What Causes Fever After An Accident?

Posted on Tue, 10 Jun 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 10 Jun 2014 Answered on

Mon, 7 Jul 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : my child was in a motorcycle accident and has second degree road rash. does a fever sometimes occur two days later

Answered by Dr. Arun (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
yes it may happen

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for writing to healthcare magic.
There are two possibilities why fever is occurring now.
A) wound infection.
Only a medical examination would identify this and if positive she might require treatment with antibiotics.
B) Inflammatory response of the skin.
After injury, the inflammation by itself can result in fever. This can be controlled with medicines like ibuprofen.
I would suggest you try ibuprofen for a day or two and if fever persists, get her evaluated.
Regards
Dr Arun

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj