When do I need to call the doctor about my child's fever?
I would call the doctor if your child has a fever in the following instances. First of all, for any child under two months of age a parent should call their doctor for any temperature of 1.4 or higher. In those first couple of months it's really imperative that any child with fever is looked at. In older children, you should call the doctor if your child has a fever that is not responding to Tylenol or Motrin or that lasts more than 72 hours, or when your child has other symptoms that concern you; they are inconsolable, they are not eating or staying hydrated. Remember, when your child has a fever, I know they're going to look bad. So when your child has a fever, everything goes out the window. Their eyes are going to be rolled behind the back of their head, they're going to be really tired and lethargic, they're not going to eat well. You can't judge at that point in time. You need to treat the fever and then see what they look like when their fever goes away. If they look better when the fever goes away, that tells you you're on the right step and you're doing everything right. When the fever isn't responding, or it's prolonged, that's when it becomes a concern.
