My Daughter Has High Fever and I Am Freaking Out

Does she have any stiffness in her neck? If so, that and the high fever would concern me about bacterial meningitis...

http://children.webmd.com/vaccines/tc/meningitis-symptoms

If you can get it down to 99 with only 1 (since you're alternating, you're only doing 1 at a time), you're GOLDEN.

If it was 103.5 giving BOTH (at the same time), then you'd need to go into the ER.

Rest & Fluids. DON'T let her play just because she feels better with the fever lowered. This is the time to MARATHON movies and TV while laying on the couch with a blanket so she can doze off as she chooses. ((Our last time being normal sick we marathoned The Pink Panther. The cartoons.))

((Or if you hate TV, to read until your voice is hoarse. Hours on end. Don't expect her to be reading, though since that kind of mental energy expenditure is better avoided right along with the physical expenditure)).

In addition to TV, this is the only time when McDonalds is HEALTH food. Antibodys are mostly fat, with just a little protein thrown in. Aka, you want to eat high fat foods when you sick (chicken soup is a very high fat food as well). McDonalds is almost predigested for you (as are soups). The nutrients in soups and fast food are already broken down into their simplest forms... and as such are GREAT "sick foods". For fluids... stick with juice and sprite or gatorade/pedialyte (both are just 'flat' soda with a bit more salt than soda has. I'd avoid them, because she's not *sweating* or vomitting, and stick with the lower sodium soda). Her brain needs the sugar from either juice or soda, and her body needs the added salts from soda. DON'T do diet. Diet and 'fake sugar' tastes sweet, but our brain RUNS on real sugar.

Our digestive system shuts OFF when we're sick (funnels energy to our immune system... on average 80% of our caloric expenditure each day is taken up by DIGESTION. By shutting off digestion, our body plugs our immune system into a nuclear reactor). High fat, and high sugar. Unhealthy when we're well, super healthy when we're sick.

Take a deep breath and let it out. Your child will be OK. Lukewarm baths will take a temp down a couple degrees especially if you don't towel her off totally, but rather let her air dry. Wet hair will also encourage heat loss. Keep up the tylenol or advil, but make sure not to overdose. Sometimes it gets confusing when using 2 meds with different dosing frequencies. Fever is actually part of the body's way of fighting infection so it's a good thing really. Fever that spikes suddenly or drops suddenly is more likely to cause febrile seizures than just a high temperature.
My son had temps in the 105-106 range every 6 weeks for more than a year. He made it through without a seizure and now is healthy and fine. Take your daughter to the ER if the temperature remains above 104 and won't come down within an hour of giving fever reducing medication.

The fever lets you know how hard her body is fighting. IT'S A GOOD THING. My son had a fever for 40 hours at 106....but I didn't medicate him. I allowed his body to fight the way it is designed.

Here's the deal....

Bacterium grow at different temperatures, but they all seem to grow within a small range. Let's say that whatever her body is fighting, grows awesome at 102, so her body has to get hotter to burn it off. Giving tylenol, etc, only brings it down 1-2 degrees....right back into the range that it grows out of control. This turns her into a perfect petri dish for bacterial growth.

Lethargy forces the person to rest, so the body can heal properly. While it sucks to watch your kid miserable, honestly, giving liquids and encouraging rest and NO SUGAR will allow her to heal faster. Medicating means her liver has to process the meds AND the bacterium...making it harder for her to heal.

I am 36 and never have had an antibiotic in my life, even with strep (and a million other things) and having 4 kids. I'm not anti-meds, but there is a time and place for everything and so far, I've let my body work like it should.

Ask yourself if you are medicating her to make you feel better, or her. Being a parent is tough. Hang in there.

PS People bring up febrile seizures and really, it can happen less than 1% of the time and less than 1% of those who have a seizure have any permanent damage from them....so breathe.

i would take her to the ER also, asap. my son and daughter had a virus that caused them to get a high fever that they were really weak with and slept with. they haven't taken a nap in about 3yrs. when i gave them the motrin the fever went down like your daughters and they acted fine. it lasted about 3 or 4 days and then went away.

