Low-grade fever in a child: causes and diagnosis. Causes of low-grade fever Low-grade fever in infants

A high temperature indicates the presence of a disease. But it happens that the temperature is elevated, but other symptoms are not observed. In this case, doctors use the concept of “low-grade fever.” This condition is often observed in children. What are the causes of low-grade fever and does the child require treatment? This is what we will talk about.

Signs of low-grade fever in children

Low-grade fever is a condition in which elevated temperature holds on long time and can reach 38.3˚С, and obvious signs there are no diseases.

Against the background of elevated temperature, the following symptoms may be observed:

weakness;
lethargy;
decreased appetite;
excessive sweating;
increased heart rate and breathing;
regurgitation (in babies);
sleep disorders;
increased nervousness.

Typically, low-grade fever is in the range of 37−38.3˚C and lasts for two weeks or more

Most often, long-term low-grade fever occurs in children aged 7–15 years.

Features of the temperature regime in a child

In an adult normal indicator body temperature, as you probably know, is 36.6˚C. For a child, it may be lower or higher, and also change throughout the day. In infants, an increase in temperature is observed during feeding or with various concerns. Thus, if it reaches 37.5˚C, this does not always indicate the presence of any disease.

There are a number of factors that influence physiological changes baby's body temperature:

circadian rhythms - maximum rate observed in the afternoon, minimal – at night;
age - the younger the child, the more pronounced the temperature fluctuations, which occurs as a result of intense metabolism;
conditions environment– in the hot season, the child’s body temperature may also increase;
physical activity and anxiety contribute to an increase in this indicator.

Parents should measure their child's temperature in the morning, afternoon and evening for two weeks and record the results in a notebook.

In full-term newborns, there are no daily temperature fluctuations and appear closer to one month of age.

The main causes of low-grade fever

Low-grade fever may indicate a malfunction in the child’s body. Sometimes she talks about having hidden diseases. In order to promptly treat them, it is necessary to find out the reason that led to low-grade fever.

Infectious diseases

Prolonged fever in children can be caused by the following diseases:

pulmonary tuberculosis (also accompanied by general weakness, loss of appetite, fatigue, increased sweating, lingering cough, emaciation);
focal infections (sinusitis, cholecystitis, tonsillitis, dental problems and others);
brucellosis, giardiasis, toxoplasmosis;
helminthiasis.

Non-communicable diseases

Among the diseases there are no infectious nature that lead to prolonged low-grade fever include autoimmune disorders, blood diseases. Sometimes the cause of a prolonged increase in body temperature is malignant tumors. IN childhood oncological diseases They are rare, but sometimes they affect the child’s body. Also, the causes that cause low-grade fever include rheumatic diseases, Iron-deficiency anemia, allergies. Endocrine diseases also contribute to a prolonged increase in body temperature. As you know, everything biological processes pass with the release of heat. The thermoregulatory mechanism helps maintain normal temperature bodies. If the functioning of the adrenal glands is disrupted, a spasm of the superficial vessels of the extremities is observed. This prevents the body from releasing excess heat. As a result, the body temperature rises, and the child's feet and hands may remain cold.

With infectious low-grade fever, physiological daily fluctuations in temperature persist; it is poorly tolerated and goes astray after taking antipyretics. If the cause is a non-infectious disease, daily temperature fluctuations are not observed or are changed, antipyretics do not help.

Consequences of viral diseases

After a viral illness (influenza or ARVI), a “temperature tail” may remain. In this case, the low-grade fever is benign, no changes are observed in the tests, and the condition returns to normal within two months.

In the last century, doctors conducted studies in which the temperature of children from 7 to 15 years old was measured in two educational institutions. It turned out to be elevated in 20% of students. At the same time, signs respiratory disease were absent.

Psychogenic disorders

Suspicious, withdrawn, irritable and unsociable children have a high likelihood of developing long-term low-grade fever. Therefore, it is recommended to treat such a child more carefully. Under no circumstances should you shout, ridicule or shame him. It is very easy for vulnerable children to be emotionally traumatized. Also, the cause of low-grade fever can be mental stress. This may happen while waiting for some important event, delivering the experience.

