When should you seriously consider bringing your infant into the ER for a high fever?
What temp is too high?
What methods should you try to reduce the fever before bringing them in, or is there a point at which the fever is too high and just bring them in straight away?

Just wondered... Emelia broke out with a fever last night of 102.6, gave her some baby motrin, and it was all but gone this morning... But she had no other signs of being sick at all, which is what set me off... What are the usual causes for a fever that just comes out of no where like that? I mean, she had no cough, sneezing, runny nose... nothing... just grabbed her up yesterday... and was like: WTF? The air is on in the house, so I know it didn't have anything to do with it being too hot in here... Just seems odd to me.

An excellent question , one that the answers are beginning to change. All infants less than 6 weeks old ( some would say 3 months ) with unexplained fever should be evaluated immediately. This is because a small infant will not show localizing sigs and could have a overwhelming bacterial infection. Older children will show localizing signs. An older child who develops fever can simply have the fever reduced with either acetaminophen ( Tylenol) or ibuprofen. It will reduce their irritability and allow one to make additional observations. If the child perks up and plays , but later gets puny when the fever returns , this is a good sign the illness is probably viral and not serious. If the child does not perk up I would favor having the child seen. If the child has localizing symptoms , such as cough , purulent rhinorrhea , headache , earache , etc , I would also favor that child being seen. Finally if the fever goes over 105 I would advise evaluation. Do not place a child in tepid baths or use ice water. Cool compresses may be used. The rapid elevation or drop in fever can precipitate febrile seizures. Finally if the child does not "look good" get them evaluated. A child with a temp of 101 who is somnolent is far scarier to me than a child with a temp of 105 who is playing and running around.