How to handle a 18 months toddler with a 104 fever?

J.,

I'm not a nurse or anyone of a professional background but I am a full time stay at home mommy to 3 children. Many people look at fevers as bad. Let me reassure you that fevers are a good thing. It means the body is doing what it is supposed to do when an intruder invades the body. I was always told that a fever in a baby is not considered a fever unless it's 101 or higher. Also, babies can tolerate high fevers more so than an adult. I know it's scary to see the numbers increasing but with 3 children of my own I know not to worry so much. You can give ibuprofen and acetaminophen simultaneously. It's the best way to nip a fever that is running high. Of course you will verify this with your own doctor but my pediatrician (and my sister who is an R.N.) has confirmed that you can administer both drugs at the same time.
***Make certain that you ask your doctor first, though.***

Your baby gets sick. We all get sick and it's unfortunate when it happens but you know, you can't get away from germs. What you can do is make sure you thoroughly wash your daughter's hands before eating, especially if she's been outside playing or handling some other child's toys in a play date setting. Also, you can make sure that you are washing your hands before handling her food. I'm sure you are already being careful but I know from experience when you get in a rush, you could get distracted. We grown ups can tolerate "germs" a little better than our children can. I would talk to your doctor about the long term affects of having fevers. I seriously doubt you need to be concerned as long as you are managing her fevers well. Toys R'Us sells the BEST grocery shopping cart cover that I use each and every time I put my baby in a shopping cart. I also keep antibacterial hand wipes in my car for those times when I've been a public setting and a bathroom is not available. Good luck and DO talk to your ped about your concerns.

Wow everytime I see something like this I just have to respond... My daughter use to get a fever of 102-107.. It started when she was 6 months old and just stopped in Oct. 2007 (she'll be 3 next month)...
We were @ the Ped. office every two weeks like clock work... TEST after TEST and then we started going to specialist, she was even admitted to Joe Dimaggio in Hollywood... This went on and on and EVERY Dr. said - we don't know what's wrong w/her. Well Sept. 2007 she was 107 as we sat in the Ped. office ONCE again.. They gave her a shot because of the fever being so high but it wasn't Viral or Bacterial.. I said "Look her tonsils are swollen - looked like she had swolled golfballs - don't you think we should take her to an ENT?" Dr. said yeah it wouldn't hurt.. I was UPSET because we the parents (who are by NO means Dr's) came up w/this... In this time of waiting to go to the ENT I started going through all my notes and Dr's notes (I had copies of her medical paperwork as well as I kept a little pocket calendar and I noted EVERYTHING from fever/ Dr. Visit / Medicines / runny nose u name it.. and what I discovered was @ every Dr. visit there was some mention of her having a Red throat - YET this didn't raise any flags to the Dr... Do they even look @ the files?)
I took her to an ENT two days later.. This after she had already been on antibotics for 3-days and he said her tonsils need to come out.. But he wanted to be sure so I took her back in a week when she was well.. He still felt they needed to come out but thought lets see her when she is sick.. Took her back 2-weeks later and what did he say.. We need to have those removed... That's what's been making her sick...
It's been 5 months since her surgery and she hasn't been SICK she has had the 99-100 fever when all the kids @ school where sick...
I totally feel your pain because it was the WORST thing any parent can go through when they are small and can't talk it's up to you to try and help them the best you can and w/ a fever that's every hard. Motrin was our SAVING grace it would bring the fever down.
If you have good insurance and suspect this could be an issue w/your child.. It's worth an office visit @ that just to rule it out... Trust me... You don't want your child to go through all the pricks and pokes if it's not necessary..
Dr. Douglas Dedo is an AMAZING Dr. (he also removed by hubby's tonsils) he is caring (TRUELY caring)... he has an office off of PGA and one on Forest Hill ###-###-####.
I know w/the fevers EVERY Dr said that the fever should be monitored but it's the behavior that needs to be watched as well. My prayers are with you as this is very trying for the parent...
I wish you the best of luck...I hope that your little one gets well soon.
Take care

J.-
I am a nurse, but have little experience with children when it comes to illnesses. But I do know from my little experience that Motrin works a lot better on the higher fevers with children. You could also try a lukewarm bath to try to break the fever. As you know the complications in children are the febrile seizures, but we DON'T want that to happen again :( I would just keep doing what you are doing with the motrin as ordered every 6hrs, and call you MD if things start changing.
Good Luck.
A.

Hi, J..

I don't know if you're into natural healings but I found the best website for any kind of ailments for children or even adults and it's called, earthclinic.com. Just type in a search for what you need help with and there are people's testimonials on what they have used with their particular situations at the time. When my daughters get high fevers, I do usually give them Motrin immediately and that always seems to work. What I also do, however, that's more of a natural approach is put a couple of drops of H202 in their ears and let it sit. That might be hard for a 18 mo. old, though. If it bubbles, there is an infection and it's killing it. It's supposedly a known fact that germs enter through not only our mouths and nose but also through our ears. Also, on that website, people claim rubbing egg whites on the souls of the feet to rid a fever. My sister says she tried putting a little rubbing alcohol on a washcloth and rubbing her daughter's back of the neck and behind the ears for around five minutes and that worked. But check that site out. It's pretty great.

