Sick Baby! High Fever Help!

Hi D.,

I am a Chiropractor, and I recommend my patients Cacium Lactate(from Standard Process) in the powder form, it is an excellent remedy for lowering fevers without the side effects.

If you need to ask more question look me up at www.angelchiro.com

Since my son was born anytime he gets a fever, I will strip down to just my undergarments and lay him on my chest with nothing on him and the body heat draws the fever out of his body. He is now 6.5 yrs old and it still works...hope it helps! Med's and babies do not mix, sometimes you have to go "old school".

Didn't read the other responses, but goodness, keep seeing a Dr. about it! Even if it means going to a different ped!!

My biggest concern would be the lethargic behavior & being "out of it" - that's WAY different than a kid that's just battling a normal fever. It may ABSOLUTELY be nothing, so don't assume the worst. Maybe it's just the way his body reacts when teething or fighting something, but shoot, I wouldn't rest until at least that part of his symptoms was resolved.

I have a different response to fever. I let it cook the pathogen out of the body.

Check with your pediatrician, but it's my understanding that even 104 is not unusual or dangerously high for a baby.

I remember my son got sick at that age, and he really looked listless, like he was dying, and I did what you did and took him to the pediatrician. The diagnosis was, "He's sick. He'll get better."

So I guess I would keep checking in with the doctor (and follow up on the UTI suggestion...that seems smart) but as long as the doc isn't too worried about it, let the fever do it's job. (Or lower it a bit, but don't use so much Tylenol that the fever disappears.)

I know it sounds crazy, but I've given Tylenol only once when my son hit 105. Anything below that makes him sleepy, and when he's sick, he needs that rest.

That said, my sister-in-law learned in nursing school that it wasn't useful to go over 102. In other words, a fever of 101 or 102 cooks the germs just as well as 105. So perhaps you could use that as a Tylenol target?

You aren't drugging up your baby with infant Tylenol or Motrin if you are giving the proper dose and waiting 6 hours between.
According to my Pediatrician - the old wives tale of putting the bay in a cool bath can actually shock the baby into seizures! So, do the cool compress on the forehead, give lots of clear liquids, breastfeed if you can and dress Baby lightly with as much exposed skin as possible to cool him/her down. Keep the temp under 104 as best as you can, you should notice Baby perk up a little if you get the fever down with medicine. Alternate the medicines if they both work - Motrin lasts longer so give that for bedtime.

Hang in there!

Don't want to alarm you, but has your pediatrician looked into Kawasaki disease? That can be extremely dangerous if not treated early.

did they check for bladder infection? My daughter spiked a 105 fever at 11 mo because of that.

Soo sorry you have a sick baby. That is the worst feeling to not know exactly what is going on. My kids had the same symptoms last week. It was the flu. I didn't recognize it at first because some of the symptoms (congestion, cough, etc.) come on later. At the beginning there is usually a scratchy or sore throat which your baby obviously would not be able to tell you about. Did they test him for the flu? High fever is common with this. There is a test they can do in the office to check for the presence of the influenza virus. They put a q-tip up the nose and then look for the virus. Not comfortable but simple.

Read this! http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/tc/influenza-symptoms

More symptoms come on as the virus progresses.

The white cell count means there is an infection of some kind. It could be bacterial or viral.

Hopefully you guys are through the worst of it! I hope that is all they find.

Take care.

Keep bugging the Doctor! It could be Roseola, my daughter had that around 7 months. Alternate giving tylenol and motrin. Popscicles are a great way to help keep him hydrated and Pedialite has some that actually dont take bad at all.

When my daughter was around 12 or 13 months, she went to bed with a slight fever (we thought teething). at 10:30 pm, she woke up screaming! I went to get her and she was burning up! Then she started vomiting. I didnt have a thermometer (it was broke), so I called me husband at work and told him to meet me at the ER, as I knew somethign had to be wrong. We got her there and her temp was over 104.6! They brought it down quickly with a tylenol suppository and started doing tests to see what was wrong. The drew blood and put in a catheter to get a clean urine sample to check for an UTI. The the ER Dr tried to tell me not to panick when her temp went up that high! He tried to say that it was normal, and that unless it got to 106 they usually dont worry about it! I told him, that it was not normal for my daughter. She hated men of any sort except dad when she was that age and she just laid there while a Male Dr poked and prodded her...NOT NORMAL!

They didnt find anything wrong with her, bt I did take her to her normal Dr the next day, and the Pedi said the ER Dr didnt know what he was talking about!

be sure not to cover him. The heat needs to dissapate naturally through the skin. You can give a cool bath (not cold) and sometimes that lasts as long as medicine as far as fever reducer. keep him hydrated. If he's vomiting, keep putting the liquids in. Everyone has their own ideas about which liquids, but water is always safest. Ice water if he has a fever at the time. You can give it by the teaspoon full. Yes, he's listless, but that is how the body heals. it spends all it's energy on the virus and none elsewhere.

I'm so sorry you're going through this D.. I know that a "fever" virus has been going through our school - thankfully my son (who is 6) didnt' get it, but SO many kids AND parents have. One our parents said that their Doctor called it the 5 day fever. It starts off with a dry cough, 5 days of fever, then wraps up with a wet cough. This parent did keep her son in cool wraps and cool water occasionally - for relief.

Please take care and keep us posted.

L. W.

You've already gotten some great advice so there's not much else I can contribute other than to try Infant Advil and Tylenol. (as opposed to Motrin). I found the Advil worked best. Also if the fever gets really bad you can give both meds at once. The ER did this for my daughter when she had this issue right around the same age and they told me I can do the same. It helps control the fever. Obviously make sure your giving the doses every 4-6 or 6-8 hours as directed. But I've just found Infant Advil (found at Longs) works the best. My daughter is now two and I still use it. Just keep giving lots of liquids, even popsicles. Sometimes these sicknesses take time. My daughter was sick for almost two weeks before she finally got better and it was just a viral thing. Good luck and hang in there!

Hi there!

My son used to get ridiculously high fevers as a baby. I believe it was mostly viruses. I used to alternate between the motrin and the tylenol, so if he couldn't have the motrin yet, I would give him the tylenol. Also, if it got too high, I would put him in a luke warm bath. Your son is most likely just building his immune system. I'm sure he will get better soon. By the way, my son is now a very happy and healthy 9 year old. Let me know if you need any prayer for him and I would be happy to do so. Blessings!

Have you tried the cooling bath to get his fever down? Putting him in a luke warm bath and slowly adding cold water? Opposite of the boiling frog scenario. It seems to work and is drug free. Also, When my son has had a fever, his pediatrician has said to shy away from the tylenol, advil, motrin and all the stuff everyone is mentioning. It has been in the news some too. Babies can have bad reactions to the medication. He said to just give him (I don't remember how to spell it) acetemetaphin, You can get it at the drug store right next to the infant tylenol and it only has that one ingredient. Just an infant fever reducer.

I would keep pressuring the doctors, take him to another doctor.

Best of luck and I hope he recovers soon. I am sure you are terrified.

Hi D.,
If your baby is having high fevers like this....why do they not have him in hospital? The elevated white count clearly shows some sort of infection....how is he eating and sleeping any rash? Vomiting?

Please just be persistent with the doctors and nurses. Don't worry about being nice, just go with your mommy instinct and make sure your baby is getting what he needs! Also, you could try sponge baths to cool him down. I'm praying for him and you.

have u seen other symptoms besides high fever? rash, swollen lymph nodes, red eyes? my 7 mo.baby initially had high fever that really could not b treated w/ tylenol, motrin alternate & was later diagnosed as kawasaki disease, so b sure to watch for other symptoms similar to roseola/hand&foot&mouth virus that all begin w/ high fever but need to b treated differently.

Age makes a good difference in the severity of a fever My son came down with a fever of 100 when he was 2 weeks old, the hospital had me rush him by ambulance and kept him there for 2 weeks as they discovered Ecoli in his urinary tract, which went to his blood, which was on the way to his brain. Luckily they caught and treated it in time and he is now 4 1/2 years old. I do recall that after 3-4 months of age the intensity of the fever becomes less dangerous, but at a very young age it is extremely dangerous as it is a signal that something is very wrong. The fact that they've run all those tests, is great. If there is bacteria in the blood, it will grow and they will get the baby on the proper antibiotics to get rid of it (as you may know each bacteria responds to different antibiotics though). This is in no way to sound alarming, but it may just be the virus that is going around (it seems like everyone has it), but if it is not, it sounds like the doctor is running a lot of tests and you will get your answer soon. Good luck.

Usually more uncommon in boys, but have the doctor check for a bladder/urinary tract infection. Ongoing UTI can turn into a kidney infection quickly. Get urine cultures! Good luck.

Last time my daughter ran 104 was when she had a uti. did they do a urinalysis?

I know it is so hard to see our babies sick! Taking Motrin or Tylenol over the course of several days is not a problem and if it helps you should keep doing it. When his fever is down he should be much less lethargic.

