Pulse Rates, Fever Temperatures & Fainting Assistance

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Resting Heart Rate

*In general, the lower your resting heart rate, the more efficient your heart is and the healthier you are.

Target Heart Rate During Exercise

Formula: 60% – 80% of Maximum heart rate (220) – Age

• Check pulse rate by counting beats for one minute. For the resting heart rate, sit quietly for 10 minutes before measuring.
• Pulse points include: neck, wrists, temple and behind the knee. Do not use your thumb since it has its own pulse. If using the neck, don’t press too hard since you can slow the heart down.

Source: Yahoo! Health.

Fever Temperature Measurement Guide & Info

*First published May 7, 2007 and moved to this page for better organization

When Baby's Not Feeling Well It's Important To Have An Accurate Temperature Reading

• Normal Temperature: 99.5 °F (orally) or 100.4 °F (rectally)
• Low-Grade: 38 – 39 °C (100.4 – 102.2 °F)
• Moderate: 39 – 40 °C (102.2 – 104 °F)
• High-Grade: > 40 °C (> 104 °F)
• Hyperpyrexia: > 42 °C (> 107.6 °F)

The above found via: Wikipedia.

What to do if your child has a fever? Visit this page for some advice: Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Some tips include:

Treatment is Extra Fluids and Less Clothing

• Give cold fluids orally in unlimited amounts. (Reason: good hydration replaces sweat and improves heat loss via skin)
• Dress in 1 layer of light weight clothing and sleep with 1 light blanket (avoid bundling). (Caution: overheated infants can’t undress themselves)

Make sure to read the information on their website for suggestions on whether or not professional medical assessment and treatment is required.

Can a fever be good for you? The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Fever is the body’s natural response to infection. Raising the body temperature helps the body to fight off the infection, so it is not always necessary to treat the fever.

However, children with fever often feel uncomfortable and unwell and using measures to bring down their temperature can help.

Fevers, especially if they are rapidly increasing, may occasionally bring about convulsions (fits) in children under five years old. These are not dangerous but they can be frightening. Keeping a child’s temperature from getting too high may prevent fits. Although paracetamol and ibuprofen is widely used in children with fever, it is often not effective in reducing fever and does not reduce the incidence of febrile convulsions.

Did you know Aspirin is not recommended for children? Here’s why (Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital–removed link as the page is no longer available):

Years ago, children’s aspirin was the drug of choice in reducing fever. When giving aspirin to children was linked with a dangerous condition called Reye’s syndrome, doctors began recommending acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol ® ). Until recently, it was the drug most commonly used to treat fever. Then a third drug, ibuprofen, marketed as Advil ® or Motrin® , came on the market in pediatric strength, making the decision over which fever reducer to use more complicated.

*although ibuprofen is not approved for use in kids under 6 months and some doctors claim it can cause more stomach upset than acetaminophen (see: Parents.com).

More reading: Parents.com – Fevers: What You Need To Know, they advise that a doctor’s visit is in order if:

your child is less than 3 months old and has a fever of 100.2°F or more when you take his temperature rectally (the preferred method for babies and young children). Newborns can be exposed to some potent bacterial infections that their immune systems are too immature to handle.

your child is 3 to 6 months old and has a fever of 101°F or more. A child this young may not show signs of feeling sick. “A 3-month-old typically won’t pull on his ear when he has ear pain or cry when he urinates if he has a urinary-tract infection,” says Dr. Buttross. “He needs to be checked out by a pediatrician.”

Please note that none of the information provided is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it’s provided for general knowledge purposes only.

BABE: How To Help Someone Who’s Fainted

*First published July 9, 2007 and moved to this page for better organization

Four steps to help someone who’s fainted:

• B: Roll them on their back (unless they’ve hurt themselves in the fall)
• A: Make sure their airway is clear and keep it clear (look for gum, sometimes they’ll vomit)
• B: Check to make sure they’re breathing and there’s a pulse (if not, this is more serious than fainting and call 911)
• E: If they’re breathing, raise their legs above their head and heart level (to restore blood flow) and loosen ties, collars, belts, restrictive clothing

To help me remember, I use the acronym BABE: Back, Airway, Breathing, Elevate

When someone comes to from fainting, they’ll still be weak and woozy. Don’t allow them to stand or sit up right away, drive or be alone.

Fainting can be caused by serious medical problems or something less serious like stress, too hot, low blood sugar, fear and other factors. Treat it as serious until you know why it happened.

If a person doesn’t come out of it right away (within a minute or so), call 911 for medical assistance.

Source and more information:

MayoClinic