Your baby's thermostat is set so that if her body temperature is lowered, her body is programmed to produce more heat and therefore raise her body temperature again.
For example, removing your baby's clothing and placing her in a bath with water cooler than her body temperature will cause her to lower the temperature. But your baby body thermostat will respond, causing the baby to shiver to produce more heat and constricting baby's blood vessels to conserve heat.
Fever lowering medications can reset the baby thermostat so that when the child's temperature is lowered by cooling, baby's body will not react to produce more body heat.
The most commonly used medications to help lower your baby's temperature is acetaminophen also know as paracetamol to other country. These medications help lower fever and relieve some of the general aches and babies body pain that often accompany childhood illnesses.
Aspirin has fallen out of favor for treating babies fevers. Aspirin use during certain viral illnesses, such as chicken pox or flu, has been linked to a serious brain and liver disease called Reye's Syndrome.
Acetaminophen or paracetamol is generally recommended instead of aspirin for the young child for the following reason such as, first, it is not linked with Reye's Syndrom, and second, it is available in syrup form and therefore it is easier to administer to the young age of your baby. And third, it does not keep building up in your baby's blood with prolonged usage and so is less likely than aspirin to produce a toxicity with routine use.
Doses should be administered four or five times a day and should not exceed five times in 24 hours. Also, it is not usually necessary to awaken a baby to give fever lowering medications.