Your young child’s cheeks are flushed, the look in their eyes listless and appetite gone. All signs point to a fever. Fever is a clever mechanism used by the body to defend itself against many medical conditions, including middle ear, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections common in childhood. The temperature hike turns up the heat on bacteria and viruses, making it harder for them to survive and multiply. But the younger the child is, the more their parents worry when the little one’s temperature keeps rising, especially if they show no interest in eating and drinking. Dr Burkhard Lawren…