Examination methods

To determine subfebrile condition in a child, it is required daily monitoring temperature. It must be measured every 3–4 hours, including during sleep. The diseases that cause this reaction are varied. To accurately install them, it is necessary to carry out comprehensive examination.

It is important to conduct a comprehensive examination, since undiagnosed subfebrile condition in a timely manner can pose a serious threat to the child

General examination and tests

First, the doctor must conduct general examination child to assess his condition. Needs to be researched The lymph nodes, stomach, listen to sounds in the heart and lungs. Also need to be examined skin, mucous membranes, joints, mammary glands, ENT organs.

Laboratory examination methods include:

general analysis of urine and blood;
sputum examination;
biochemical, serological analysis blood;
examination of spinal cord fluid.

Comprehensive clinical and laboratory diagnostics are prescribed to exclude hidden disease.

Instrumental examination methods

Children with elevated body temperature that persists for a long time, the following procedures are prescribed:

radiography;
echocardiography;
computed tomography.

An X-ray examination is carried out if there is a suspicion of diseases of the ENT organs or respiratory tract. In such cases, an x-ray of the lungs and paranasal sinuses is prescribed. The causes of prolonged low-grade fever can be autoimmune diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct rheumatological tests.

Aspirin test

In older children, an aspirin test is performed to identify the cause of low-grade fever. It is prescribed to diagnose a possible inflammatory process, as well as neurological disease. Its essence is to record the temperature after taking aspirin according to the established scheme. First, the child must take half the tablet, and after half an hour his temperature is measured. If it has decreased, an inflammatory process occurs in the body. When the temperature remains unchanged, this means that the cause is a non-infectious disorder.

Consultations with specialists and examinations of parents

If you have a low-grade fever, it is recommended to consult with the following specialists:

a gynecologist (for girls, pelvic examinations are performed);
hematologist (to exclude oncological diseases of the lymphatic tissue and hematopoietic system);
a neurologist (to rule out meningitis);
oncologist (search for focal pathology);
rheumatologist (detection of articular syndromes);
infectious disease specialist (to exclude an infectious process);
phthisiatrician (testing for tuberculosis).

In addition, it is necessary to examine the child’s parents, as well as other family members. This is necessary to detect possible outbreaks hidden infection, which supports low-grade fever.

Parents must approach the examination of their child with full responsibility. It is necessary to carry out comprehensive diagnostics so that the doctor can prescribe effective treatment.

Is treatment required?

The first question parents of a child with a low-grade fever ask is whether treatment is necessary. Is therapy required for long-term low-grade fever? There can be only one answer in this case: treatment is necessary. As is known, a constantly elevated temperature does not in the best possible way affects the functioning of the child’s body, undermining its defenses.

Treatment of low-grade fever in a child consists of eliminating the cause that led to this condition. If an increase in temperature is caused by non-infectious diseases, drugs are used whose action is aimed at getting rid of these diseases. When eliminating functional disorders of the central nervous system, causing a violation of heat exchange, hypnotherapy and acupuncture are used. Glutamic acid can also be used.

If the presence of infectious diseases, all actions are aimed at eliminating the infection. In the presence of inflammation, it is necessary to carry out complex treatment with the help of anti-inflammatory drugs. If the cause of low-grade fever in a child is a previous viral disease, therapy is not required, since the condition returns to normal on its own after some time.

The task of parents is to create the right regime for the child. There is no need to cancel school attendance. You just need to warn teachers that a child with a high temperature may get tired faster. It is advisable for children with low-grade fever to spend a lot of time on fresh air, sit less near the TV. It is useful to carry out hardening procedures.

Parents need to remember that it is not the temperature that needs to be treated, but its cause. To identify a violation, you should definitely show your child to a doctor. The prognosis for low-grade fever in children is good. Correct treatment, as well as a daily routine, quickly normalizes the temperature. Few people remain low-grade fever into adulthood.

is a temperature at 37-37.5°C for a long time. In this case, a person may completely lack symptoms of any disease, or may experience malaise. We talk about low-grade fever not when isolated cases of increased temperature are recorded: this may be due to individual characteristics the body and the factors described above, and if low-grade fever is recorded in the temperature curve with measurements taken over many days in a row.

