Fever in Children: When to Worry and When to Wait
Fever is not the illness — it is the body fighting one. How the child looks and behaves tells you far more than the number on the thermometer.
Read articleAbout the Paediatrics department
The paediatrics department cares for children from the first minutes of life to adolescence. A neonatologist attends high-risk deliveries, and the neonatal intensive care unit supports premature babies, low-birth-weight infants, babies with jaundice or breathing difficulty and those needing early antibiotics.
The outpatient clinic handles the everyday concerns of childhood — fever, cough and cold, loose motions, poor appetite, wheezing, skin rashes, and the growth and development questions that worry every parent. Immunisation is given according to the national schedule with reminders for the next dose.
The paediatric intensive care unit manages severe dehydration, seizures, severe pneumonia, dengue with warning signs and other conditions where a child's condition can change quickly. Children are looked after in a separate area from adults, with a parent allowed to stay wherever it is clinically possible.
Conditions we treat
The presentations seen most often in this department. If your symptom is not listed, book a consultation anyway — the clinic will redirect you if another speciality fits better.
- Newborn jaundice, prematurity and low birth weight
- Neonatal sepsis and respiratory distress
- Fever and childhood infections
- Diarrhoea and dehydration
- Pneumonia, bronchiolitis and childhood asthma
- Febrile seizures
- Growth faltering and nutritional deficiency
- Anaemia in children
- Developmental concerns
- Dengue and seasonal illness in children
Procedures and services
- Newborn assessment and high-risk delivery attendance
- Neonatal intensive care with incubator support
- Phototherapy for neonatal jaundice
- Neonatal and paediatric ventilation
- Immunisation as per the national schedule
- Growth and development monitoring
- Nebulisation and asthma management in children
- Rehydration therapy
Technology and support
Equipment matters only when it is available at the moment of need. These services sit on the same campus, with laboratory and imaging cover round the clock.
- Neonatal intensive care unit with warmers and incubators
- Phototherapy units
- Neonatal and paediatric ventilators
- Paediatric intensive care beds
- Child-friendly outpatient consultation area
When to seek urgent care
Do not wait for an outpatient appointment if any of the following applies. Call 9281862028 or come straight to the emergency department, which is open 24 hours and does not require an appointment.
- A baby under three months with any fever
- A child who is unusually drowsy, floppy or difficult to wake
- Fast or laboured breathing, or chest indrawing
- No urine for eight hours, sunken eyes, or no tears when crying
- A rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best paediatrician in Anantapur?
The right paediatrician is the one whose experience matches your problem. At SIMS Hospital, Anantapur, paediatrics care is provided by Dr. R. Geethanjali (Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist), Dr. Raghu Vamshi (Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist), Dr. S. Ram Priyanka (Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatalogist), Dr. Loknath (Consultant Paediatrician). Book with a consultant by name, or describe your symptoms and the appointment desk will match you to the right specialist.
When should a child's fever be treated at hospital rather than at home?
Bring the child in for fever in an infant under three months, fever above 38.5°C that does not respond to paracetamol, fever lasting more than three days, fever with a rash, fever with breathing difficulty, or any child who is drowsy, refusing feeds or passing very little urine.
My child missed a vaccine dose. Do we restart the schedule?
No. Missed doses are caught up, not restarted. Bring the immunisation card and the paediatrician will plan the catch-up schedule.