Brain Damage From High Fevers in Children

A fever is not an illness, states the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), but rather a sign that the body is fighting an infection by stimulating defenses to attack and destroy invading bacteria or viruses. Sometimes, if a child's fever becomes significantly high, parents might worry that she could suffer brain damage. This complication can only be brought on by contributing external factors and is entirely preventable.

An Accurate Reading

• According to the AAP, a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit is a fever. The group states that the only way to determine accurately whether a child has a fever---and get a precise read on its exact measurement---is to take her temperature internally with a thermometer. For children younger than 3 years, the AAP advises using a rectal thermometer; the group states that oral thermometers are acceptable for older children.

Common Causes

• Most fevers accompany respiratory illnesses, ear and throat infections, severe colds, the flu and many viral illnesses. Additionally, infections in the stomach, bowels, or kidneys can cause a fever. Sometimes, parents may never learn the cause of their child's fever because the fever proves effective at fighting the invading bacteria or virus before it can fully manifest itself.

When to Call A Doctor

• The AAP advises parents that a fever of 100.2 degrees Fahrenheit or higher in an infant younger than 3 months could signal a serious infection or disease, so parents should always call their pediatrician for guidance. The group also recommends calling the pediatrician if an infant between 3 and 6 months develops a fever of 101 degrees or higher, or a child older than 6 months has a temperature of 103 or higher, as those temperatures may indicate a significant infection or dehydration.

Febrile Convulsions

• According to Dr. Alan Greene, a professor, pediatrician and proprietor of DrGreene.com, approximately 4 percent of children experience febrile convulsions, or seizures, with a fever. The convulsions are triggered by a rapid increase in temperature, not by how high that temperature becomes. Most common in children between 6 months and 5 years of age, according to the AAP, the febrile convulsions may last just a few seconds and rarely exceed 4 minutes.

  The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) states that while frightening to witness, most febrile seizures are harmless. Additionally (and reassuringly), the NINDS writes that there is "no evidence that febrile seizures cause brain damage." The AAP advises parents to take their child to her pediatrician as soon as possible after the first occurrence of a febrile convulsion not because of the risk of brain damage, but rather to rule out a more serious cause for the seizure, such as meningitis.

How High for Brain Damage?

• Medline Plus states that a fever has to rise above 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit to cause brain damage; the medical site goes on to explain that naturally caused fevers---those resulting from an infection---will rarely rise above 105 decrees, even when left untreated. Dr. Greene writes that a child's neurological system will prevent a fever caused by illness from climbing above 106 degrees.

  The University of Michigan Health System posted "Fever Myths and Facts" in 2009 that explained a child's temperature can only rise high enough to cause brain damage when he is exposed to extreme environmental temperatures, such as being confined in a closed-up car in hot weather. Events such as this are entirely preventable.