A true fever is considered to be a temperature above 38.3 degrees. This temperature is accompanied by very specific symptoms that correspond to a very specific disease. But long-term low-grade fever is often the only sign; to find out the cause of which you will have to run to the doctors.

Normal temperature human body The recognized temperature is 36.6 °C, although for many people the normal temperature is 37 °C. This is the temperature observed at healthy body: child or adult, male or female - it doesn’t matter. This is not a stable, static, unchanging temperature; during the day it fluctuates in both directions depending on overheating, hypothermia, stress, time of day and biological rhythms. Therefore, temperature readings from 35.5 to 37.4 °C are considered the normal range.

Body temperature is regulated endocrine glands — thyroid and hypothalamus. Receptors nerve cells The hypothalamus responds to body temperature by changing the secretion of TSH, which regulates the activity of the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormones T3 and T4 regulate the intensity of metabolism, on which temperature depends. In women, the hormone estradiol is involved in temperature regulation. As its level increases, it decreases basal temperature- this process depends on menstrual cycle. In women, body temperature changes by 0.3-0.5 °C during the menstrual cycle. The most high performance up to 38 degrees are observed between 15 and 25 days of the standard menstrual cycle of 28 days.

Except hormonal levels Temperature readings are slightly affected by:

physical exercise;
eating;
in children: strong prolonged crying and active games;
time of day: in the morning the temperature is usually lower (the highest low temperature observed between 4-6 am), and reaches a maximum in the evening (from 18 to 24 am - the period of maximum temperature);
Old people's temperature drops.

Physiological fluctuations in thermometry during the day within the range of 0.5-1 degrees are considered normal.

Low-grade fever does not apply to normal state body and therefore the main question that is posed to the doctor is to identify the causes of the pathology. If the patient has recently been ill and has been treated for a long time, it is believed that the increase in temperature is associated with the healing process. If there was nothing like that, then you have to look for the dysfunction that caused this symptom. To more accurately identify pathology, it is recommended to draw up a temperature curve, analyze your state of health, and perform laboratory diagnostics.

Diseases characterized by low-grade fever

Infectious causes of diseases

Infections are the most common reason low-grade fever. With the long-term existence of the disease, the symptoms usually disappear and only a low-grade fever remains. The main causes of infectious low-grade fever are:

ENT diseases - sinusitis, tonsillitis, otitis media, pharyngitis, etc.
Dental diseases and carious teeth including.
Gastrointestinal diseases - gastritis, pancreatitis, colitis, cholecystitis, etc.
Diseases urinary tract- pyelonephritis, cystitis, urethritis, etc.
Diseases of the genital organs - inflammation of the appendages and prostatitis.
Abscesses from injections.
Non-healing ulcers of patients with diabetes mellitus.

Autoimmune diseases

In autoimmune diseases, the body's immune system begins to attack its own cells, which causes chronic inflammation with periods of exacerbation. For this reason, body temperature also changes. The most common autoimmune pathologies:

rheumatoid arthritis;
systemic lupus erythematosus;
Hashimoto's thyroiditis;
Crohn's disease;
diffuse toxic goiter.

To identify autoimmune diseases tests are prescribed for ESR, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor and some other examinations.

Oncological diseases

In malignant tumors, low-grade fever may be early manifestation disease, 6 to 8 months ahead of its symptoms. The formation of immune complexes that trigger an immune reaction plays a role in the development of low-grade fever. However, an early increase in temperature is associated with the onset of tumor tissue production of a specific protein. This protein is found in blood, urine and tumor tissue. If the tumor has not yet manifested itself, diagnostic value has a combination of low-grade fever with specific changes in the blood. Low-grade fever often accompanies chronic myeloid leukemia, lymphocytic leukemia, lymphoma, lymphosarcoma.

