The greater access to care, the lower the threshold to seek care. Still, Stevens says there are some guidelines to help people make their decisions on whether and when to see a doctor easier. But, he cautions, with so many variables at work, guidelines should never be viewed as an absolute. For parents, the job is extra tough. As it turns out, Brendan had pneumonia.
Many parents use a child's temperature as a gauge in determining if a doctor visit is needed.
But Stevens says there are many gray areas regarding temperature guidelines that depend on a child's age and other symptoms. In general, for a child under 2 months old, a temperature of 100.5 degrees F or below is acceptable for parents to monitor at home as long as the child is feeding, having regular bowel movements and is acting normally. There is no real range for babies older than that, Stevens says. What is an acceptable temperature for some is not for others. Once the temperature of children 18 months and older is more than 103.5 degrees, the question of whether other symptoms exist becomes most important in deciding if they need to be seen by a doctor, Stevens says.