Recurring Fevers for First Year of Life -- Others Experience This?

Oh how owrrisome, M. -- have you tried a good pediatric hospital?? --- My file doesn't show me where you live-- here in the Puget Sound we have Mary Bridge Childrens' hospital in Tacoma and Childrens' Hospital in Seattle -- -both are excellent- you need to find one doctor who listens- and follow through - the reactions you are getting ('' it's a virus- wait it out'') not only aren't helping you- they must make you want to cuss up a storm.

Blessings, dear heart-
J.
aka - Old Mom

I am not familiar with this condition, but if you want to assess the hypothalamus MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is the best way to do it. It will require sedation, however, since you have to lie still. It may be worth it since you are so concerned.

I know a kid that had unexplained fevers off and on for years... no one ever found out why. The good news, he's now 11, has grown out of them, and is just fine.
104 is pretty high, but below 102 I would not give her any tylenol or ib... a fever is a bodies natural defense against infection (virus or otherwise), it will work better than any medicine and having a low grade fever does not hurt anyone. I would not be shocked at all if allowing the body to work on it's own a little would shorten the length of the attack.
I would agree with what you were told about keeping a log. Don't forget to put in it when you went to the Dr. and what you were told. And I would definately consider changing Dr.s... not that the one you have now is bad, but if he is missing something you need to get it found and sometimes a fresh pair of eyes will do the trick... no one is perfect. But I would definately continue to take her to the other Dr. for a while rather than just once.

Hi M.,

I am so sorry to hear about all that your little one is going through. I know it's frustrating, to say the least. I have a few thoughts for you.

First, I have to echo everyone else's suggestions about documentation. This is critical in a situation like this when it's not clear what the problem is. When you document everything like fevers, etc, you need to include tests run (and the dates they were run, and where) and results, doctors seen and what they said and did, dates they were seen (and where), plus duration of the illness. This helps doctors keep track of stuff if you happen to see more than one provider. If possible, see if you can get copies of any tests and labwork to keep together in a file, and take those with you to doctors appointments.

Go back to your child's doctor and start pushing a little harder. Clearly something is going on, and it sounds like something bigger is going on. If you aren't satisfied with the response, then get a second opinion, and then, if needed, a third, Don't be afraid to get pushy. This is your child...if you feel something is wrong (and I agree with you, it sure sounds like there is something wrong) then something needs to happen pronto.

I see that you live in Moscow. I know that's a ways from Spokane, Washington, but there are two children's hospitals there...Sacred Heart Children's Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children. Now might be the time for you to advocate for a referral for a work up at one of those hospitals. I don't know what your insurance situation is, but great thing about the Shriners hospital system is that they provide care regardless of ability to pay.

Also, I'd encourage you to stay away from the internet at this point, and to respectfully request that your friends and family not give you their diagnosis and opnions. All this does is scare you needlessly. Frankly, you don't need anyone upsetting you anymore than you already are. The symptoms your child is displaying could be anything, and I mean ANYTHING, and right now you need reassurance and support, not fear and more concern heaped upon you. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and let others know what you need or don't need right now. The same goes for the internet...all it's going to to is scare you and you don't need that right now, do you sweetie? :)

Hang in there. I do hope and pray it works out for the best. Please let us know what happens!

The internet can be a blessing or a curse. While it's good for finding information based on a diagnosis already given by your dr, it can be curse by speculating all the what if's and you'll go absolutely mad with worry. So, if you don't like the care you're getting from your pediatrician, then find another for a 2nd opinion. If you live in the Seattle area, I sugget going to Children's Medical Center. Call them and ask who they suggest you see. Don't borrow trouble. Take it one day at a time. Even though she's a twin, she is unique and her fevers could be her body's reaction to teething, she might be more susceptible to airborne viruses... whatever, but get a second opinion. Take your diary of both your kids' activities, etc. And it may be that your son will need to go thru some testing as well. But take a deep breath. Some kids are just magnets for 'stuff' and we end up treating the symptoms, keeping these as comfortable as possible. I wish you well.

