Is My Baby Too Hot?
If your baby is overheating, he'll feel uncomfortable, especially while sleeping. The sweat can easily cause a rash.
But, in the worst case, it can raise the risk of infant sleep death.
Which is what we call SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome). Unexplained death, usually during sleep.
Infants could be at a high risk of SIDS, mostly during the winter months. As we want the best for our baby, we tend to overdress him and put a high-temperature room. That is because we worry that their baby may get cold.
But at any time of the year, the room temperature must be respected. The ideal should be kept between 20°C to 22.2°C.
In very hot weather, you can let your baby sleep, just wearing a nappy and wrapped in swaddle blanket (no regular blankets).
Let's remind us, the normal temperature in babies is around 36.4°C. And overheating and fevers in babies are around 38°C. Of course, that temperatures can vary in your baby throughout the day.
If your baby is too warm, he will become restless, which means less sleep for him... and, obviously you! You won't help it but feeling guilty, so...NO MORE!
How to know it?
When you're touching the ears and neck if the ears are red (sometimes with red dots and chills) and hot and the neck is sweaty...That's how you know it. Your baby is too hot!
The "heat
rash" is salty sweat and irritates the skin. It mostly appears on their necks,
chest, back, armpits, or thighs.
If you see the skin being red and your infant being confused/unresponsive.
In addition, a rapid heartbeat and/or a fever but no sweat are big signals.
You can
help your baby to cool down by simply bring him to a cooler room/dress him more
lightly.
Or sponge him/give him baby fluids.
Some parents use baby powder to stop the sweating. However, young children's bodies can not regulate their body temperature, so they will keep sweating anyway. It is only good to ease when your baby has a skin rash.
So the only way to cool down is to follow the tips above. If you find the excessive sweat unusual, (especially during meal times), then you should call the pharmacist or your doctor for advice. As it can be a sign of congenital heart disease or trouble sleeping.