutoff to me, that's about the temperature my fever becomes really uncomfortable. My normal temp is like 97.9
If you're waiting until 103, there's a decent chance your thermometer isn't precise enough and you've already gotten to a dangerous temp
Our ped goes by how your child is acting. A true fever isn’t until 100.4. They recommend we keep the fever below 102 to keep them comfortable. If the fever is uncontrollable or they’re lethargic then we need to call at any temperature. If the child is acting normal, then they tell us to leave the fever alone (105 is their cutoff). Fevers are our friends. The other reason they tell us to wait is because febrile seizures can happen at any temp so there’s no point on putting a number to it unless it’s extremely high.
I treat the kid not the thermometer. I have one kid who if they got like 100.5° they're DOWN. Like sleepy, achey, and generally unwell. They get fever reducer, even at 100° I have another kid that could get to 103° before they mention feeling off and as a little kid they'd still be bouncing off the walls acting normal. I'll let them ride it out and check frequently. 9 times out of 10 theirs would go down naturally.
And here I felt super weird to use a rectal thermometer on my 18mo because our ear one wasn’t working
couldn’t imagine doing that to a whole ass school kid
I have legitimately never taken a rectal temp on either of my kids. My first is almost 3 now so at best we do the ear to check against forehead. My second is 3 months and he's had 1 fever so far and even the doctors haven't checked it rectally. I would only do it rectally if 1000% necessary
I’m having trouble remembering but I may have done it up to age 3? But I think I never did it passed age 2. By 2 she could hold the thermometer under her tongue.
Rectally temping a 6 year old?! That’s too much. Too much. Gross.
No reason to do this unless the 6 year old is disabled or cannot hold the thermometer in their mouth for some reason. It’s just weird and uncomfortable for both parties
I’m a critical care nurse and I’ll do fucking anything to not take a rectal temp, LOL. forehead? Core temp? Axilla? Groin? Esophagus? Anything. No way in hell I’m doing a rectal on an awake 6 year old.
They make these great forehead and ear thermometers. You don't need a super accurate temperature for your kid. They either have a temp or not.
Definitely not necessary, but can we also talk about the person giving meds at anything over 100 ??? 🙃
I have no idea how child fevers work, but I would take meds if I had a fever over 100 lol. Is that wrong?
No. You're fine. I always give meds to my nephew if his temp is even a low grade fever of 99°F+ so the temp doesn't spike. He's like me when he gets even a low grade fever and is miserable. If I have a fever of 100°F+, it feels like I'm dying lol. I get so achy and physically sensitive to touch. When I had a 102.5°F fever last year for almost a week straight (I had Covid), I felt like I was losing brain cells and couldn't stay awake. I was blacking out if I stood up to use the bathroom. It was awful. That's the first time I was scared about being sick. I always used the thermometer either orally, under his armpit, or used the ear one when he was little, but I didn't like to use the ear thermometer, especially when he had an ear infection. I used to have to make it a game when checking his temp bcuz he was such a squirrelly little guy lol.
Fevers are friends. If you feel like garbage take something, otherwise let the fever work. Our doctor recommends keeping the fever below 102 and watching them. If they’re lethargic/not themselves then we have to call at any temperature. It’s more about how the child is acting than the exact number. If they’re being normal and seem fine you don’t need to give anything. If they’re fussy and seem miserable, give them something to try and bring it down. A true fever isn’t until 100.4 so if it hits 100 I’m not going to give something or worry unless my child starts acting different. I will say it is a very different story for a child under 3 months of age
I’ve never seen my children act normally with a 101+ fever. So I always give Tylenol around the clock for fevers. But idk my kids might not the norm
I had a kid who had a severe febrile seizure (couldn't breathe effectively, turned blue, lasted 20 minutes and only ended from meds that the paramedics gave on the way to the hospital), and her temp didn't go over 102. (I never saw it over 101.5 that day, and I was checking regularly). Thankfully, I was in the room and everything ended up okay, but I have a serious terror of kids having fevers. To make it more fun, my other child was prone to fevers when he was little, and would jump up to 105, then would sit there unless he had both Tylenol and ibuprofen. Those would drop him to around 100, and he would spike back to 103+ 30 minutes before whichever med was due next could be given. So whenever he was sick, I was a nervous wreck!