Other diseases

Other diseases can cause low-grade fever:

autonomic dysfunction: disruption of the heart and cardiovascular system;
dysfunction endocrine glands: hyperthyroidism and thyrotoxicosis (detected by ultrasound thyroid gland and a blood test for hormones T3, T4, TSH, antibodies to TSH);
hormonal disorders;
hidden infection: Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus infection, herpetic infection;
HIV infection (detected by ELISA and PCR);
helminthiasis (detected by stool analysis for worm eggs);
toxoplasmosis (detected by ELISA);
brucellosis (detected by PCR);
tuberculosis (detected by Mantoux tests and fluorography);
hepatitis (detected by ELISA and PCR);
Iron-deficiency anemia;
allergic reactions;
thermoneurosis.

Infectious low-grade fever is characterized by:

reduction in temperature under the influence of an antipyretic;
poor temperature tolerance;
daily physiological temperature fluctuations.

Non-infectious low-grade fever is characterized by:

unnoticed leakage;
lack of response to antipyretics;
no daily changes.

Safe low-grade fever

Low-grade fever is completely safe during pregnancy, menopause and breastfeeding, which is simply a symptom of hormonal changes.
A fever tail may persist for up to two months or even six months after infectious diseases.
Neurosis and stress may well cause the temperature to rise in the evenings. In this case, low-grade fever will be accompanied by a feeling chronic fatigue and general weakness.

Psychogenic low-grade fever

Low-grade fever, like any other processes in the body, is influenced by the psyche. During stress and neuroses, the first thing that is disrupted is metabolic processes. Therefore, women often experience unmotivated low-grade fever. Stress and neuroses provoke a rise in temperature, and excessive suggestibility (for example, about a disease) can influence the actual rise in temperature. In young women of the asthenic type, prone to frequent headaches and VSD, hyperthermia is accompanied by insomnia, weakness, shortness of breath, chest and abdominal pain.

To diagnose the condition, tests are prescribed to assess psychological stability:

tests to detect panic attacks;
depression and anxiety scale;
Beck scale;
scale of emotional excitability,
Toronto Alexithymic Scale.

Based on the results of the tests, the patient is given a referral to a psychotherapist.

Drug-induced low-grade fever

Long-term use of some medicines can also cause low-grade fever: adrenaline, ephedrine, atropine, antidepressants, antihistamines, neuroleptics, some antibiotics (ampicillin, penicillin, isoniazid, lincomycin), chemotherapy, narcotic painkillers, thyroxine preparations. Canceling therapy also relieves obsessive low-grade fever.

Low-grade fever in children

Of course, any parent will begin to worry if his child has a fever every day in the evening. And this is correct, because in children, an increase in temperature in some cases is the only symptom of the disease. The norm for low-grade fever in children is:

age up to one year (reaction to BCG vaccine or unsteady thermoregulation processes);
the period of teething, when elevated temperature can be observed for several months;
in children from 8 to 14 years old, due to critical phases of growth.

Long-term low-grade fever, which occurs due to a violation of thermoregulation, is said if the child’s temperature is 37.0–38.0°C for more than 2 weeks, and the child:

does not lose weight;
examination shows the absence of diseases;
all tests are normal;
pulse rate is normal;
Antibiotics do not reduce fever;
Antipyretics do not reduce the temperature.

Often in children, fever is caused by endocrine system. Quite often it happens that in children with fever the functionality of the adrenal cortex is impaired, and the immune system weakened. If you draw a psychological portrait of children who have a fever for no reason, you will get a portrait of an uncommunicative, suspicious, withdrawn, easily irritated child, whom any event can unsettle.

Treatment and correct image life bring children's heat exchange back to normal. As a rule, after 15 years, few people experience this temperature. Parents should organize correct mode day for the child. Children suffering from low-grade fever should get enough sleep, walk and sit at the computer less often. Hardening trains thermoregulatory mechanisms well.

In older children, low-grade fever accompanies such frequent illnesses, such as adenoiditis, helminthiasis, allergic reactions. But low-grade fever may indicate development and more dangerous diseases: cancer, tuberculosis, asthma, blood diseases.

