Fever over 104 | Imamother

shaqued_almond

Mon, Feb 13 2023, 10:23 pm

amother OP wrote:

The pediatrician did tell us to bring the three year old because it was so high. I didn't give anything because I thought they wouldn't believe us that it was so high. I took it by mouth for the three year old and rectally for the baby.

Never wait to give your children fever medication. Just write down when it was at a 104. For the three year old alternate between Motrin and Tylenol every 3-4 hours if your child's temperature is over 100. Give them baths with tepid water, dress lightly, and make sure they eat and drink as much as possible. If your kid spiked to 104, you give them Tylenol and the fever goes down within the hour, you don't need to take them to the ER. If it doesn't go down then you take them.

amother

Daylily

Mon, Feb 13 2023, 11:15 pm

My pediatrician said over 6 weeks is past the danger point, under 6 weeks and high fever in a baby is an automatic trip to the ER. They usually want to rule out meningitis and get baby on IV fluids. Refuah shleima!!

amother

Whitesmoke

Mon, Feb 13 2023, 11:33 pm

3 year old is no different than an older child. My kids always ran high fevers. 104 first thing in the morning (when of course temperatures are at the lowest they are going to be all day) was not uncommon at all. We only took one of our kids to the ER when she was vomiting for more than a day and couldnt keep a drop of liquid down and was showing signs of dehydration. She needed an IV so of course we couldnt help her with that at home.

By the way, when I had tonsillitis as a 2 year old, I had more than 106 (my mother said the mercury went beyond the end of the thermometer) so of course I was brought to the hospital (and soon after got my tonsils removed), but temps of 104 or even 105 (especially at the end of the day) are not intrinsically dangerous for children. In fact, those temperatures are more dangerous in adults.

Iymnok

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 2:07 am

Take their temperatures when they are healthy. Some people have a higher healthy temperature. That means that they need a higher reading to “have a fever”.

amother

Tuberose

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 7:43 am

amother Daylily wrote:

My pediatrician is also very much an old fashioned alarmist. He ahs sent me to the ER so many times and I can't even count how many specialists. Everything was fine every time , until the time my 14 mo old was diagnosed with meningitis. It's was brutal. Every trip to the ER was so well worth my time for the one time it saved my baby's life.

Now I'm a bit of an extremist, but if you trust your ped, if he advises you to go to the ER , you go. Hopefully it will be a "waste of time".

amother

Aconite

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 7:48 am

amother Tuberose wrote:

Were the symptoms not different and more telling with meningitis? Or do you believe that a non alarmist doctor would have missed the signs?

amother

Clover

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 10:06 am

amother Tuberose wrote:

Except that a good non alarmist doctor should be able to tell the difference when it is dangerous -like meningitis- and send to the ER, and when it's not and you can stay home.

I worked with non alarmist doctors and they sent to the ER when medically necessary and majority of the time they didn't send, because it wasn't necessary.

amother

Tuberose

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 10:29 am

amother Aconite wrote:

Were the symptoms not different and more telling with meningitis? Or do you believe that a non alarmist doctor would have missed the signs?

I really don't know. I'm not in the medical field, other than quite a bit of experience from my children. How can a Dr know when to write off throwing up and temp as a virus and when to get alarmed?

amother

RosePink

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 12:55 pm

I personally would take a baby in that age to the ER, as fever is rare in kids that age, and if it is the beginning of meningitis or other serious infection you want to catch it and start treating it now before the baby gets lethargic, irritable, etc. Obviously this isn't always what happens, but you can't always know.

Also good you brought in your 3 year old for such a high fever, when my dd was a toddler and had 104.5 we brought her to urgent care, tylenol didn't bring it down, turned out she had pneumonia and needed antibiotics and even oral steroids and tylenol and motrin together just to control the fever. Of course, there are the dozen times we brought her to urgent care and it was nothing, but I think better safe than sorry, and the earlier they are treated the less time you spend with a sick kid.

amother

Charcoal

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 3:13 pm

amother Charcoal wrote:

Isn't a febrile seizure caused when a fever rises too rapidly rather than the high fever itself?

I know it's off topic but I'm really wondering if the above is true. that's what I was once told (a friend, not a dr) but never verified.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 3:18 pm

amother Charcoal wrote:

I know it's off topic but I'm really wondering if the above is true. that's what I was once told (a friend, not a dr) but never verified.

That's what we were told too and also that it's not dangerous at all if you know that's the source.
So if you start medicating, be on top of continuing to give so that it doesn't wear off and spike quickly.

amother

Clover

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 3:43 pm

amother Charcoal wrote:

I know it's off topic but I'm really wondering if the above is true. that's what I was once told (a friend, not a dr) but never verified.

Yes that is correct. Febrile seizures are caused by the rapid increase in temp.

amother

Whitesmoke

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 5:27 pm

amother Aconite wrote:

Were the symptoms not different and more telling with meningitis? Or do you believe that a non alarmist doctor would have missed the signs?

Exactly. That post proved nothing.

amother

Tuberose

Tue, Feb 14 2023, 5:39 pm

amother Whitesmoke wrote:

Exactly. That post proved nothing.

that post did not "prove nothing". that post proved always better safe than sorry. how many times do you take your kids to the dr and s/he says "oh, its just a virus." when my dr told me to go to the er, he did not suspect meningitis. I dont remember what it was that made him send us, but I do remember arguing with him that its erev pesach and I dont have time.