Child Fever: When Should I Call the Doctor?

The child matters as much as the number

Fever is a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher and is often the body’s response to infection. How your child looks, breathes, drinks, urinates, wakes, and interacts helps determine how urgently they need care.

Babies younger than 3 months are the important exception: a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher requires an immediate call to the pediatrician, even if the baby otherwise seems comfortable. Follow the clinician’s instructions about where to be evaluated.

Know the urgent warning signs

Seek emergency help if your child is struggling to breathe, has blue or gray lips or skin, is very difficult to wake, has a seizure, has a stiff neck with severe headache, develops a purple or blood-colored rash that does not fade when pressed, or appears dangerously ill. Trust your judgment when a child looks much sicker than with an ordinary illness.

• Breathing difficulty
• Blue or gray color
• Very hard to wake
• Seizure
• Stiff neck or severe headache
• Signs of severe dehydration

Call with useful details

Tell the clinician your child’s age, temperature, how it was measured, when symptoms began, breathing, fluids, urine output, rash, pain, medicines already given, medical conditions, and recent exposures. Ask before giving medicine to a young infant, and never give aspirin to a child unless a physician specifically directs it.

For older babies and children, the pediatrician’s advice may depend on age, symptoms, how long the fever has lasted, and health history. Use the linked American Academy of Pediatrics guidance rather than a single internet cutoff as a substitute for individual care.