For every parent, a child's health is the foremost concern. Yet, navigating the right course of action when a child falls sick can be confusing, often leading to well-intentioned but harmful decisions. A recent incident highlighted by a leading pediatrician underscores this very challenge, revealing common parental errors that can inadvertently escalate a child's condition.
A Revealing Hospital Incident
Dr Deepa Aggarwal, a child specialist, recently shared a telling incident from her hospital on Instagram. She described how a couple arrived with their child who was suffering from a high fever. Upon examination, Dr Aggarwal discovered two critical mistakes the parents had made. First, they had deliberately not given any fever medicine, wanting to consult the doctor first to understand the cause. Second, they withheld medication because the child had an empty stomach, having not eaten since morning.
"Because of these three reasons, the child’s fever could become very high," Dr Aggarwal explained, pointing to the delay and the empty stomach as key factors.
Why Waiting for the Doctor is a Mistake
Dr Aggarwal's advice is clear and direct for such situations. If a child has a fever, do not wait to show them to a doctor. She emphasizes that administering age-appropriate fever medicine before reaching the doctor is the safer choice. This is because a fever can spike rapidly during the travel or wait time, making it significantly harder to control later.
"Giving fever medicine without first showing the child to a doctor is better," she states, "because by the time you reach the doctor, the fever can increase further and become harder to bring down."
Practical Comfort Tips and Dosing Dangers
Beyond medication, Dr Aggarwal offers simple comfort measures. She recommends dressing the child in thin, light layers of clothing instead of bundling them up. Holding the child close provides body warmth that helps them feel comfortable and prevents chills. "Sometimes body warmth and calm parenting work better than layers of blankets," she concluded.
The pediatrician also addressed a daily occurrence in her practice: the issue of incorrect dosing. Using old prescriptions or under-dosing medicine is a prevalent problem, especially with school-going children. When medicine is under-dosed, it fails to work, leading parents to believe the treatment has failed when the real issue is an incorrect dose.
"This is a mistake pediatricians see every single day," she said, reminding parents that proper, weight-appropriate dosing is crucial for effective fever control. Good intentions, when mixed with common myths, can unfortunately lead to a higher, more distressing fever for the child.
