The No. 1 myth pediatricians want parents to know: There is no such thing as a fever that is too high, and it won't damage your child's brain.
The myth is so rampant that Dr. Lara Zibners dedicated an entire chapter to fevers in her new book, "if your kid eats this book, everything will still be okay" (Grand Central Publishing, $14.99, 320 pages).
Zibners, a pediatrician and Carmichael native, wrote the book to serve as a kind of crash-course handbook for parents on how to discern whether a child's ailment is truly an emergency.
Is your child suffering from abdominal pain? Try the potty before the pediatrician - it's likely due to constipation.
Pulling on the ears? This could mean a number of things, not just ear infection.
And the only thing that teething produces is teeth, not fever, diarrhea or a runny nose.
It was Zibners' husband who came up with the idea for the book, after hearing his frustrated wife have the same conversations over and over with patients.
"People were coming into the emergency room with things that shouldn't be in the ER," Zibners said, during a phone interview from her home in London, England.
Zibners, who did a three-year fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine in Columbus, Ohio before working in New York City, said parents would come in wanting to know the difference between Tylenol or Motrin.
One of the more memorable cases from her time in New York was a family who came into the packed ER on Thanksgiving Day. Their 15-year-old daughter had a callous on her foot.
"Most people, when they come in with inappropriate things, it's well intentioned," she said.
Another one of her favorite cases was when a frantic mother brought in her young daughter into the ER with a huge red streak down the child's arm.
"The little girl had eaten a Popsicle and fallen asleep," Zibners said. "I got a wash cloth and wiped it off."
Zibners' book, which has a great index section so parents can quickly reference their child's ailment or situation, covers everything from poop colors to procedures, all in an informative, yet approachable, tone.
"It's meant to be humorous and meant to make you stop and laugh at your own neurotic thinking," she said.
Zibners said her best advice to parents is to "close your ears to all the nonsense that is buzzing out there."
The Internet and even family and friends are chockfull of misinformation and myths, she said.
"You have to rely on your pediatrician and your common sense," she said. "Be very wary of the stuff you hear on the playground and in moms groups."
The myth is so rampant that Dr. Lara Zibners dedicated an entire chapter to fevers in her new book, "if your kid eats this book, everything will still be okay" (Grand Central Publishing, $14.99, 320 pages).Zibners, a pediatrician and Carmichael native, wrote the book to serve as a kind of crash-course handbook for parents on how to discern whether a child's ailment is truly an emergency.
Is your child suffering from abdominal pain? Try the potty before the pediatrician - it's likely due to constipation.
Pulling on the ears? This could mean a number of things, not just ear infection.
And the only thing that teething produces is teeth, not fever, diarrhea or a runny nose.
It was Zibners' husband who came up with the idea for the book, after hearing his frustrated wife have the same conversations over and over with patients.
"People were coming into the emergency room with things that shouldn't be in the ER," Zibners said, during a phone interview from her home in London, England.
Zibners, who did a three-year fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine in Columbus, Ohio before working in New York City, said parents would come in wanting to know the difference between Tylenol or Motrin.One of the more memorable cases from her time in New York was a family who came into the packed ER on Thanksgiving Day. Their 15-year-old daughter had a callous on her foot.
"Most people, when they come in with inappropriate things, it's well intentioned," she said.
Another one of her favorite cases was when a frantic mother brought in her young daughter into the ER with a huge red streak down the child's arm.
"The little girl had eaten a Popsicle and fallen asleep," Zibners said. "I got a wash cloth and wiped it off."
Zibners' book, which has a great index section so parents can quickly reference their child's ailment or situation, covers everything from poop colors to procedures, all in an informative, yet approachable, tone.
"It's meant to be humorous and meant to make you stop and laugh at your own neurotic thinking," she said.
Zibners said her best advice to parents is to "close your ears to all the nonsense that is buzzing out there."
The Internet and even family and friends are chockfull of misinformation and myths, she said.
"You have to rely on your pediatrician and your common sense," she said. "Be very wary of the stuff you hear on the playground and in moms groups."
Writer's note: Before you get feverish over the fever myth and e-mail me in a fit of outrage, here's what Zibners - and other pediatricians I consulted - said about fevers: Fevers should be handled differently depending on the child's age.
Your 1-month-old or younger newborn should see a doctor if the infant is running a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Many babies 1 to 3 months old also should be seen by a doctor if the temperature hits 100.4 degrees.
Fever in a child older than 3 months? Look at how the child is acting to discern whether there's a bigger problem. If the child has a temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and is happy and bursting with energy, not a problem. If they are miserable with the fever and continue to be pathetic after the fever has dropped, call the doctor.
