When your baby has a fever, he may be miserable and prefer to be left alone. Flu, viruses and other common illnesses can cause irritability, muscle aches and generalized discomfort. Sensitivity or an overreaction to touch may be a sign of a more serious illness or an infection in a certain part of the body. If your baby has a fever and seems overly sensitive to touch in one area, or if he's very jumpy or arching his back when touched, call your doctor.
Infectious Causes
An infection anywhere in the body can cause a fever and increased sensitivity to touch in the area of infection. If your baby has a bone infection called osteomylitis, he may run a fever and resist moving the limb. The skin over the infected bone may turn red, hot or swollen. Intravenous antibiotics may be needed to treat a bone infection, KidsHealth states. Meningitis, an infection of the meninges, the covering of the brain, can cause extreme arching of the back or neck. A baby with meningitis might have either lethargy or extreme irritability, a bulging fontanelle or a high-pitched cry.
Abdominal Tenderness and Fever
A baby with a fever who resists having his abdomen touched may have a disorder that requires surgical intervention. A child with an abdominal problem such as appendicitis may lay very still, refuse to eat and not want you to touch his abdomen. A baby with an intestinal blockage called intussusception may also resist having his abdomen touched and run a fever. He may also pass bloody stool and vomit when fed.
Risks
Disorders that cause fever and sensitivity to touch could be serious enough to requirement antibiotic treatment or surgery to prevent the disease from worsening. Meningitis is a serious disease that can be fatal or cause brain damage without immediate treatment. Intestinal blockages or appendicitis could cause perforation of the intestines and serious infection called peritonitis if not surgically treated.
Considerations
Most fevers in children do not have serious causes, even if your baby seems more cranky than usual. It can be difficult to know when to call the doctor when your child has a fever, but sensitivity to touch or extreme irritability could indicate a potentially serious problem. A fever of 100.4 degrees F or greater in a baby under 3 months always needs immediate evaluation, warns Larissa Hisrch, M.D. of KidsHealth. Give only baby acetominophen under age 6 months for fever. Do not give ibuprofen to children younger than 6 months, Dr. Hisrch advises. Never give an infant aspirin, not even baby aspirin.