Also, cool (not cold) baths can help get a core temp down, but some babies hate them. You'll have to see what his reaction is.

One thing to watch with the Tylenol is that you don't give another dose before time and make sure you're coordinating with dad (or other caregivers)about when a dose was given. Tylenol is perfectly safe at the recommended dose, but if a double dose is accidentally given it can cause serious problems. We generally stick to Motrin/Advil around our house just to be extra safe.

Hang in there!

Hi D., I am sorry your baby isn't feeling well. Could he be teething? My kids always had fevers while they were teething, I just don't remember them being that high. I would take him back for a second opinion. Hope he is feeling better soon.

Our baby went through something similar. She ended up having
a bladder infection. Did they check your babies urine?

My daughter, who is almost 2, has just gone through something very similar. She started to run a fever, had no appetite and was cranky and lethargic. But she had no cold or flu symptoms. After 3 days and a fever over 104, (Which you do not need to go to the ER for, you need to get your child in a tepid water bath as soon as possible. The ER will only try to cool them down using the same method, and you can do it faster at home. You need to put them in the water for at least 20 min, 30 is better, and poor the water over their head and upper body) I took her to Urgent Care, as it was Sat. and I could not see my regular Dr. The Dr. at Urgent Care checked her ears and did a strep throat swap. She listened to her chest and said everything was fine and there was nothing to do but wait it out. I was not happy with this, so on Monday I called my regular Dr. He wanted to see her right away. He put in a catheter to get a urine sample, and as soon as the urine started to flow we saw it was very cloudy. She had a UTI, which if it had been treated on Sat would have just been a simple UTI, but because the Urgent Care Dr. did nothing it had become a kidney infection. My Dr. said that if there is a fever for more than 3 days with no other symptoms a UTI should automatically be suspected and tested for.

My son had this a few months ago. The doctor said it was a virus going around. The only thing I could do was Tylenol & moltrin. Every four - six hours give him one or the other. They gave me a surring for water. That was the only way I could get fluids in him. He wasn't wanting a bottle or food. I hope this helps. J.

My oldest daughter (now 13) had the same problem when she was your child's age until she was 2 - 3 yrs old. The fevers worsen and our doctor finally had us run a bank of test. She had a staph infection (an edema(?) the size of a lemon on her liver). Children's Hospital was very helpful and she was treated for 3-4 weeks with antibiotics. Dr. Ann Petru at CHO worked with us.

M. C.

we just did the same at our house! we were informed that it was probably a virus and to wait it out. to treat the fever i kept her as cool as i could with very few clothes, cold damp washcloth for her forehead, cold water in a bottle, tepid bathwater, and frozen "mr. booboo" to snuggle. it meant i was a little chilly, and everything around us was damp from the washcloth, but at the end we had a healthy baby, a whole lot less laundry than usual, and even two new teeth as a bonus. good luck!

Hi D.,

I agree with the other posters...this can be serious and your baby needs to be seen by another doctor for a second opinion. I run a daycare and a few months ago there was an outbreak of Roseola which caused high fevers and then a body rash... you can read more about Roseola here:
http://www.medicinenet.com/roseola/article.htm
Normally with Roseola, the fever is only a couple of days... however it did last about 4 days with my little boy. Depending on the average tempature your baby is running... is it averaging 101 or 104?? If it is consistantly 104 I would take him in and demand they run more tests.
I found this which may help you:

How should the fever be treated?

If the fever is not causing the child to be uncomfortable, the fever need not be treated. It is not necessary to awaken the child to treat a fever unless instructed to do so by a health-care practitioner.
If you wish to treat the fever, acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) can be used to lower a fever. Aspirin should never be used for fever in children or adolescents.
A child with a fever should be kept comfortable and not be overdressed. Overdressing can cause the temperature to go higher. Bathing with tepid water (85 F or 29.5 C) may help bring down a fever. Never sponge a child (or an adult) with alcohol; the alcohol fumes may be inhaled causing many problems. If a child develops shivering during the bath, the temperature of the bath water should be raised.

Please don't use cool or cold water as that will only make the body think it needs to warm itself up and your child will get hotter. Make sure to keep the bath water luke warm and heat it up when and if your chid is shivering.
Good luck and please, if his tempatures remain high... take him back in.

alternate between the Tylenol and Motrin. Anyway, you can give one every two hours.That was the only thing that helped my daughter as an infant. Usually it was just Motrin.

Stay on the docs. Keep going back. If it goes to 104 again, take her to the ER.... one with a pediatrician on staff at all times. It makes a difference!

