Objective:

To carry out a critical and reflexive analysis of nursing professionals and family caregivers routine practices in feverish child caring, in order to promote the caring based on scientific evidence that assures child well-being.

Content synthesis:

a literature review of scientific articles published between 2007 and 2017 was conducted in following databases: EBscohost, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and CUIDEN®, for which descriptors, and their combinations in Spanish, Portuguese and English Fever; Caregivers; and Child were used. A compendium of 45 selected and analyzed articles was elaborated containing the caring practices with convergences, divergences and complementarities. Results were pooled into five topics, as follows: Historical conception of fever; Fever phobia: a conception in current caring practices; Sponge bath: a controversial ancestral practice; The use of antipyretics: a routine contrary to the health and children's life; Fever: in pursuit of a benefits perspective.

Conclusions:

The conception of fever in children by focusing on the fear and the damage still remains. The most common caring actions, such as sponge bath and antipyretics use and abuse, have been questioned from the scientific evidence, showing the deleterious effects that they produce on the children's health. After a case-by-case assessment, child caring should focus on comfort, on a cool and quiet environment, and on increase in fluid intake to avoid dehydration and other complications.

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