Does My Child's High Fever Require an Urgent Care Visit?

It can be scary when your child has a fever. Elevated temperature, glassy eyes, and flushed skin make it clear that your child is seriously ill.

Fever is a key sign of an immune system response to illness. Running a temperature means that your child’s immune system is working hard to fight off the germs causing their sickness. However, a high temperature in children may also require medical attention, as health complications can result if fever stays too high for too long without evaluation and care.

Urgent care and walk-in clinics like Carolina Urgent Care of Chapel Hill, North Carolina help you and your child handle a high fever. Our experienced, knowledgeable team is here evenings, weekends, and when you need care the most. When your child’s fever becomes too high, contact our providers for evaluation, treatment, and support.

Checking for fevers in children

You should check your child for fever if you’re concerned they might have an elevated temperature. A digital thermometer is the easiest and most accurate option to use.

Rectal thermometers give you the most accurate results in young children. Kids older than toddlers do fine with oral or underarm thermometers. You may need to add a degree to your underarm thermometer for a truly accurate reading.

If your child’s fever isn’t too high, at-home care is likely to be fine. However, after a certain point, a high fever may be dangerous to your child. High fevers can also be a sign of serious health conditions that need professional evaluation and treatment.

When to seek urgent care

A fever isn’t always a cause for concern in a child. High fevers, though, may need medical care. Here are signs that your child’s high fever needs a visit to urgent care for evaluation and treatment:

• Your child has temperature of 104°F or higher
• Your baby under 3 months old has temperature of 100.4°F or higher
• Fever lasts for more than 72 hours in a child over the age of 2 years
• Fever lasts for more than 24 hours in a child under the age of 2
• Fever is accompanied by other symptoms including extreme sore throat, stiff neck, severe headache, ear pain, rashes, or seizures

It’s also a good idea to seek urgent care treatment for your child if they seem very sick or distressed, or become unresponsive.

The walk-in support you need

Coping with a serious illness in a child puts a strain on the whole family. At Carolina Urgent Care, we provide top-quality medical care on demand with minimal stress and hassle. You don’t need an appointment to bring your sick child in for evaluation and treatment. We offer lots of availability to keep wait times as low as possible.

We’re here if you don’t have a family doctor or pediatrician, or if you can’t get an appointment with your usual provider. We can prescribe medications or refer you to specialists.

If your baby or child has a high fever that needs urgent care attention, walk into Carolina Urgent Care for prompt, professional support. You can also contact us online or over the phone.