BACKGROUND Parental fear and misconceptions about fever are widespread in western society. Ethnicity and sociodemographic factors have been suggested as contributing factors. OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that undue parental concern about fever is less in traditional than in western cultural-ethnic groups. METHODS Bedouin (traditional society) and Jewish (western society) parents of chi...

Fever is the most common complaint among children brought into the emergency department (ED). 'Fever phobia' is a descriptive term for an unrealistic concern about the consequences of fever. 'Fever phobia' is prevalent among parents and even healthcare providers, worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the implications of fever-phobic ideas in Korean caregivers. A prospective, multi-c...

OBJECTIVE To identify the percentage of parents who define the threshold for fever between 38.0°C and 38.3°C, which has not been reported previously, and to describe parental attitudes toward fever and antipyretic use. STUDY DESIGN Thirteen-question survey study of caregivers. RESULTS Overall, 81% of participants defined the threshold for fever as <38.0°C, 0% correctly defined fever between...

conclusions fever phobia remains common, not only among low socioeconomic status mothers but also among those of high socioeconomic status. healthcare providers should take fever phobia into account and provide correct information to caregivers about fever at all visits. patients and methods a questionnaire was use to explore the attitudes, knowledge, and practices of mothers of 861 children br...

BACKGROUND Fever in children is one of the most common clinical symptoms and a chief complaint and a main reason that caregivers took the children to the outpatient service or admitted to hospital. Studies have found that the majority of parents surveyed at a hospital pediatric clinic held unrealistic and unwarranted concerns about fevers, first termed as 'fever phobia' by Schmitt in 1980. In t...

BACKGROUND Fever is a reliable sign of illness, but it also evokes fear and anxiety. It is not the fever itself but the fear of possible complications and accompanying symptoms that is important for pediatricians and parents. OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate maternal understanding of fever, its potential consequences, and impacts on the treatment of children. PATIENTS AND METHODS A questi...

In febrile children younger than 36 months of age, most serious illnesses are caused by infectious agents [3]-[6]. The presence of a fever in children younger than three months of age triggers a thorough investigation into the source of the infection [7][8]. However, the presence of a normal or subnormal temperature in children younger than three months of age can also be associated with severe...