At what temp do you have a fever?

[Starbrite]

I'm asking because my DD8 was sent home from school for the second time since Friday because she had a "fever". Per our Wellness Policy - Any child with a fever must immediately leave the building.

I asked the nurse today what her fever was...... 99.5 Is that a fever these days or are they being overly-cautious with the whole Swine Flu thing?

I would never send her to school if she were actually sick. She's perfectly fine - no symptoms of anything. Not even a runny nose. I was just curious what others considered a fever. I always went with 100 being low-grade, 102 being full blown fever



ETA
I mentioned this later in this thread in a response, but the question as to why she was at the nurse comes up alot....

Friday she said she felt crappy, I did too so I didn't think twice about it. Today, she lost a tooth & wanted a tooth treasure chest. We have a new nurse this year. I don't know if she has Flu phobia or what, but the kids tell me if you walk in her office she takes your temp first thing.

 

[golfgal]

In our kids' old school it was anything over 99.5, here it is anything over 100.

 

[luvmy3]

Our school has always been 99.5, and no I do not consider that a fever either.

 

[JessicaR]

Why did the nurse take her temperature in the first place?

A child has a fever when his or her rectal temperature is 100.4F or higher.
http://firstaid.webmd.com/body-temperature

 

[Tinijocaro]

My kid's ped recently informed me, rather rudely, that a fever isn't 99.5, it must be over 100.7 to be a fever. She also told me that you must have a fever in order to have swine flu-who knew-ds had a confirmed case of swine flu with ONLY a temp of 100.7!

 

[BuffettFan]

I would agree that 100 is a fever.....not anything below that... And 100 is what I would consider "low grade"

 

[AshleyW]

When I was in high school (6 years ago now), if it was 99.7-100.7, they'd call your parents and ask them if you should be sent home or go back to class. At 100.7, they'd call your parents and tell them you had to leave class. If you drove to school, you could decide at 99.7 if you wanted to stay or drive yourself home.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think wether you have a fever or not depends on what your usual body temperature is. My typical temp is 97, so by the time I hit 99.5 I feel like I am burning up. My sister is the same way.

 

[englishteacha]

My normal body temp is about 96.8-97.0, so at 99 I feel pretty icky. That is a fever for me, personally. Why did they take your daughter's temperature if she didn't feel sick?

 

[LilyWDW]

My ped actually had to write a letter for my mom to give to the school nurse saying that if I had a temp of 99+, then I had a fever and they needed to call my mom. My NORMAL temp is around 96.5... this is documented in my medical files for YEARS. So, for me, 99.5 would be a 3 degree increase.

So, for someone with a "normal" temp of 98.6, that would put them at 101.6, which anyone would agree is a fever.

The school finally got it after a few letters...

 

[KAMKIM]

According to our school district its 100. But according to our pediatrician you cannot rely on ear temps - so if it says 99.5 add a degree or so.

I agree 100 would be low grade.

 

[Starbrite]

Why did the nurse take her temperature in the first place?

A child has a fever when his or her rectal temperature is 100.4F or higher.
http://firstaid.webmd.com/body-temperature

My normal body temp is about 96.8-97.0, so at 99 I feel pretty icky. That is a fever for me, personally. Why did they take your daughter's temperature if she didn't feel sick?

Friday she said she felt crappy, I did too so I didn't think twice about it. Today, she lost a tooth & wanted a tooth treasure chest.

We have a new nurse this year. I don't know if she has Flu phobia or what, but the kids tell me if you walk in her office she takes your temp first thing. I told DD to stay out of there unless it involved broken bones, bodily fluids or an emergency.

Call me a bad mom, but I don't know her normal temp. Or mine for that matter.

I'm not making a fuss over it. I just thought it seemed odd.

 

[laurie31]

My normal temp is 99.4 - 99.7 so a fever for me is around 100.7.

When my dd's were little, the older one would be sick as a dog with a 102, and the little one would be happy and playing, no clue she was sick until you touched her and felt she burning up, and she'd be 105.

Fever in and of itself is not evil, it's just a symptom. An isolated temp of 99.5 tells you next to nothing. If the child acts fine, I would assume it's normal. If the child also had a sore throat, cough, congestion, etc. I would consider them sick/contagious. I know my own children, but obviously the school can't know what's "normal" for every child. I'm also wondering why they took her temp if she didn't feel sick.

ETA - sorry, now I know. And sheesh...

(and don't feel bad - I don't know what either of my girls' "normal" temps are now. I haven't taken their temps in years. I'm not a big believer in judging how sick they are by how high a fever is. )

 

[flying_babyb]

we ship them home at 99. Personally Im another 97 degree person.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My familiy has low body temps in the low 97s.

I treat anything that is 99+ as a fever.

So if my dd had a 99.5, I'd keep her home anyway.

Nothing to call the doc over--but something is going on and they typically get lethargic at that point anyway.

 

[pipersmom]

The thing with a fever (even low grade) is that it is usually a symptom of something else going on, even if it isn't obvious at that moment. My daughter is immunocompromised and her school has instructions to call me if any student in her classroom is visibly sick (ie, runny nose, coughing) or sent home with a fever so that I know to be hyperaware in case she has picked up whatever bug it happens to be. I think schools in general are being more careful this year with the whole swine flu situation, but we're always careful because even though your child may show no symptoms aside from fever he/she could still be passing something along to a child that isn't as able to fight off the various bugs going around. Hope all that didn't sound like a flame, wasn't trying to, just another p.o.v that many may not realize

 

[JessicaR]

Its 5 days since the nurse first took her temp. I would think she would have apparent symptoms if it was going to progress into something by now.

I would take her temp a few times to see for myself.

I remember those treasure chests for their teeth! My kids were so proud to bring one home.

 

[disfan07]

I'm another one with a low normal temp. I'm usually at about 97.4 so when i hit 99 we start watching closely.
Also, i don't get fevers. Last year I went to the ER havign trouble breathing thinking it was an asthma attack b/c that was my only symptom and it turned out that I had full blown pneumonia which i was told is odd without a fever. I get the flu every year...no fever. so when i get a fever, its very serious.

At our preschool, we don't call the parents until it hits 99.5 unless teh kids are visbly not feeling well. If they are playing and running around, we don't call if it's at like 99. Between 99.5 and 100, we call the parents and it's up to them if they want to pick their kid up IF they don't look visibly sick. If they are complaing that their stomach hurts, ear ache, head hurts or are just really slugish, we request them to come pick their child up. Anything over 100, the child cannot stay and the parent needs to pick them up immediately. If a parent takes their child home with a fever of any kind (even if it's 99) they are not allowed to come back utnil they are fever free for 24 hours.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I guess I'm confused If a child is running and playing how on earth would you know whether their temperature is 99.5? Do people randomly take their children's temperatures when they have no symptoms?

If my child is sick enough for me to think that taking his temp is a good idea he's too sick for school.

 

[Pomlover2586]

I work at a before/after school childcare program. If a child is complaining they feel sick and have a fever higher than 99.0 degrees, they get sent home. our policy is better safe then sorry- no point exposing the other kids further if we don't have to. While it may be inconvenient for parents, the bottom line is you are parents....it goes with the territory.