High Fevers on a 9 Month Old

Have you tried taking him to a children's ER (like Cook's?) I would think they would be more likely to run tests and such since they know how severe this could be. The fact that you're worried means something is wrong. Hope he gets better.

I agree with Jodi. It sounds like it's time to get a second opinion. That seems too high for a little guy to have off and on. Hope you get some answers and he feels better soon!

First, pray for him. Ask the Lord to heal him.

Rotate Tylenol and Morton.

Everytime his fever gets high put him in the tub and put the water on room temp. mommy needs to get in with him and hold him. Slowly get the water cooler but not cold, you do not want him to go into shock.

Get an onion and cut it in half and place it near the child. The onion sucks up any bacteria or virus's in the room. Leave it out for a few days. When it looks like it is drying up trim off the dry part and it is moist on the inside.

Put vicks on the bottom of his feet and then put socks on him and the vicks will draw the fever out of him through his feet.

Heat up some chicken noodle soup and give him at a light warm temp. the liquid from the soup, not the soup itself - just the liquid.

Give him as much water as he will take.

If he only has a fever with no cold symptoms then it is a viral infection and there is no antibiotic that can make it go away. You will just need to ride this out. But for him to be like this for awhile now you need to find a new Dr. that will listen.

Trust me these things will work.

I will pray for him. God bless you all.

My daughter got a fever of 102 or so whenever she had a tooth coming in. Guess it lowered her immune system. She pulled on her ear and it had given her an ear infection somehow. They gave me antibiotics and said that all bad ear infections should be treated asap to save hearing. Another suggestion. Does that fit your pattern?

Otherwise:

I discovered "JustAnswers.com" on the web. experts in several categories including docs and vets.

You can put that question out there. Give any other pertinent info.
They will look for a pediologist who feels he can answer that question satisfactorily and give further advice. I tried it for an important life or death vet question for my doc at 11:00 at night and got a great pro and advice.

I believe you get the credentials on them first from the list of whose available on line around that timeframe. I think they e-mail you when they are going to be available. You say if you're going to pay the cheapest rate, moderate or high - based on what you think it is worth for that question. I picked medium ($15 I think). He wrote a two page response, asked a few more questions, I asked a few more and got another 1 page back. It proved to be my best advice. I tipped him after his response too. I was just telling my friends about that online service today.

A fever is the bodies response to an infection. The infection is either viral or bacterical (very very rarely could be fungal). The infection has been lasting for 2 months and is causing very high fevers. Here's what I would do.

Go to the Dr., state the history, listen to all his ideas. Then any of these things that were not done, I would ask for a CBC as well as anything else he feels is necessary to see if his white blood count (WBC) is elevated (determine if the infection is bacterial or viral.) If it is a bacterial infection, his white cells should be through the roof. Antibiotics would be the course of action AFTER determining where the infection is.

If the white blood cells are moderately high or normal, it is more than likely viral. There are several chronic viral infections HIV, Hepatitis, etc. that are more than likely not a problem, but could be and would need treatment.

There is the chance that his body is responding to a non-existent infection. This would be an autoimmune issue.

I am not a medical professional in any way. Just been through this stuff with my kiddos. Best wishes. It is my opinion that this is urgent and I would not ignore this.

My oldest son regularly got high fevers and it was not unusual for us to see 106. He had one febrille seizure at 18 months, which was the scariest thing I have ever encountered. He just seemed to get high fevers whenever he got sick, and he was thoroughly tested and there was nothing wrong with him. It was normal for him. He outgrew the high fevers as he got older and is now 15 and a very healthy child. My ped said some kids do run high and that is just how they run, and in the absence of any disorder, it does not harm them as children can tolerate much higher temps than adults (a 106 temp in an adult would be much worse than in a child). Also, the seizures can happen at low or high temps, it just depends on how quickly it rises. When it goes up rapidly, it can trigger the seizure. I would recommend having him go through some good testing to rule out anything more serious for him and for your peace of mind. If he is just a high fever baby, just be glad there is no serious issue and know that in time he will grow out of it.

Have you made an appointment with a pediatrician and asked why he could be having these high fevers? What have they said? I suggest that if Tylenol and Motrin reduce the fever perhaps there is not a medical reason for needing to know the cause. As Ina G. said, babies often have fevers that can get this high when they have a virus. Yes, high fevers can result in seizures but as long as the fever responds to the medication there is little cause for concern.