Therefore, you should definitely consult a doctor if your child has a temperature of 37-38 °C for more than three weeks. To diagnose and clarify the causes of low-grade fever, the following studies will be prescribed:

blood biochemistry;
OAM, 24-hour urine test;
feces on worm eggs;
radiography of the sinuses;
X-ray of the lungs;
electrocardiography;
tuberculin tests;
Ultrasound of internal organs.

If abnormalities are detected in the tests, this will be a reason to refer specialists for consultation.

How to measure temperature in children correctly

Children should not measure their temperature immediately after waking up, after lunch, during active physical activity, in an excited state. During this time the temperature may rise physiological reasons. If the child is sleeping, resting, or hungry, the temperature may drop.

When measuring temperature, you need to wipe armpit dry and hold the thermometer for at least 10 minutes. Change thermometers periodically.

How to deal with low-grade fever

First, you should diagnose a low-grade fever, because not every increase in temperature in the specified range is a low-grade fever. The conclusion about low-grade fever is made based on the analysis of the temperature curve, which is compiled using data from temperature measurements 2 times a day at the same time - in the morning and in the evening. The measurements are carried out over three weeks, the measurement results are analyzed by the attending physician.

If a doctor diagnoses low-grade fever, the patient will have to visit the following specialists:

otolaryngologist;
cardiologist;
infectious disease specialist;
phthisiatrician;
endocrinologist;
dentist;
oncologist.

Tests that will need to be taken to identify hidden current diseases:

UAC and OAM;
blood biochemistry;
cumulative urine samples and 24-hour urine testing;
feces on worm eggs;
blood for HIV;
blood for hepatitis B and C;
blood on RW;
radiography of the sinuses;
X-ray of the lungs;
otolaryngoscopy;
tuberculin tests;
blood for hormones;
Ultrasound of internal organs.

Identification of deviations in any analysis becomes a reason for prescribing a more in-depth examination.

Prevention measures

If no pathology is detected in the body, you should pay close attention to the health of your body. To gradually bring thermoregulatory processes back to normal, you need to:

promptly treat all foci of infection and emerging diseases;
avoid stress;
minimize the number of bad habits;
maintain a daily routine;
get enough sleep according to your body’s needs;
exercise regularly;
harden;
walk more in the fresh air.

All these methods help strengthen the immune system and train heat transfer processes.

Availability high temperature indicates the presence of a disease, but what does it mean when the thermometer does not rise above 38 degrees? When a child has elevated readings on a thermometer, but not exceeding 38 degrees, then in medicine this phenomenon called low-grade fever. This temperature occurs not only in children, but also in adults. Let us find out in more detail whether low-grade fever is dangerous, as well as the main reasons for its occurrence.

How to determine the presence of low-grade fever in a child

Low-grade fever is a patient’s condition in which an elevated body temperature is observed to be maintained at 38-38.3 degrees. With low-grade fever, there are no obvious, pronounced signs of the disease. At elevated readings thermometer, a child may exhibit the following symptoms:

decreased appetite;
weakness and exhaustion;
sleep disturbance;
excessive nervousness;
excessive sweating.

It is by the presence of these signs that parents measure the child’s temperature and detect its value, which does not exceed 38 degrees. You can’t knock it down if it doesn’t rise, but stays within a certain range. If the temperature does not last for a long time, then this is not so scary, but when the value on the thermometer does not decrease to normal for several days or weeks, then this indicates the presence of serious illnesses. Often, low-grade fever of a long nature occurs in children aged 7 to 15 years.

Temperature in a child

For an adult healthy person The standard body temperature is 36.6 degrees. This temperature is considered ideal, but this indicator may vary throughout the day. The meaning also varies in children, due to physiological characteristics. In children in infancy There is an increase in temperature with each feeding. An increase in temperature to 37-37.5 degrees does not always mean that a disease is present.

