BRISTOL, England, June 30 (UPI) -- Parents should be advised to use the minimum dose of over-the-counter drugs necessary when treating a child with fever, British researchers warn.
Fever is common in children and can often cause distress, parental anxiety and -- in some parents -- "fever phobia," or undue fear and overly aggressive treatment of fever, according to researchers in Bristol, England.
The drug options are ibuprofen and paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, and British parents commonly give both drugs to a child with fever, the researchers say.
The researchers say they searched the scientific literature but found very little evidence to support prescribing paracetamol and ibuprofen in combination or alternately.
They also found other important gaps in the evidence, including limited safety data and no clear definition of what is a clinically important temperature difference after treatment.
Until such evidence is available, the role of combined anti-fever drugs is uncertain, and parents should be advised to use the minimum treatment necessary, according to the British Medical Journal.