Do you immediately give the Tylenol or Motrin before the fever increases? If this doesn't prevent the fever from increasing to 105% and the appointment with his pediatrician doesn't resolve the issue for you I'd make an appointment with a different one. I'd only go to a different one if you've given your regular pediatrician the opportunity to answer your questions during a regular appointment.

When I suggest an appointment, I mean one made in advance, when he's not having a high fever. If he had a high fever when he saw his pediatrician I suggest that the doctor dealt with the immediate fever only. If he didn't answer your questions, call his office and tell them that you still have question. Ask the receptionist to relay your question about the cause of the fever to the doctor and ask for him/her to return your call.

My son would get high fevers and then ear infections. Everytime I went to the ER, I would get 'its just a virus. do the tylenol/motrin rotation and let it run its course'. This happened every 3 weeks for a year. Then started getting closer. Then one day, at the fever onset, he broke out in hives. Turns out he was allergic to a food that his school was offering every 3 weeks.

My neice got a 105 temp 2x in 1 month that they said was swine flu and then the regular flu.

Start a food journal. Write down everything he eats and drinks. Make notes about where you were, etc.

When he gets the high fevers, put him in a luke warm bath. Not hot. Not cold
Push clear, room temp fluids. Cold fluids will cause chills.
Write down his temp everytime you give him medicine.
Write down every time he has a pee or poop diaper.

Its a lot of work, but the next time you go to the dr. you'll have more info to provide.
Good luck
M.

Kids get high fevers for the littlest virus. My daughter had a bunch and we were also advised to give tylenol or motrin. She had and x-ray to exclude pneumonia once at the ER and her pediatrician usually checked her ears and lungs as well. As long as the fever is responding to the medicine follow your doctor's directions.
Is he going to daycare? During my daughter's first year in daycare she came down with something every or every other week!
If in doubt, take him to a pediatrician for a second opinion. Some hospitals also have a pediatric ER...

when my son, my third child, first got a super high fever, i freaked out. since then, almost every time he gets sick, his fevers are really high. apparently, that's just the way his body works. they come down with medicine, though, which i give when they get dangerously high.

I would get a second opinion. I don't want to scare you, and mine was an isolated case, but just a scenario of what can happen. My daughter had a fever of 104. I took her to the primacare on the weekend. They couldn't find anything wrong with her but the fever so they gave her antibiotics and sent her home. 2 weeks later she had heart failure. She had a heart disease and 5 months later had a heart transplant. I know this is a rare case, but I kick myself everyday for not following my gut and getting another opinion. You know as a Mom when something isn't right with your child - follow your instincts. If there is anything I have learned from my journey it is that we must be advocates for our children - nobody else will. Now I take my daughter in for the littlest thing - if they want to think I'm paranoid that is just fine by me as long as my precious daughter is okay! Hope this helps - it truly wasn't meant to freak you out.

Definitely have another opinion. A high fever like that can cause a seizure.

Time to get a second opinion. That is not normal.

I'm not familiar with where Joshua is in TX, but most major cities now have Pediatric ERs. My recommendation, should this happen again, would be to go to a Children's hospital.

But, fevers of 105+ are EXTREMELY dangerous. I'm surprised they haven't been doing more to determine the cause of the infection. My nephew had a febrile seizure when he was 18 months old. They never found the source, but he's still monitored for neurological implications.

Tylenol and Motrin will only alleviate the fever temporarily. Whatever is causing it needs to be addressed medically. Though infection is usually the primary cause of fever, it is not the only cause. I'd really press for a CBC (complete blood count) to see if anything else is out of the normal range that may signify another source.

Good luck. I hope you can find some answers soon.

ER doctors don't really have the specialty pediatric knowledge to find the cause of something, they treat the immediate emergency and refer you back to your pediatrician for the long term treatment, so they aren't going to be the best help. And if my pediatrician was basically blowing me off about a fever of 105 (!!!) I would find another one in a heartbeat. This is the danger zone. I cannot imagine not trying to get the bottom of this, please try to find another pediatrician.

I would ask to have him tested for a UTI. My daughter had a 104 fever for 2 days and it turned out to be a UTI. She has a condition called kidney reflux that we did not know about until it was diagnosed ( through testing) after her fever. UTI's can cause kidney damage if left untreated so I would insist on having him tested. 105 is a pretty high fever so I would get it checked out. Please update us on how he is doing.