Stephanie

Hi,
I'm so sorry to hear that your 8 month old has been so sick. I know it is hard when the baby is sick, and I know that high fevers can be scary. My daughter had a series of high fevers about 6 months ago... she was 3.5 yrs old. I think it is harder when they are younger, but no matter what age, it is tough. Her fever actually got so high, she had a febrile seizure. They had me alternate between tylenol and motrin so that she always had something in her constantly. You may want to ask the pediatrician about that if the fever doesn't break. I also put her in a lukewarm bath periodically to keep her fever down. When she wasn't in the bath, I took off most of her clothes and put cool, moist, towels on her body to keep her temp down. In particular, to the forehead and torso. I know it can be really frustrating, b/c the first time she went through this, they didn't really know what was causing it. I was just told to keep her fever down. We were on vacation at the time, and she was managed at an ER. We brought her back home to her pediatrician when it was safe to bring her back, and she was diagnosed and treated for pneumonia. My heart goes out to you. I hope they figure out what is going on and that your baby feels better soon. If you have any questions, you can always write me. Take care.

Call the doctor and don't take "we don't know" for an answer. Ask for second opinions from other doctors. Chances are it is a virus, but don't be passive about this. You are clearly worried and you should pay attention to that.

Ask what you can do to reduce the fever and do it. High fevers can cause brain damage and are very serious even for adults. Your concerns about keeping him drugged are understandable, but it is more important to reduce the fever for now.

Gently wiping his skin with cool washcloths may make him more comfortable too.

that is not good for anyone to run a fever that high or that long "" please take your baby to children hospital'' my son had a stroke at the age of one to be on the safe side take him in to ''CHILDREN HOSPITAL ''

Can you take him to a pediatrician with all of his lab results? Not all urget care facilities are used to treating children.

I was just talking to a fellow parent yesterday, and he said that his son had this last week. The time before, his son had come down with strep throat, which apparently is going around. After 3-4 days, he finally insisted that the doctor do a swab test...and, sure enough--strep throat!

Of course, I'm not saying that's what it is, as I know you've been given some great advice and insight. But, like one of the responders said, don't take "i don't know" for an answer. There's too much of that type of diagnosis going around lately, and--even though I can understand and agree that too much antibiotics are being given out as well--the two of you have suffered long enough. Your little guy needs the *right* medication to nip this. Good luck and hang in there!

D.,
A baby that has a high fever and will still smile and play is treated differently than a baby that won't smile or play. You need to take him to a pediatrician or hospital ER....not to an urgent care center. The fact that his WBC are so elevated is showing that he has a bacterial infection somewhere in his body and it will need to be treated aggressivly with antibiotics. Even if his temp is down, if he isn't smiling and playful, he is still in that dangerous zone. Please don't delay his treatment, he will probably just get worse again! If he is acting like he is in pain, he needs further evaluation which should include a spinal tap for meningitis.

Hi D.- My 2 year old gets high fevers once any virus or cold strikes. Outside of her chronic ear infections giving her low grade fevers, a simple virus will giver her a fever of 106. In January my kids had the worst virus. My daughter's pediatrician said this was a horrible flu season. I was going back and forth because her fever was high for 5 days. She ended up with RSV then bacterial pneumonia. They did blood cultures and it was horrible. She became dehydrated, which will increase their fever. They did a chest exray which revealed the virus went to her lung and caused pneumonia which was causing the high fever and dehydration. They got her super strong antibiotics and put her on an IV overnight. As soon as she was hydrated she was able to break the high fever. I would have never guessed she had pneumonia because she was not coughing just hot and laying down miserably. Well about 3 weeks ago she got another flu which again her fevers were up to 105. At that point I knew she gets high fevers, which is a good sign that your childs immune system is working. I ensured I hydrated her even if it meant water drops via syringe and this time she fought it faster. Hopefully labs are good...Thank goodness flu season is coming to an end.

Both my children had roseola when they were around 1 year old--it started with a fever for several days, followed by a rash (pretty much all over their body--looked terrible). The rash lasted for several days also. If it turns out to be roseola, the good news is that it is very common and not serious. But it's still awful to have to see our little ones so sick. Hope the fever breaks soon--please keep us posted.

