What is the normal body temperature for babies?
The normal body temperature of a baby is around 36.5℃. Due to changes in clothing, the body temperature may sometimes rise or fall a bit. When a baby's body temperature becomes abnormal and they cry, parents should be alert as it may be caused by an illness. General low fever can be treated with physical cooling, but if the temperature is relatively high, the baby should be taken to the hospital's emergency department for examination and treatment. During this time, do not wrap the baby in a blanket to induce sweating, as it can easily lead to febrile convulsions.
The normal axillary temperature of a baby is 36℃-37℃, and the rectal temperature (also known as anal temperature) is normally 36.5℃-37.5℃. The oral temperature (also known as sublingual temperature) is generally 0.2℃-0.5℃ higher than the axillary temperature.
1. For body temperatures below 38.5℃, physical cooling is the best choice. For example, encourage the baby to drink more water and wear fewer clothes to allow the skin to dissipate heat through conduction, convection, and radiation with the air, thus achieving the purpose of cooling. However, when a child has a fever accompanied by chills, do not rush to use physical cooling to avoid increasing the child's discomfort.
2. When the body temperature is higher than 38.5℃, ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used to reduce the fever.
3. For infants and young children (especially those under 6 months old), fever often indicates a serious infection. When a child has a high fever, parents should immediately take them to see a doctor.
