High Fever 5 Days

That's a really high fever. I've never had a ped tell me to let a fever that high go untreated (up to 101, yes, but 102 or higher, he advises tylenol/ibuprofen). Honestly, if my kid had a fever that high for 5 days after he'd already been sick for a week and the ped wasn't giving me a concrete answer, I'd get a second opinion.

urgh...having sick kids sucks!! I'm so sorry! I hope he's feeling better now.

Keep him hydrated. I give mine frozen gatorade popsicles and gatorade drinks.

When I was on my way to the doctor's a LONG TIME ago? I had an ice pack on my son's head as he had a fever of 105 and I kinda freaked. The pack melted kinda fast which didn't help my freak out factor. I've since learned that panic/freak out doesn't help or make anything better.

B.

Welcome back!

I get it - when our kids are sick, it's hard to stay mellow and wait it out.

If his fevers are over 103? Baths and showers help. Keep a cool compress on his head and change it about every 30 to 45 minutes.

The color of his phlegm can be important - if there's blood in it? I would call the doctor and demand to be seen and a chest xray done.

Keep him hydrated.
Stock soup - like Beef or chicken to give him some sodium.
Gatorade
Sucking on popsicles too...

GOOD LUCK!!!

We were always told to give ours kids Tylenol/Advil back to back to keep them comfortable so mine never were in too much distress - so we didn't let their fevers get too high. I haven't had that bit of advice personally.

Ours definitely have fought bugs (viral and bacterial) for days before - and kept them home. One of mine had a nasty one for about a week (viral) a few months ago.

For bacterial, we knew because they did swabs or checked ears etc. so we didn't really have to guess at it too much. That's why we waited, kept them comfortable with the meds, and then if needs be - did the antibiotics.

We did baths, just kept them hydrated, distracted (movies, TV, iPods, etc.) and I didn't take temps too much - just knew if they got too listless, it was a concern. I think it only was once, and then a cool bath did trick.

Once you take the antibiotics, they usually respond very quickly - within a day. I'm sure he will feel better very soon :)

At this point it sounds like a bacterial infection vs viral. Unfortunately, it now has had time to really grab a hold of him. Hopefully the fever will subside in the next 24 hours given the antibiotic but I really would not expect him to feel batter for several days. Hang in there. He will be fine.

I agree with B to add in cooling baths to lower the temp a bit, although as you say, a reasonable fever is a normal sign of the immune system kicking in.

And yes to fluids in any form without worrying about food. Dehydration is not a fever's friend, and water flushes out whatever's inside him that needs to be gone. Popsicles, jello, ice chips, Gatorade, watery fruit/veg like watermelon and cucumber, ice chips. Make a game of it if you can - every time you roll a 6 (since he's 6) playing a dice game, he chooses which of 3 cups of liquids to drink from. Every time he drinks 4 ounces, he gets a popsicle.Whatever works. He will complain about peeing. It's okay - reward him when he goes! You're not spoiling him - you're giving him incentives.

Try to focus less on "this isn't my kid" - I totally understand, but it's not helpful. And he will pick up on your stress. He will recover. He's talking, he's lucid, that's all good. Use this quiet time, abnormal as it is, to do some quiet activities - a craft, looking at baby photos, learning a simple board game or 3 that don't require too much concentration. It can be a very sweet time in some ways.

It sounds like you are doing everything right and you are working with the doctor - which is great.
With a fever I'd expect him to want to sleep a lot and I'd let him but keep checking up on him.
As for fever - how about a luke warm bath every so often?
Our son always likes a bath when he's not feeling well and there were days he'd want a bath every few hours if he really felt bad.

Not wanting to eat is ok but he's got to keep his fluids up.
Water, tea, soup broth, ginger ale are all fine and so are popsicles and jello.
It's so tough when they are sick and no one is sure what is causing it.
Hopefully he's had all his vaccines so if it is any of those he won't get a bad case of it.
Monitor his symptoms - jot them down so you can talk to doctor about it - see if any rash develops, take pics if it does.
Hang in there and we all hope his fever breaks soon.

Additional:
Our pediatrician didn't consider a fever to be high unless it was over 103.
And if it was over that but responded to Tylenol and Ibuprofen (brought it down for awhile but still went back up again later) then he wasn't that worried.
It was over 103 that wouldn't come down for any reason which would really get him going.

This sounds like when my little guy had mycoplasma pneumonia. I am concerned that he hasn’t been properly diagnosed. I know you said he had gone to the doctor several times, but I wonder if a different doctor and a chest X-ray might be in order...

First of all, I am not a doctor, although I have both institutional (BS in Dietetics/Pre-Med) and real life (worked in the WIC program for three years as a lead Nutritionist). I also have a 13yo son, so I have the mommy experience as well. However, whatever advice you get on social media, it is better to be safe than sorry. I agree that antibiotics will work IF it is bacterial. If I were in your situation, I would get him to an ER, at least one of those that are popping up in strip centers. Yes, a fever of 101 or 102 can be beneficial in fighting off whatever he has, but 104 for several days can impact the brain. I am not saying this to scare you, and I pray at this point he is better. However, you mentioned nebulizer treatments...does he have asthma? If so, pneumonia may be the issue. However, without an x-ray or Ct-scan, there is no way to know. Many doctors are now reluctant to prescribe antibiotics as they have been over prescribed in the past, but there are cases when anti-biotics or anti-virals are needed. I see that you posted on June 19th, so I do want to check in just to make sure everything is OK and how it was handled by the medical professionals. If your gut feeling is that he is not getting proper treatment, then by all means, take him to an ER, where doctors that have experience with emergency medicine can properly treat him. Sending love and reassurance your way!