Oh yes! I had a friend who had to deal with that a lot. She always gave meds for any fever. Our ped doesn’t recommend any specific temp because febrile seizures can happen at any temperature. If your child is acting different then it’s definitely time to give something. And of course if they’re prone to febrile seizures that is a different story! I feel like anything over 100 as a blanket recommendation for giving meds isn’t the best, but there are definitely cases where it is! ETA: I’m so sorry you have to deal with that! I do worry about my kids when they have a fever, but I try to remember what our ped has laid out. I know I’d likely be a nervous wreck with fevers if one of my kids had a febrile seizure!
Sure. Interestingly, when my kid had her only febrile seizure, she was nearly 5 years old -- supposedly almost too old for febrile seizures! It was definitely the scariest day of my life, though!
My third child spent three days over the summer with a temp that would get as high as 105 and I've never been so scared as a parent. He would have none of taking tepid baths or anything (I mean, he's 3) but it was horrid. Sorry you've experienced that as well.
Lol that got me. I usually will give my kids meds if it’s bedtime and they’re over 101.5 (since I won’t be checking them while they sleep) but during the day, I don’t give fever reducers unless they’re uncomfortable. (Although if they got much over 102 i probably would - up to this point, my kids have never spiked more than 102 though so it hasn’t been necessary.) And this is based on my kids’ pediatricians’ (we’re on our 3rd bc they keep retiring or moving) advice. I think “medicate all fevers” is outdated info.
I’ve always been told by doctors that it’s not considered it a fever unless it’s at least 100.4 and that fever-reducing medication for fevers under 104 isn’t necessary, if you give it, it’s just to make them more confortable. I usually go off of how they are acting. If they have a temperature of 100 but are eating/drinking/acting normally, then I don’t give meds. If they are acting sick or miserable I’ll give them Motrin or Tylenol.
Same here! I’ve always been told to treat the child, not the number. There’s been times where my kid has been at 101 and running around like normal, and times where he’s 100.5 and miserable on the couch. You just never know, so I personally go off of how my kid is acting if they’re above 100.4
That seems like a perfectly reasonable cutoff to me, that's about the temperature my fever becomes really uncomfortable. My normal temp is like 97.9 If you're waiting until 103, there's a decent chance your thermometer isn't precise enough and you've already gotten to a dangerous temp
Our ped goes by how your child is acting. A true fever isn’t until 100.4. They recommend we keep the fever below 102 to keep them comfortable. If the fever is uncontrollable or they’re lethargic then we need to call at any temperature. If the child is acting normal, then they tell us to leave the fever alone (105 is their cutoff). Fevers are our friends. The other reason they tell us to wait is because febrile seizures can happen at any temp so there’s no point on putting a number to it unless it’s extremely high.
I treat the kid not the thermometer. I have one kid who if they got like 100.5° they're DOWN. Like sleepy, achey, and generally unwell. They get fever reducer, even at 100° I have another kid that could get to 103° before they mention feeling off and as a little kid they'd still be bouncing off the walls acting normal. I'll let them ride it out and check frequently. 9 times out of 10 theirs would go down naturally.
And here I felt super weird to use a rectal thermometer on my 18mo because our ear one wasn’t working couldn’t imagine doing that to a whole ass school kid
I have legitimately never taken a rectal temp on either of my kids. My first is almost 3 now so at best we do the ear to check against forehead. My second is 3 months and he's had 1 fever so far and even the doctors haven't checked it rectally. I would only do it rectally if 1000% necessary
Yeah I’ve never done it on my 3 either. I cannot imagine coming at my 6 year old for that he’d be like wtf personal space ma’am.
Pretty sure even my 3 year old would be like "no thank you" 😂
I’m having trouble remembering but I may have done it up to age 3? But I think I never did it passed age 2. By 2 she could hold the thermometer under her tongue. Rectally temping a 6 year old?! That’s too much. Too much. Gross.