發燒為兒科常見的症狀，雖多數是良性疾病的表徵，然一般父母對發燒抱持著嚴肅且緊張的態度，視之為疾病而非症狀，因而常以退燒為第一要務，極少能忍受孩子發燒而不採取行動。但過早、過多的退燒處理對患童並無益處，反而因方法本身的危險性，或抑制發燒在免疫功能的效用，產生不必要的傷害。父母會採取積極降溫與他們對發燒的概念與擔憂有關，並進而影響其處理方式。本文將針對父母認為發燒的溫度、測量體溫的時機與方法、發燒可能的合併症、處理發燒的方法與資訊來源進行文獻整理，以提供醫護人員瞭解父母對發燒的概念及擔憂，亦藉此自省對發燒的概念與恐懼，進而協助家長建立對發燒的正確認識，減少過度擔憂，並選擇合宜的處理方法。

　　　　　Fever is one of the most common reasons for parents seeking medical care for their children. Although fever is a clinical sign of many benign health conditions, parents usually regard fever as a disease and take it seriously. Because children may be harmed by inappropriate fever management that may inhibit the reaction to improve children's immunity, it is unnecessary to reduce fever immediately. Furthermore, parents' overestimating the dangers of fever and seeking inappropriate management leads to excessive utilization of health-care services. There is a strong correlation between parents' perceptions of and concerns about fever, and these influence their fever management. Reviewing relevant literature from 1980 to 2002, this article demonstrates how parents think of fever and its complications, how they manage fever, and how they get information about fever. This article also provides medical personnel with more information about parents' perception of fever, to help them choose appropriate management for their children with fever as well as to lower their anxiety.