When your child has a fever with symptoms that involve the brain and nervous system, the fever may be sign of a serious infection. Symptoms of a serious infection may include:
- A severe headache, neck pain or stiffness, and fussiness.
- Being very sleepy or hard to wake up.
- Acting confused or struggling with you for no reason.
- A bulging soft spot (fontanel) on a baby's head when the baby is not crying.
A fever and symptoms of infection in or around a joint may mean your child has a serious muscle, joint, or bone condition, such as osteomyelitis or infectious arthritis. Symptoms include:
- New swelling.
- Severe pain.
- Sudden redness.
- Warm to the touch in or around a joint.
- Bone pain.
- Painful or limited movement of joints.
- Drainage of pus.
A child who has a fever and any signs of a serious muscle or bone infection needs immediate medical evaluation.
Call your doctor immediately if your child has a fever with any other signs of a serious infection.
The flu, which usually is not serious, can cause your child to have a high fever. Your child will usually also have body aches, rather than other, more serious symptoms.
Credits
| Author | Jan Nissl, RN, BS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Editor | Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Thomas Emmett Francoeur, MDCM, CSPQ, FRCPC - Pediatrics |
| Last Updated | April 24, 2007 |
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