For years I have been speaking and writing about fever and, in most instances, the fact is that fever is our best friend in fighting infections. Yet the drama of fever goes on.

 

ACETAMINOPHEN POISONING

Ariella Nadler, M.D. and Daniel M. Fein, M.D..

Pediatrics in Review, June 2018, Vol. 39, No 6, pg. 318

When I read Dr. Adam’s comment as sighted in Pediatrics in Review I thought perhaps upon hearing it from someone else may prove helpful.

“By far the most common reason for parents to give their children acetaminophen is to combat fever, but in many, if not most, instances this is a fight that is self-defeating. Incontrast to the dangers of hyperthermia, fever is regulated by the hypothalamus as a homeostatic response to an inflammatory insult, and of itself almost never poses a threat to the febrile child. In fact, as a physiologic phenomenon fever has survived for millions of years among animals all along the spectrum from invertebrates to mammals, and given that fever comes at a metabolic cost inenergy expended, evolution tells us it must have some survival benefit. Experimental evidence documents that fever can impede the growth of many pathogenic bacteria and viruses, although it enhances neutrophil migration, T-cell proliferation, and superoxide and interferon production. Yet our phobic response to fever, both as parents and as physicians, contributes to the more than 25 billion doses of acetaminophen sold in the United States each year, often given for fevers that are not discomforting or are not in fact fevers at all. Granted that most acetaminophen poisonings result from intentional overdosing, the frequency with which parents inadvertently give their children improper doses of medication makes the ubiquity of acetaminophen (and other antipyretics) a real concern.”

My closing comment:

One should give acetaminophen to relieve the aches and pains, and not to focus on lowering a fever. Remember, fever is the body’s way of containing infection. Ask yourself, why give a potentially toxic substance if it is not of value?

Lastly, be sure you keep acetaminophen products under lock and key. Being an informed parent is only as good as the information you receive is used to protect your child.