Should you treat a kid's fever? What doctors say as Trump Tylenol comments spark flu season debate

Doctors agree some fevers don't need to be treated, but insist there's no need to fear acetaminophen, the commonly used pain reliever found in Tylenol.

Treating childhood fevers has long been a source of parental angst. Do you feed a fever or starve it? (Spoiler: Kids who are sick need to eat and drink enough to keep their bodies hydrated and well-nourished, doctors say.)

But in September, when President Donald Trump told pregnant women to “fight like hell not to take” Tylenol over unfounded claims it was linked to autism, the ongoing debate over what’s long been considered a standard of care for kids’ fevers bubbled up again.

“A friend’s baby (7 months) was running a 101 fever on Friday night and she texted me, ‘of course now I’m scared to give him Tylenol,’” one Reddit user posted recently.

A person identifying as a health care worker posted in a different Reddit thread last month that a patient “brought their infant in with 103 fever and said they were too afraid to give acetaminophen.”

The president, who has no medical training, said multiple times that pregnant women and their children should “tough it out” instead of taking the pain reliever.