My son is 2. We went to the dr on Thursday and he was put on antibiotics and a cough syrup. He is still running a high fever, still isn't eating or drinking much and his cough has gotten worse(to the point he's waking up everytime he coughs). The dr said he has a sinus infection and a double ear infection and he had a sore throat from the sinus infection. When or should I take him to the ER if he still has these things going on in the morning??
Why did you take your child to the ER if he is sick? Call his ped and tell them the medicine isn't working.
Please stay away from the ER unless: He is so dehydrated that he becomes lethargic; He won't take in any fluids at all; His fever is so high that it causes a seizure; His fever stays above 104 degrees despite you giving Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours around the clock (alternate them every 3 hours); etc. An ER environment will expose him to more germs, which he doesn't need. An ER is for emergencies only. People over-use ERs as their "general clinic" and the folks who are truly having an emergency don't get the care they deserve. As an alternative, treat the symptoms, give plenty of fluids every hour (do not even worry about whether he's eating or not; he will NOT starve even if he goes without food for several days, as long as he is drinking he is fine!), if he isn't getting better after several days on the antibiotic, make an appt with his doctor. The doctor is the best judge to decide if he should be admitted to a hospital. Basically that is what an ER does; admits to the hospital if the patient is sick enough or discharges a patient home with the same advice the person's doctor had given them. Hope he gets well soon.
Hi T.---Although it's really hard to see your little one suffering, a fever isn't really high or dangerous until it is over 103 degrees. Try to NOT give fever reducers during the day. A fever is the body's way of killing the virus and bacteria that are making it sick. When you give fever reducers, you possibly extend the length of the illness.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fever/ID00052
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t082100.asp.
You do need to get him to drink or at least suck on ice chips or some sort of popscicle. I wouldn't purchase grocery store sugar water and artificial colors, but rather make my own with juice. Sipping some spicy chicken broth is good for illness as well.
Have him try to sleep elevated, give him cool baths to bring down the fever and just love him to comfort him. It does take a couple of days for the antibiotics to take effect, and fevers tend to be higher in the evening. You may see a difference in him this morning. It's likely hardest on you as you're the one not getting any sleep. He'll never remember this. Try not to worry too much, but as Dr. Sears stated, you do need to go with your mommy instincts tomorrow. Good luck and I'm praying for a quick recovery. D.
Call your son's doctor NOW. Do they have a 24 hour answering service? (My son's office does.) Give them the info and ask what you should do. I think you should take him tonight if/when he wakes up again because he has had a fever for two days now. Either way, I would call the doctor to see what s/he says, and if there is anything else you can do. I would also put a humidifier in his room to help with the coughing.
I agree with the humidifier, my kids have been sick twice this year with croupe and bronchitis and this seems to help the cough alot. As far as the fever goes, watch that carefully. If he is on an antibiotic, he should not have a fever anymore. I would call your doctor right away too, when my kids are sick, I call her alot when I don't know what to do. And listen to your mom instincts. when my daughter was 10 months old, she started running a fever so I took her in and she said that it was some kind of viral infection and would go away on it's own and antibiotics wouldn't help and that I should just keep alternating Tylenol and Motrin until the fever stayed down for 24 hours. After a couple days of this, I took her back to the doctor, she told me the same thing, few days later she was still running a fever and I had been giving her so much medicine to keep it down that I called the office and asked her again and I still got the same answer. I knew in my heart that she should not be running a fever for this long and something was not right but I trusted my doctor because they're doctors and they should know what they were doing. The next day she spiked a fever of 104 so we rushed her to the ER only to find out that she had pneumonia. They had to give her high doses of antibiotics while we were there and then put her on a 10 day course. She recovered just fine but my point is, mom's know best, it's your kid and you know when something just isn't right. If you're not getting an answer from your doctor, either get a second opinion, or just take him into the ER. Good luck and let us know what happens
By now... the medicines SHOULD have been working. It is not.
Sometimes... an antibiotic will not work... and then a different family of antibiotics needs to be prescribed.
SO... TELL your Doctor... so that they can properly address getting an antibiotic that WILL work... in this case.
I would, not wait.... and take him back to the Doctor/ER.
if he is coughing that much... they SHOULD be checking his chest as well.
Bear in mind, that post-nasal drip... can also sometimes cause infections in the chest.... as well.
That happened to me.
***Make SURE your son.. is not getting Dehydrated... because in young children, dehydration can occur quickly and it is dangerous....
And if he is coughing THAT much... he will get sleep-deprivation... and not be able to get better. Because sleep, actually helps to heal/restore the body when sick.
Pertussis... is also epidemic in some States. I would think, the Doc should be checking his chest as well... and see why his cough is getting worse...
Take him.. to the ER.
all the best,
Susan
If he has been on antibiotic since Thursday, he should be feeling better by now. Call his pediatrician and tell them he is not better and get a different medicine. They may want to see him again. Don't take him to the ER. Just call his doctor.
With a sinus infection it can take a long time to clear up and multiple rounds of antibiotics. You get a lot of post nasal drip at night which is the cause for your son's cough. Antibiotics are not a magic cure all I would give it a full 3 days or 6 doses to see even a little improvement. If he still has a fever then call your pediatrician and ask their opinion he may prescribe him a different antibiotic. Chances are if you just run to the ER you will be stuck sitting there forever only for the doctor to tell you the same thing you have already been told.
