baby has cold, slight fever and bad cough

ShiraMiri

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 11:07 am

Well, you can give her a nice warm bath. Not only is it relaxing, but breathing in the warm steam can clear up her airways. Also, run a vaporizor in her room. If her fever won't go down, ask your doctor about switching off between baby tylenol and baby advil - tylenol first, then a few hours later switch to some form of baby ibuprofin. Ask your doctor for instructions on amount and timing. Sometimes that can kick a fever out better than using just the tylenol medication. Also, make sure she gets enough fluids.

elisecohen

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 11:15 am

You can use saline nose drops--no medicine, just salt water to help clear the sinus passages. A humidifier in the room might help. Baby might want to sleep in a swing or seat a little upright. There are baby cough patches and rubs you can put on the chest (or attach to the onesie or pjs) but be sure to only use the baby formulations--the others can be dangerous for infants. But mostly you just have to snuggle baby and wait it out.

goldrose

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 11:31 am

amother wrote:

I took my baby to the doctor today for it, but she said there isnt much to do besides give tylenol. I just feel so bad, she's whimpering and is just not feeling good at all Sad

Is there anything else I can do?

yes, NOT give tylenol is better than GIVE tylenol. If you take away the fever, you are taking away the body's immune response which is working at burning out the bad germs.

the baby is no doubt uncomfortable, but the fever has to be able to do its job.

amother

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 11:54 am

goldrose wrote:

amother wrote:

I took my baby to the doctor today for it, but she said there isnt much to do besides give tylenol. I just feel so bad, she's whimpering and is just not feeling good at all Sad

Is there anything else I can do?

Please, please consult with your doctor whether to give or not give medications. The advise above is not accurate. My DH is a pediatrician. Only a doctor can advise you on whether or not to give meds. It most certainly is VERY harmful not to treat a high fever.

elisecohen

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 12:12 pm

Myth 3 - A fever is good for you.

While a fever is a sign that your body is fighting an infection, lowering the fever will not make it take longer to get over the infection. You do not necessarily need to treat your child's fever, but in most cases, fever can be treated as a comfort measure. Treating a fever, especially if it is caused by an infection, will not help your child to get better any faster either, but it may help make it feel better. If your child has a fever, especially if it is low grade, but does not feel bad, then you don't really need to give him a fever reducer.

Treatment of a fever can include using an over-the-counter fever reducer, including products that contain acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). If you child has an infection, using a fever reducer will not help your child to get better any faster, but they will probably make him feel better. You should also give your child a lot of fluids when he has a fever, so that he does not get dehydrated. Keep in mind that treatment of a fever is usually to help your child feel better, so if he has a fever, but doesn't feel bad, especially if the fever is low grade, then you do not need to treat the fever.

Is it safe to alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen? If you are using the correct dosage of each medicine at the correct times, then it is probably safe, although there is no research to prove that it helps. The problem is that it is easy to get confused and give an extra dose of one or the other medicines. If you are alternating fever reducers, then write down a schedule with the times that you are giving the medicines so that the correct medicine is always given at the correct time.
(c) 2001 by Vincent Iannelli, M.D. (http://pediatrics.about.com),

amother

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 2:01 pm

Thanks marney and elise. BH the fever has gone down. It was over 102 under the arm yesterday, but between the bath, tylenol and advil looks like things are clearing up. She still has a bad cough though which really hurts, she was also up again the whole night and I'm a zombie,I just feel so bad for her but at least things are looking better.

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 2:51 pm

Re: getting fever down in babies. It CAN actually be harmful for a young child to have a high fever because of risk of febrile fits. These can happen due to even a minor viral infection if the temperature is up. I would always recommend trying to bring down the fever by
stripping the baby
tylenol/ibuprofen (yes - it is safe to alternate them - they work in totally different ways)
fan
sponge down with tepid water if nothing else works,

HTH!