Fever Phobia Research Articles

Parental Perception and Management of School-Age Children??s Fevers

Fever is a major childhood complaint. Parents have numerous means at their disposal to assess and manage childhood fevers. Previous studies of parents of infants and preschoolers have uncovered parental fears and misconceptions surrounding fever ("fever phobia"). A study of 84 parents of otherwise well school-age children revealed that these misconceptions remain, regardless of the child's age or parental level of education. The nurse practitioner must understand both parental fears and the body-temperature dynamics of children to successfully access and manage fever in the school-age child.

Parental Fever Phobia and Its Correlates

Parents of 202 young febrile children were surveyed about their knowledge, attitudes, and fears concerning fever and its treatment. Forty-eight percent of the parents considered temperatures less than 38.0 degrees C to be "fevers", 43% felt that temperatures less than 40.0 degrees C could be dangerous to a child, 21% favored treatment for fevers less than 38.0 degrees C, and 15% believed that, left untreated, temperature could rise to 42.0 degrees C or higher. Fifty-three percent advocated waking a febrile child at night to administer antipyretic therapy. Young age of the child was associated with a preference for use of acetaminophen over aspirin and, unexpectedly, with a higher parental threshold for consideration of fever. The higher their child's temperature at the time they were questioned, the higher the minimum temperature that parents considered a cause for concern. Surprisingly, higher socioeconomic status was not associated with a lesser degree of fever phobia. In fact, parents of higher socioeconomic status were more concerned about the risks of brain damage or seizures as sequelae of fever than were parents of lower socioeconomic status. It is concluded that undue fear and overly aggressive treatment of fever are epidemic among parents of infants and young children, even among the highly educated and well-to-do. Considerable effort will be required on the part of pediatricians and other child health workers to reeducate these parents about the definition, consequences, and appropriate treatment of fever.

Fever Phobia

Eighty-one parents bringing their children to a hospital-based pediatric clinic were surveyed about their understanding of fever. Most parents were unduly worried about low-grade fever, with temperatures of 38.9 degrees C or less. Their overconcern was designated "fever phobia." Most parents (52%) believed that moderate fever with a temperature of 40 degrees C or less can cause serious neurological side-effects. Hence, most parents treated fever aggressively: 85% gave antipyretic medication before the temperature reached 38.9 degrees C and 68% sponged the child before the temperature reached 39.5 degrees C. A review of the literature showed that the only serious complications of fever were febrile status epilepticus and heat stroke, two rare entities. The great concern of parents about fever is not justified. Health education to counteract "fever phobia" should be a part of routine pediatric care.