Hi M.,

Make another call to the doctor and say that he or she needs to brainstorm with you. Recurring fevers are not normal and can definitely be a sign of something else, so this is the part where you get proactive and tell these doctors that as this child's mother you have reason to believe this is not the work of a virus.

My niece has a birth defect, something about an extra ureter that refluxes back into her kidneys so she gets recurring fevers also. She takes low doses of antibiotics all the time (I think) until she's old enough to have the surgery she'll need.

Doctors are used to worried parents overreacting somewhat. They know that most parents just need to be reassured that their child is fine and will be well soon, but if pressed they should be able to come up with some possible reasons for her fevers and prescribe diagnostic tests. Be nice about it, but be firm. You know your child better than the doctor does.

Hi M.,
I work for an Ear/Nose/Throat office and had another physician send me this article on one of his patients.

http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/june08/surgery_fou...

It sounded similar to what you are dealing with. I hope it helps.
S.

I just want to say that I feel for you. I have twin boys and I know what its like to have someone sick all the time. Mine starting getting sick because we started daycare 2x a week. They are for the most part grown out of it. But just because they are twins that doesn't mean that they will be sick together all the time. I had one twin that got sick a little more than the other. I do agree with keeping notes, and I would consider going to a different doctor. Take the information that you received from other moms and run with it. Doctors are not always perfect and if you feel that there is more to be done, then go full force with it. Good luck!

Hi M.,

This is very concerning. I am wondering if your daughter might have a urinary tract infection, and medicating her might take the symptoms down for awhile, but not cure it. Have you ever had her urine checked?

I just read an article in Parents magazine that made me think of you. It says that juvenile arthritis (JA) is one of the most common childhood diseases. It occurs when the immune system attacks the lining of the joints. One of the first signs is high fevers that come and go, sometimes accompanied with a rash.

Just another thing to consider.

Well, trust your gut and do what you think your child needs.

From my experience with my own daughter and my sisters children, recurrent viral infections are pretty common and effect each child differently. Some may spike a fever (temperature over 100.4 is regarded a fever anything lower is just an elevated temp) for every bug, others may just have a snotty nose and some like my daughter get an ear infection with every little cold. I have heard from several doctors that most kids experience an average of 10-12 viral illnesses during their first year, more if you have older children in your houshold or your kids go to daycare.

Going through all these infections is actually beneficial, exposing your children to normal kid germs (by going hiking, to parks and playgrounds) the immune system strenghtens and it also learns to attack "the bad guys". Some theories and anecdotal evidence suggests it may make kids less susceptible to allergies.

Anyhow, keeping a diary of your child's symptoms and making sure there is no serious underlying condition like an autoimmune issue or a compromised immune system is certainly worth while - just don't worry yourself sick in the meantime.
From my daughters start in daycare at 8 months until she was 19 months old we were at the doctors office at least twice a month, often weekly. It's exhausting but she's been pretty healthy ever since.
Good luck.

Get a different pediatrician. If he/she doesn't help ask for a referral--there is something going on that needs to be addressed. 104 temp is too high to be ignored. Your instinct is correct.

Relax about the tumor on the hypothalamus. If you start going into medical texts/databases -not internet stuff- the sheer number of possibilities for reoccurring fevers is STAGGERING. We're talking everything from malaria to mold, allergies to autoimmune issues (mild usually, like her immune system needs to actually be infected in order to 'save the blueprint'), cancer to colic, sinus infections to seizure disorders. Dead serious. If I felt like it I could write a "scary list" over a hundred diagnoses long...and that's just from memory. So don't get worked up about ANY of them. When something can almost literally be anything, you can fret yourself into being admitted into the psych ward, or take a breath and go about a logical plan of attack. <grinning> Just as an example, those reoccurring fevers in many parts of the world would be an immediate call for a malaria test. Here...it's sooooo unlikely (but still possible)...that they almost never test for it. (My uncle suffers from malaria...and he has the darndest time getting quinine if he has to go to a different clinic than his usual one).

