Ethnicity Plays Role in Parents' Treatment of Child...( Hispanics had the highest 'fever phob...),Health

Hispanics had the highest 'fever phobia,' study finds

MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- Most parents have some misconceptions about their children's fever and overtreat mild cases, a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study shows.

Parents' ethnicity may also play a role in how they view and treat the fever, the researchers added.

"It's a natural response for a parent to worry when a child has a fever and to want to fix it, so every pediatrician must have the fever talk with parents every time they bring a sick child to the office," study author Dr. Michael Crocetti said in a prepared statement. "We must remind parents not all fevers are dangerous, that fever is a sign of the body's revved-up defenses fighting infection, and that fever-reducing medications carry their own risks."

The findings were expected to be presented Monday at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Honolulu.

Researchers interviewing almost 500 parents visiting pediatric clinics at Hopkins found that, regardless of ethnicity, all parents tended to overtreat fever and reported giving their children acetaminophen and ibuprofen more often than recommended. The type of fever prescription and treatments, however, varied somewhat by ethnic group.

Hispanic parents had the highest "fever phobia," being 1.5 times more likely than whites and blacks to think fevers can cause death and brain damage. Brain damage only occurs in fevers higher than 107 degrees, and those are quite rare, researchers said.

Hispanic parents were 94 percent less likely than black and whites to view temperatures between 97 degrees and 100.3 degrees as normal. Anything over 100.4 is considered a fever.

Blacks were twice as likely as Hispanics and whites to give their children ibuprofen more often than the recommended single dose every six to eight hours.

Treating fever properly is important, Crocetti said, because it helps with g
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