Why Do Fevers Occur at Night but Not During the Day?
Children are prone to fever, which is related to their weak physical resistance. It is very important to take timely measures to reduce fever after a child has a fever, and regularly measure the child's body temperature. Some parents find it strange that their child does not have a fever during the day, but the body temperature rises at night. In this case, parents are undoubtedly concerned about the reasons. So, why does a baby have fever at night but not during the day? Let's take a look below.
1. Babies are more active during the day, and they constantly replenish water to maintain normal metabolism. In addition, their nervous system is more excited during the day. However, at night, the whole body is in a low-operating state, and the body lacks water, resulting in insufficient immunity to resist bacteria in the body. Therefore, babies tend to have more severe fever at night than during the day.
2. During the day, babies are constantly playing, and parents may overlook their body temperature. Generally, the body temperature in the afternoon is higher than in the morning, but babies do not pretend to be sick. As long as the fever is not too severe, they will appear more lively. However, at night, due to the blanket, the baby's body temperature continues to rise.
3. Another reason is that many parents give their babies high-calorie foods at night. These foods cannot be digested by the baby's stomach in time, and a large amount of heat energy will be generated. Since the baby does not move at night, they cannot dissipate this heat energy in time, which may cause fever.
1. Covering up to induce sweating may cause convulsions in babies. The saying that "sweating can reduce fever" is actually not medically supported. Sweating is a natural process during fever recovery, and it will occur even without covering up. Moreover, covering up is not conducive to heat dissipation and may lead to a further increase in body temperature, which may even cause convulsions in babies due to excessively high body temperature.
2. Ice packs are neither comfortable nor effective for reducing fever. All physical cooling methods, including ice packs, warm water baths, and fever patches, are mainly aimed at making the baby feel more comfortable. However, they only temporarily reduce the temperature of the skin surface and do not truly lower the body temperature. In fact, ice packs are not recommended because they can cause shivering and may even lead to a rise in body temperature again. Prolonged contact with ice can also cause frostbite to the baby's skin.
3. Rubbing alcohol on the body may lead to alcohol poisoning in babies. Alcohol has a strong volatile property and is not effective for reducing fever for a long time. More importantly, babies' skin is delicate and easily irritated by alcohol. During a fever, the absorption of alcohol through the skin may increase, which may lead to alcohol poisoning.
4. Recommended methods for physical cooling: So, how can parents safely and comfortably reduce their baby's fever through physical methods? Here are some suggestions:
