The effect of high fever on the brain

If you have a persistent high fever, you must take some antipyretic drugs, because high fever will affect the brain's intelligence, especially for some babies, whose intelligence is at a very critical stage of development. If the intellectual development is delayed due to high fever, it is not worth the loss. There are many patients with encephalitis caused by high fever, so what are the effects of high fever on the brain?

Can a fever damage your brain?

The basic component of brain cells is protein, which is usually destroyed gradually at temperatures above 42°C. Normal fever rarely exceeds this temperature, so there is no need to worry about burning your brain. Unless the fever is caused by encephalitis or meningitis, it will not cause brain damage.

Fever itself is not terrible. The important thing is to find the cause and treat it accordingly. A common cold usually causes a fever for 2 to 4 days. If you are active and eating normally, you don't need to worry too much.

What exactly is “febrile convulsion”?

Febrile convulsions (formerly known as high fever convulsions) are common in children under 5 years old. As the name suggests, it is a type of convulsion that occurs when the patient has a high fever.

It usually occurs within 24 hours after the onset of fever, with an incidence rate of 3% to 5%. According to the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) standards, the fever state during febrile seizures is a rectal temperature ≥ 38.5 ℃ (or an axillary temperature ≥ 38 ℃).

When the body temperature is too high, the nervous system is easily in an excited state, but children's nervous systems are often not fully developed and their ability to suppress excitement is weak, leading to transient brain and nerve dysfunction.

In order to rule out encephalitis, the doctor suggested that Xiaoyan go to the Department of Neurology for further examination. Unexpectedly, while he was still waiting outside the neurology clinic, he had another seizure due to a rebound in body temperature. It was less than 4 hours since the last attack, and his mother was almost scared to tears.

"After taking the child to the next clinic, we let him lie flat and tilt his head to one side to keep his airway open (note to parents: this can also be done if he has an attack outside the hospital), and then we gave him oxygen. After 2 minutes, his symptoms eased, and he hasn't had another attack since." Yuan Zhefeng, chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Zhejiang University Children's Hospital, who was in charge of the patient at the time, said that febrile convulsions "come and go quickly," but if Xiaoyan's symptoms last for more than 5 minutes (some may even last 30 minutes or more), he will need anticonvulsant treatment to avoid damage to brain cells, and he may need to be hospitalized for further intervention.

Experts remind that when children have a fever, they should not wear too many clothes to cover their sweat, otherwise the heat in the body cannot be effectively dissipated, which can easily cause febrile convulsions, cramps, arrhythmias, etc.