The child’s temperature varies throughout the day, which is due to the following number of influencing factors:

the age of the children, since what younger child, the more pronounced are the temperature fluctuations;
circadian rhythms: during wakefulness, the thermometer values increase, and during sleep they decrease;
weather conditions: in hot weather the temperature will be above normal;
Availability physical activity: during play the child is more active, therefore the thermometer readings will be higher than normal;
anxiety, in the presence of which an increase in the mark on the thermometer scale is also observed.

Parents of infants need to regularly measure their temperature and monitor its fluctuations. If it is often observed that the child’s temperature is between 37 and 38 degrees, then you should notify the doctor about this.

Why does low-grade fever occur?

Low-grade fever in a child indicates problems in the functioning of the child’s body. Often, low-grade fever indicates that the child has hidden forms diseases that can be identified using additional research. There are a number of main types of ailments through which a child can develop low-grade fever.

Infectious diseases

The causes of prolonged low-grade fever in a child may be due to infectious diseases. These ailments are:

tuberculosis;
toxoplasmosis;
sinusitis, tonsillitis, cholecystitis and others;
helminthiasis

Chronic tonsillitis is detected in children in frequent cases, but this disease is not always accompanied by an increase in thermometer readings. In children aged 1 year and up to 5 years, a type of illness such as helminthiasis often occurs.

Non-communicable diseases

Non-infectious causes of low-grade fever in children include autoimmune disorders and blood diseases. In rare cases, children develop malignant tumors and cancer. Low-grade fever may occur due to allergic reactions, rheumatic diseases, as well as iron deficiency anemia.

Situations arise when a child maintains a low-grade fever, but at the same time his limbs become cold. This is due to a disruption in the functioning of the adrenal glands, since against the background of malfunctions, vasospasm of the extremities develops. As a result, heat cannot be released through the extremities, thereby increasing body temperature, and the hands and feet remain cold.

It is important to note the fact that with non-infectious causes of low-grade fever, temperature fluctuations throughout the day are excluded, and taking antipyretics does not reduce the fever. This is a significant difference between non-infectious causes of low-grade fever and infectious ones. In case of infectious diseases, temperature fluctuations are observed throughout the day, and fever can be reduced with the help of antipyretic drugs.

Viral diseases

An elevated temperature can be observed in a child after a viral illness. The consequences of such viral diseases also called the “temperature tail”. Low grade fever after viral disease does not lead to the development of complications. Often these effects disappear within a few weeks.

It is important to know! You should not wait for the temperature to normalize, so to exclude complications you should go to the hospital.

Mental disorders

In suspicious and withdrawn children, the cause of the development of low-grade fever is psychological disorders. With any irritation, the child’s temperature rises and can last for a long time.

You can avoid the development of low-grade fever by treating your child with care. Such children should not be shouted at, laughed at, or shamed. Any negative factors pour into mental trauma, through which complications and pathologies arise.

Is it necessary to bring down a low-grade fever?

Every parent sooner or later wonders whether it is necessary to treat a child with low-grade fever? Elevated temperature has a negative impact on children's body Therefore, treatment is required without fail.

Treatment involves eliminating the causes by which the elevated temperature was provoked. If the main reasons for the development of low-grade fever are non-communicable diseases, then you should resort to the use of drugs whose effectiveness is aimed directly at eliminating the disease itself. To combat infectious causes development of the disease, drugs are used that are aimed at eliminating the infection. For this purpose, anti-inflammatory drugs are used, through which complex therapy is carried out.

It is important to know! In case of low-grade fever, the use of antipyretic drugs is strictly prohibited. This is due to the fact that they do not have the desired effect, and also contribute to a decrease in immunity.

If a child has signs of low-grade fever, then parents need to regularly measure it and monitor the baby’s condition. If the child attends kindergarten or school, then it is necessary to warn teachers and educators about the baby’s condition. Often, if you report illness, staff will ask parents not to attend. educational establishments until recovery.

Features of examination for low-grade fever

Regardless of the patient’s age, if he has a low-grade fever, he must go to the hospital. To identify the reasons that contribute to this phenomenon include.

Probably, if you conduct a survey on the topic: “What increase in body temperature causes you the most severe discomfort?”, then most likely 39.5C will not be in the lead. And not even 38.5C, but 37.2-38 degrees.

