chicken 6°F and then washed with soap and cold water. Sterilize the thermometer by soaking it in rubbing alcohol before storing it in its case. Place it back in the medicine cabinet where it will be handy the next time you need it. Do not let children treat the thermometer as a toy. TREATMENT OF FEVER The most reliable medications for lowering fever are aspirin and acetaminophen, a nonaspirin pain reliever. You can give one children's aspirin or the equivalent amount of acetaminophen for every 15 pounds of weight. This dose can be repeated every four hours. Other basic guidelines for administering aspirin or acetaminophen include the following: 1. Do not awaken the child to give aspirin or acetaminophen. 2. Do not mix aspirin and acetaminophen or alternate them. 3. Call the doctor if fever persists longer than 48 hours or if other signs of illness are present. Keep a feverish child only lightly clothed or covered to allow the body heat to escape, which will help lower a fever. Other methods of reducing a fever include placing the child in a lukewarm bath and encasing the naked child in a wet sheet. A child with a consistently high temperature should be under the care of a doctor. Although giving aspirin has long been the accepted home treatment for lowering a fever, aspirin should not be used if the child has a viral infection, particularly chicken pox or influenza. A condition called Reye's syndrome has been associated with the use of aspirin in the treatment of chicken pox or influenza (see Reye's syndrome). Reye's syndrome is a relatively rare type of encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) accompanied by changes in the liver. The condition usually starts after the child has begun to recover from chicken pox or influenza. It has not been proved that aspirin causes or promotes Reye's syndrome, but it is recommended that aspirin not be given to children with chicken pox or influenza. Instead, sponge baths and acetaminophen (which has not been linked to Reye's syndrome) should be used to manage the fever and other symptoms. RELATED TOPICS: Chicken pox: Convulsions with fever; Influenza: Reye's syndrome? Before you leave the doctor's office or get oJJ the phone, make sure you know how to give your child the prescribed medication. Treating a sick child with medication is a twoway responsibility, and it's a perfect example of how parent and doctor work together in the interests of the child's health. The doctor is responsible for making an accurate diagnosis of the child's condition and prescribing the appropriate drug. But it is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the drug is administered correctly. Medications It has been estimated that in 10 to 30 percent of cases in which medication apparently failed to work, that failure was because the medication wasn't given properly. Whenever a doctor prescribes medication for your child, the doctor will also instruct you in how the medicine should be given. If you don't understand, ask. roseola