I agree COMPLETELY with the PA, except for one thing: Backdate to the best of your memory, and make an appointment BEFORE the next fever and go in. That way you can work with your doc so the next fever happens and you're in there johnny on the spot and they can start running tests against the tests that they will probably do when she's well. They will undoubtedly also have you start chronicling her diet and activities, so you can start to look at patterns.

Good Luck, and good on ya

Dear M.

My child would eat something that upset her system and run a fever and be ill for a few days. At first I thought it was allergies. Later that year I learned it was celiac disease. I had been feeding her as if it was celiac which is why the attacks were not so frequent.
She would sweat and smell sort of sicky sweet just before one of these celiac attacks.
Your baby may have another endocrine imbalance. Quit fooling around with her pediatrician and take her to a specialist in endocrine disorders in children. The condition may last a few years or a lifetime but you need to know what the problems are before you can control them. Your primary care doctor is not well versed in endocrine disorders.
Good luck.

My grandmother always said my dad had a fever constantly for the first 18 months of his life. She said people always commented on how beautiful he was as a baby because he always had such rosy cheeks! He ended up having his tonsils out at about 20 months. The fevers were due to the tonsils. I'm sure your PA/doc has looked into this, but I thought I'd mention it. It sounds like you are staying on top of it. I hope you find some relief soon.

K.

M.,
I was shocked to read your story, as I went through this with my oldest child, now 4 years old. She was 6 months when she started her fevers. They rarely had others symptoms and would reoccur every 3-4 weeks. They would go as high as 106* w/o febrile seizures. We took her to her pediatricians who stated the viral diagnosis for a few months. We then went to immunologists and then finally to a specialist at Children Hospital. They all couldn't find anything. We spent thousands of dollars on tests and Doctors. They all finally could only conclude with a diagnosis of "Fevers of unknown origin". There are fever disorders that are inherited, for instance, "Mediterranean Fever Syndrome". So if you have a cultural/heritage to these particular areas, there may be a link that way. My daughter was conceived via an egg donor, so her maternal genetics are relatively unknown, so we had to test for all those fevers. Anyhow, the Pediatrician originally had stated that he thought she would out grow the fevers and after 18 months, she finally out grew them! She only has fevers now with viruses, and though her fevers run high (104-106) during illness, she has been 100% fine. Hope this helps.

Often immune responses are caused by allergies to something - most probably food. My nephew had constant fever and ear infections until my sister insisted on food allergy tests, and sure enough he was allergic to several different foods. Once they were taken out of the diet, his fever and ear infections stopped. The genetically modified substances in our food are (I believe from honest research done outside this country) causing food allergies - because they are more rampant today than they have ever been.

If you'd like an opinion outside the western medicine paradigm, I am currently interning with a Chinese Medicine doctor at the National College of Natural Medicine here in Portland. He was a pediatrician in China (MD and Licensed Acupuncturist) though here he just practices Chinese Medicine. He has 17 years experience in pediatrics. We have discussed chronic low grade fevers in children in class but its not appropriate for me to pass on generalised info as the diagnosis must be made for the individual, because the same symptom can have different root causes. Plus the language of Chinese Medicine is quite different to Western Medicine so it wouldn't mean much to you or help you know what to do about it! If you are interested, our shift is on Thurs am from 8-12. Since its a teaching clinic, its only $55 for a first visit and $45 for a follow up. They also take insurance. Make an appointment with Helen on Dr Zhang's shift. The number is ###-###-#### or go to www.ncnm.edu and go to "clinics" for more info. BTW Dr Zhang does not do acupuncture on children. We would do acupressure using our fingers and also teach you how to do it your self at home, along with specific massage techniques. He might prescribe herbs and likely give dietary advice.

Feel free to contact me if you want to know anything else
All the best
Helen

My sister's best friend's daughter gets fevers for several days every month(sometimes for a whole week each month). I don't know a whole lot except that she manages them at home and she is fine otherwise. Just wanted you to know that you aren't alone out there. If you do feel you want more answers to feel comfortable, then keep searching until you find the help you need. I'm sorry you have to worry about your child with reoccurring fevers!