Headache and body aches, chills and tinnitus bother me. But the worst thing is that there is practically nothing you can do to help yourself. After all, it’s not very appropriate to drink an antipyretic. Anesthetics only help for short periods of time. And soluble drugs in the form of tea, although they relieve the main symptoms for a while, but cause such drowsiness (at times even suspicious calmness) that the performance for which the medicine was taken is zero...

What can we say about young children who cannot explain their illness using only whims, crying, irritability and refusal to eat? In addition, parents themselves often endure similar conditions only “on their feet” they understand that there is an explanation for low-grade fever and their method of “treatment” is categorically inapplicable for a small organism...

Low-grade fever– this is pathological hyperthermia within 37-38 degrees Celsius. Often performs residual phenomenon after viral and colds. And it could also be a symptom of the inflammatory process in an organism that does not pass into active phase, but cannot be liquidated on its own.

If you do not pay attention to this situation for a long time, you can allow various kinds complications, many of which will cause serious harm to the patient’s health.

However, there are cases when similar thermometry results for specific person are considered the norm. Moreover, he feels absolutely normal, and the test results turn out to be impeccable. This category also includes small kids age up to one year.

This is explained by the fact that their thermoregulation system is not yet stable and, basically, adapts to external conditions habitats. That is why young new mothers are not recommended to over-wrap or, on the contrary, lightly dress their babies, since it will not take much time for overheating/hypothermia.

Concerning older children, especially preschool and school age, then with similar temperature jumps, especially in evening time and for no apparent reason, you need to be very careful:

First, carefully examine your child and take the necessary tests,
Secondly, monitor the temperature dynamics in different time days.
Thirdly, take thermometry of the rest of the family members over the course of several days.

All these manipulations can help you find the cause of low-grade fever. Or come to terms with this state of affairs if this pathology is inherited from one of the relatives or is associated with active pastime/games.

Causes of low-grade fever

There is an opinion that the normal body temperature indicator ends at 36.9C. Anything higher, including 37 degrees for a long time, can only be associated with some kind of sluggish inflammatory process. No wonder this concept translated from Latin as “temperature close to fever.”

If we take into account that a slight increase in temperature within 37-37.5C may not bother the youngest patient at all, then his parents, after a maximum of two to three weeks, will probably raise the alarm and consult a doctor.

What awaits them at the reception?

If the baby no more than one year, his tests are within normal limits, and visible symptoms no illness is observed, most likely, mom and dad will be reassured and sent home. As a last resort, they will advise you to reconsider the degree of insulation of the baby during walks and sleep.
Aged 2-7 years there is a decrease in body temperature to 36.2-36.8 degrees Celsius. She remains this way under any conditions. The exception is active games, hereditary issues and various types of ailments that require immediate intervention. Especially when we're talking about O inflammatory processes. Then the doctor prescribes a series of tests and studies for the patient (OAC, OAM, coprogram, fluorography, ultrasound, electrocardiography).
Children from 8 to 15 years again fall into the risk group for low-grade fever, since the likelihood of combining childhood and adult ailments increases significantly. An important role is played by puberty teenagers, establishing the menstrual cycle in girls.

37.2 and Komarovsky

Often parents, kissing their child good night, notice a slightly hot forehead, measure the temperature and... see 37C. It is likely that after this, round-the-clock thermometry begins, visits to doctors, endless tests and feverish intake of medications from each prescription.

During this time, the child begins to feel only worse and is already afraid of bottles and pills. But the temperature stays...

The question is: a why does a child need all this chemistry, if the test results are normal? What if he eats well and plays happily? If he is comfortable with this temperature? Of course, this does not include cases in which the disease is still detected, and leaving it without treatment is fraught with serious complications.

Therefore, before stuffing your baby with half of the purchased pharmacy, check the air condition in the house, remember the last time the child had a bowel movement, draw parallels between the thermometer readings and active games. And most importantly, objectively evaluate the way the baby is dressed. Perhaps the cause of low-grade fever is very close...