Hi D.. I don't want to worry you more than you already are, but that sounds exactly like my nephew's symptoms when he got menengitis. My sister was sent home THREE times, before the fourth doc finally caught it. They kept telling her that it was just another normal baby thing (cold/fever etc.) And to give him tylenol. I can't stress enough to keep taking him in if you think that the doctor is wrong. You are your son's biggest advocate, and you need to be the one to challenge the doctor's opinion if you don't agree with it. You know your baby better than anyone, even a doctor, and if you think something is wrong, there probably is. Don't deny your instincts. There is a reason you asked us here about it, even after you saw a doc. If your baby is still lethargic, and not himself, take him back in. We, as mothers, often worry what doctors will think of us, and so we don't question their opinion. I promise you that they have seen other moms that worry more, and are much more over protective that us, and it won't offend them if we want more thorough testing, or a second opinion. And remember, doctors do make mistakes, and can miss things. If anything happens to your little one, you will have wished you would have brought him back-even if it takes four doctors to catch it, like with my nephew. And so you know, he was showing obvious symptoms, and there are tests that should have been given(that's the protocol) but the first three doctors didn't bother to do them! His white cell count was off too, and the urgent care gave him an antibiotic shot too-which did nothing but screw up the test results on the spinal tap they did after finally realizing it was menengitis. He eventually started having regular seizures, and is still on an everyday seizure med that he will always need. Please take him back in. Good luck, and God bless.

Fluids are the best, best thing. Maybe see if he will suck on a popsicle...something to cool him down and give him fluids at the same time. I would give him the antibiotics. Good luck and lots of prayers for you & him.
T.

Four days does seem like a long time, but you are in touch with your doctor which is the critical thing.
My daughter had a fever for two days, and other friends have reported the same, so there could be some sort of bug going around. I'm also pretty sure she's teething--could that be possible for your baby?

I agree with the other posters...also, have them check for a UTI. And please don't give your baby a cold bath to bring down the fever...this can cause the body to go into shock and could cause a seizure. Tepid water is best. Just be persistant with those docs, and get a second opinion if needed. Good luck, God bless and know we are thinking positive thoughts for your little one!

I would take your child to a different doctor and get a second opinoin. This is not right and they need to find out asap. Your little guy needs to get better now.
F.

D.,

Babies can have febrile seizures, stroke etc.at that high of a fever. Take your baby to the emergency room right now! Don't let them release him until they know exactly what is wrong and have the fever under control. I will be thinking about you-- I hope he's ok.

Hugs,

Molly

Monitor the fever closely cause you don't want it to get to high or stay high for extended periods of time. Give him the tylenol as recommended. Its better thab ridking him having seizures from a high fever. You can also cool him down with cool rags or a cool bath.

Hi D.,
Hang in there, I know how hard it is when they are sick.... Fiona, my daughter had a high fever of about 104 to 104.5 for 3-5 days and I brought her in several times, around the same age as yours (9 Months of age). Other than the real high fever she was acting normal, maybe not as hungry as usual and wanted more fluids but she would play and seemed "okay", maybe a little tired from the motrin. Anyways the point is the dr. was not as concerned because she was acting fine other than having a high fever, and he felt it was roseola (same as the first post) and thank god he told me that when the fever breaks a rash comes, cause I would of really freaked out on the rash.
I hope this helps, you know your baby if you feel they need to go in 100 times you do it, and like the other posts don't feel that you are annoying or bothering the dr. office.
Best of luck.
M.

ok I'm going to relieve your mind a little here. I'm your baby ... but I'm 42 now. I got REALLY high fevers every time I got sick as a kid. I mean we're talking 105, 106 temps ... with the basic flu. If I got a cold we were looking at 103 easily. Some kids just spike that way. I had zero long lasting effects from the fevers.

For advice ... cooling baths, plenty of fluids and I'd continue the tylenol(aka acetaminophen) alternating with the motrin simply for his comfort. Dress him lightly enough that he won't get overheated more ... but not so much to bring on chills. And plenty of rest. don't worry too much about him eating ... just what he'll take when he'll take it, fluids are more important.

Watch for any signs of convulsions or seizures ... if those happen get him to the ER asap. Lethargy when ill and with a fever are normal. If you can't wake him and get him to focus on you a little get him to the ER.

If it's viral it'll pass in it's own time for the most part. If it's bacterial, hopefully they'll find the cause and be able to get him the proper antibiotics. Keep checking on those lab results.

And good luck.

I have been told by every medical professional that I have spoken to that if your child has a temp over 101, they should be taken to the Emergency Room. The only thing that has ever caused my kids to have a fever that high, 104 or over, is an ear infection. Since that is obviously not the problem, I would be extremely concerned about what is causing this. There are just too many dangerous childhood illnesses and things that can go wrong to put off treating your child. I know that you took him to an urgent care center, but that's not the same as an ER, and I don't understand why nobody there told you to take him to the ER. They should have.