My youngest hit 105 when she was just under a year old & it was really enough to make me want to run screaming. It turned out to be a double ear infection then both of my girls were treated for a virus on time w/really high temps. Luckily my best friend is a nurse and told me that about 1 1/2 hrs after you give a child motrin (works the longest) take their temp & that is usually the truest reading you will get. A tempurature is usually anything over 101.5 so you can't gauge it on 98.6 - keep a damp washcloth on the back of her neck to help draw out the fever as well. It is really a helpless feeling when there isn't much you can do, but as long as she is active and playing that is a great thing. My daughters were like a bump on a log which scared me all that much more. Best of luck to you and if you are that nervous, there is no shame in contacting your dr's answering service or taking her to the e/r.

Take her, to the ER.
ER Doctors, have a different perspective of things.

Fever, will keep coming back, if the infection/illness is still present.

Tylenol/Motrin, only TEMPORARILY reduces the fever/discomfort. It does not 'cure' the illness.

You need to have her, looked at again.
Take her to the ER.

Or, sometimes a different family, of Antibiotics, needs to be used.
I am SURPRISED, the Doc did not think of this.
Some meds/Antibiotics, don't work pointedly, and another 'family' of meds/antibiotics, has to be used.
But again, antibiotics, are for bacterial infections. Not viruses.

My kids school mate just died recently in high school, complication of an old strep infection !!!
I hate antbiotics for no reason, such as a fever, colds, ear infection etc....
Don't want to get in to that subject, but strep infection you always need AB.
My daughter had a 105 fever for over a week.....of course I was scared, but I'm also a nurse and new fever like someone else already mentioned, is just a sign of the body it's doing it's job.

The dr should have cultured the strep test to see if the anitbiotic would be effective for that strain... I would call the dr and ask about that.

My daughters have both had pneumonia and UTI's with NO symptoms-except a very high fever. Many people say that fevers are good-and they are, BUT NOT A FEVER OF 105!! A low grade fever does mean that the body is fighting, but over 102, it can become dangerous and cause febrile seizures. If the fever will not break, see it your dr will do a CHEST X-RAY and a URINE TEST. Good luck and hope your little one is better soon!

You said the fever reached 105 yesterday, right? And she has been on antibiotics since Monday? You should call the doctor again today. Her fever should not be 105 after being on antibiotics for 4 days.

I would definitely get a second opinion. The temp is not necessarily worrisome -- my daughter's temp was 105 and my doc was not even that concerned. Said as long as it responds to medicine, it's ok. And everything did turn out ok. The fact that your daughter feels up to playing etc. when the fever is down is a good sign, but the fact that it has stayed for so long is what's concerning. I would definitely get her looked at again. There must be some sort of infection if she still has a fever. Have them check her appendix, too. Apparently high fever and then no fever can be a symptom of appendicitis. Good luck. Hope she gets better soon.

My daughter had some virus a month ago with a fever as high as 105.9- lasted 4 days- no other real symptoms. It was scary- she was not quite 4 yo yet. If the strep is negative and her ear is not bulging at the ear drum and inflamed red, it is likely a virus and she doesn't need the antibiotic. My niece had a similar fever 2 mos before my daughter and her doc did an antibiotic too for no other reason. Good luck! You could read the posts in response to my question in June about 105.9 fever. Best wishes!

Update: I called and talked to the triage nurse at the ER and was told not to bring my daughter unless fever was unresponsive to tepid bath and Tylenol/motrin. Call your local ER and talk to triage before you waste MANY hours and a co-pay.... I worked in an ER for 5 years. Unless your daughter has a stiff neck or other symptoms of meningitis with this fever, she will be low priority in an ER....and would probably be more comfy resting at home.

She should not be up playing around. She needs nothing but rest. Only give her meds when she is trying to sleep at night ONLY if she is very uncomfortable and cannot sleep. My daughter had a fever of 105 too and I did not panic. Fevers are good! Please read this article by my favorite doctor about the importance of fevers.
http://blog.fitnesstown.ca/2009/10/16/the-importance-of-a...

Ok, I just read someone elses post and a fever of 105 is NOT DANGEROUS!

I would take her to the ER, they recommend you do at a certain temp, I believe it was 104. She needs to rest, I know it is so hard b/c they want to run, but she has to do less active things at least (like coloring, painting, etc) and drink lots of fluids. I understand your worry, I would be freaking out too. I would hit up the ER for a second opinion especially at 103.5.