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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffThe best way to prevent fevers is to reduce your exposure to infectious diseases. One of the most effective ways to do that is also one of the simplest — frequent hand washing.
Teach your children to wash their hands often, especially before they eat and after using the toilet, after spending time in a crowd or around someone who's sick, and after petting animals. Show them how to wash their hands vigorously, covering both the front and back of each hand with soap, and rinsing thoroughly under running water. Carry moist towelettes or hand sanitizer with you for times when you don't have access to soap and water. When possible, teach your kids not to touch their noses, mouths or eyes — the main way viral infections are transmitted.
In addition, teach your children to turn away from others and to cover their mouths when coughing and their noses when sneezing.
- Manifestations of infection. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec14/ch167/ch167d.html. Accessed April 13, 2009.
- Fever. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec19/ch266/ch266i.html. Accessed April 13, 2009.
- Torpy J. Fever in infants. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;291:1284.
- Fever. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/fever/healthprofessional. Accessed April 13, 2009.
- Febrile seizures fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/febrile_seizures/detail_febrile_seizures.htm. Accessed April 13, 2009.
- Richardson M, et al. Assessment and initial management of feverish illness in children younger than 5 years: Summary of NICE guidance. British Medical Journal. 2007;334:1163.
- O'Grady N, et al. Guidelines for evaluation of new fever in critically ill adult patients: 2008 update from the American College of Critical Care Medicine and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Critical Care Medicine, 2008;36:1330.
- El-Radhi A. Why is the evidence not affecting the practice of fever management? Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2009;93:918.
- Leggett J. Approach to fever or suspected infection in the normal host. Cecil Textbook of Medicine. 23nd ed. W. B. Saunders Company, 2007.
