Febrile Illness with Uncertain Cause (Child)

Home care

• Keep clothing to a minimum because excess body heat needs to be lost through the skin. The fever will increase if you dress your child in extra layers or wrap your child in blankets.

• Fever increases water loss from the body. For infants under 1 year old, continue regular feedings (formula or breastmilk). For children 1 year or older, give plenty of fluids, such as water, juice, soft drinks, such as ginger ale or lemonade, or ice pops. To prevent dehydration, you may be told to replace lost body fluids with oral rehydration solution. You can get this at pharmacies and most grocery stores without a prescription. Ask your child's healthcare provider about what is safe to give to your child.

• If your child doesn’t want to eat solid foods, it’s OK for a few days, as long as they drink lots of fluids.

• Keep children with fever at home resting or playing quietly. Encourage frequent naps. Your child may return to daycare or school when the fever is gone for 24 hours, and they are eating well and feeling better. Follow any other directions from your child's healthcare provider, daycare, or school on when it is OK to return to daycare or school.

• Keep track of how your child is acting and feeling. If they are active and alert, and are eating and drinking, there is no need to give fever medicine.

• If your child becomes less and less active and looks and acts sick, and their temperature is 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher, you may give acetaminophen. In infants 6 months or older, you may use ibuprofen instead of acetaminophen. Follow directions from your child’s healthcare provider on how to dose these medicines. Talk with the healthcare provider before using these medicines if your child has chronic liver or kidney disease. Also talk with the provide if your child has ever had a stomach ulcer or digestive bleeding. Never give aspirin to anyone under age 19. It can put your child at risk for Reye syndrome. This is a rare but serious disorder that most often affects the brain and the liver. 

• Don't wake your child to give fever medicine. Your child needs sleep to get better.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your child's healthcare provider, or as advised. If blood or urine tests were done, call as advised for the results.

When to get medical advice

Call the provider right away if any of the following occur: 

• Fever, as directed by your child's healthcare provider

• Your baby is fussy or cries and can't be soothed.

• Your child has an earache, sinus pain, stiff or painful neck, or headache.

• Your child has belly pain or pain that is increasing or not getting better.

• Your child has repeated diarrhea or vomiting.

• Your child shows unusual fussiness, drowsiness or confusion, weakness, or dizziness

• Your child has a rash or purple spots.

• Your child shows signs of dehydration, including:

  • Unable to take in fluids

  • No tears when crying

  • Sunken eyes or dry mouth

  • No wet diapers for 4 to 6 hours in babies and young children

  • Reduced urine output in older children

• Your child feels a burning sensation when urinating

• Your child is breathing faster than normal

• Your child is still acting sick after the fever has gone down

• Your child has any underlying medical problems that may cause them to have a weakened immune system

• Your child has on-and-off fevers for more than 5 to 7 days even if there are no other symptoms

• Your child has any other worrisome signs or symptoms

Call 911

Call 911 if any of the following occur:

• Your child is having trouble breathing, has blue lips, tongue, or nails, or appears extremely pale

• Your child has a seizure

• Your child has loss of consciousness, or is difficult to wake up