Hesperian Health Guides
Medicines to lower fever
HealthWiki > Epilepsy and Seizures > Chapter 4: Medicines for epilepsy and seizures > Medicines to lower fever
If a fever seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, it is an emergency. Give the child a rescue medicine like diazepam, lorazepam, midazolam, phenobarbital, or phenytoin. See "Rescue medicines for status epilepticus".
If a child has fever seizures more than 3 times in 6 months, their parents or caregivers can keep rescue medicine on-hand and learn how to give it.
Use a thermometer after the fever seizure has passed to measure how much fever remains. If you don’t have a thermometer, get a general sense of how hot the child is by touching their forehead or belly. Notice if the child is more drowsy or fussy than usual as these are common signs of high fevers.
How to lower a fever and help a child feel better
- Remove the child’s clothes or wrappings.
- Give plenty of fluids to keep the child hydrated.
- Give a medicine to lower fever.
Do not wrap a child in wet cloths or give a cool bath as these may cause discomfort and are not effective for lowering fever in most cases.
Most importantly, try to find and treat the cause of the fever. Could it be from an infection caused by a mosquito bite? Or from a virus like measles or HIV? Meningitis, a dangerous inflammation in the brain and spinal cord, can cause fever. Ask a health worker for help in discovering the cause and curing the fever.
Vaccinations, fever, and fever seizures. Sometimes a child may have a reaction to a vaccination that causes fever and, occasionally, a fever seizure. To lower the risk of fever, give ibuprofen or paracetamol, 1 hour before and 2 hours after the vaccination. See further dosing information.
| Ibuprofen (Advil, Alivium, Brufen, Buprovil, Combiflam, Dolgit, Faspic, Fenbid, Gelofen, IBU, Paraped Plus) |  | |
| Ibuprofen is used to relieve pain and fever Ibuprofen is not safe for very young babies Use paracetamol instead. | ||
In what forms does this medicine come? Tablet (200 mg, 400 mg) Oral liquid (100 mg in 5 ml, 200 mg in 5 ml)
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Important To avoid stomach pain or indigestion, give ibuprofen with food or a large glass of water or milk. | |
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Side effects Stomach pain, indigestion. | ||
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How to use For children, give by mouth 3 times a day and dose by age: 3 to 11 months 50 mg
1 to 3 years 100 mg 4 to 6 years 150 mg 7 to 9 years 200 mg 10 to 11 years 300 mg 12 years and older 300 to 400 mg
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 WARNING Do not give to babies younger than 3 months old, and do not give to pregnant women in the last 3 months of pregnancy Do not give for more than 10 days in a row. | |
| Paracetamol, acetaminophen (Tylenol, Calpol, Cetamol, Dexamol, Dolo, Dolex, Dolyc, Panadol) | ||
| Paracetamol is an effective, affordable medicine for fever and mild pain. | ||
| In what forms does this medicine come? Tablet (100, 500 mg) Oral liquid (120 mg in 5 ml or 125 mg in 5 ml, 250 mg in 5 ml)
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Important Cold medicines often contain paracetamol, so do not give them along with a separate dose of paracetamol or you may give too much and poison the liver. | |
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Side effects Stomach pain, indigestion. | ||
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How to use For children,give by mouth every 4 to 6 hours and dose by age: under 1 year 62 mg (half of ¼ of 500 mg tablet)
1 to 2 years 125 mg (¼ of 500 mg tablet) 3 to 7 years 250 mg (½ of 500 mg tablet) 8 to 12 years 375 mg (¾ of 500 mg tablet) over 12 years 500 to 1000 mg Do not give more than 4000 mg a day |
WARNING Do not give for more than 10 days in a row. | |