[Ways to reduce fever: are luke-warm water baths still indicated?]

Tepid sponge bathing to reduce temperature may be an aggression against the febrile child organism leading to reactions that will limit the cooling. During the bath, the decrease of the skin temperature induces not only peripheral vasoconstriction, shivering, and metabolic heat production, but also a discomfort. This discomfort occurs when there is a difference between the thermal informations coming from the body and the central thermoregulator set point. It triggers crying when the child has no way to escape. Considering the little effectiveness (0.3 degree C on average) of the association bath cooling and antipyretic treatment versus antipyretic treatment, and the preservation of the child comfort, bathing in tepid water is not useful in current care of children fever.