Take care,

C.

I have 2 children. My son always runs high, my daughter just regular. (However, she had 104 this past weekend for the first time!) Anyway, he always ran high fevers and I would just let him sit and play in the tub for as long as he would stay. If it was warm enough out then I would just sit in the pool with him. I would also give them ice pops (frozen O.J. or Gatorade) keeps them cool and hydrated. Make sure your getting fluids into them. Motrin always worked better for my kids, but for the really high fevers, I would alternate with Tylenol every 2 hours. The good news is that my son just turned 10 and as he has gotten older the fevers are not all so high. Good luck...

My youngest also went through the same thing. From 1 year old to almost 2 years of age. She would spike a fever of 103-104 every 1 week of what seemed like every month. She would have a bad cough and heavy breathing, runny nose you name it. Everytime I took her to the doctor they would check her ears throat the works and tell me some excuse about teething. As a mom you know when something is not right. I keep taking her back once a month with the same problem. They finally told me she had broncitis with double ear infections. They broncitis ended up in phmonia and she almost had to go in the hospital.After spending 9 office visits in 2 weeks at the doctor she finally got better, but I had to prosist that something else was wrong besides teething. Needless to say we no long see that practice and are now with a new practice that is awsome and takes me seriously. Good luck!!

Fevers are better than people give them credit for. It means your body is fighting off infection and disease.
As a mother of 3, I pick Motrin over Tylenol hands down, every time! My kids have been sick with colds, flu, ear infections, strep throat, and even those unexplained fevers that have no other symptoms and I can always count on Motrin to take it down.
Hope she feels better soon!

Hi J.,
My name is J. and I am a 28 yr old mom, and I also have an 18-mo old baby boy. Last week my son had a fever of approx 101-102 for 2 days straight. I immediately contacted the doc the following day. The doc wanted to see him just to make sure it wasn't an infection. I know he has been teething really bad and now has a terrible cold.The doc suggested, all kids are gettin' sick and to continue with "Motrin"(which for me also works better then Tylenol). I just continued to monitor his fevers which continued for 2 more days. I was advised by a nurse sometime ago...children w/ fevers of 100 (was considered 101), 101 (considered 102) and so on. I would suggest monitoring closely if it escalades 104 take her in.
Here are some tips which were given to me when fevers are high, hope this can help...
*Remove all clothing articles.
*Monitor her breathing
*Take her a warm bath
I hope your baby feels better. Take Care, J. C.

When my daughter has a fever, which thank god hasn't been in a long while, I normally keep her lightly dressed and give her plenty of liquids. The pedialyte Ice pops are great..they're a huge mess but it does help in the cooling down process, it helps with the teething due to it being so cold and it keeps them hydrated. I also give her motrin and tylenol, interchanging them...give her tylenol and then motrin after 4-6 hours have passed and then after do the tylenol etc, as needed. If the fever goes down, i don't worry so much. I also try to put her in a bath with tepid water or if it's at night (oh those sleepless nights) i will rub her feet, back of the knees, neck back, forehead and elbow creases with a cold rag or rubbing alcohol until it goes down some.
My dr recommended that i give her extra vitamins as well. SHe recommended that i try juice plus (online) and give that to her. I did and let me tell you that since then, almost a yr, the only sign of a cold was a runny nose, no coughing, fevers, wheezing or anything.
Also something to look into is maybe it could be a food reaction... something you keep eating if still breastfed or something the child is eating.

good luck.

When our son was 3 years old he used to get these high fevers and we didn't know what was going on, doctors were not quite helpful. Once he had particularly high fever for 2 weeks and eventually doctors run a urine test! In two weeks! It turned out he had a urinary tract reflux - a condition that is infecting kidneys day after day, and one of his kidneys wasn't growing. He ended up having a surgery. We found out that it is a common condition, so every time I hear something like this, my first reaction is - keep checking out the urine lab results for anything funky!
Good luck.
M.

That doesn't seem right.....did your Doctor do any blood work or just look at her throat? I can't imagine that having a high fever for more than a day or two, they (Doctor) couldn't find anything wrong??? Did he think maybe the flu? I would continue to pursue it.
I know fevers do fight off infections....but I'd still continue to check it out.
Good Luck!

I have dealt with a baby, 8 months old, who constantly ran fevers and to the point of ceasars. I took him to a ear/nose/throat doctor and they had to put tubes in his ears. After this, he did not run any more fevers and rarely gets sick. He is now 28 years old and hasn't had a bad day since he was 8 months old. Good luck and God Bless.

Hi
When my son had 104 fever, we put him under the cold water pipe for about half an hour in order to bring it down. He had to be admitted to hospital for 3 days with pneumonia.

Yes, fever in a child IS scary, but keep in mind it is the body's immune system responding. In my experience (my oldest one use to get high fevers just about every month, or so it seemed)is to keep her refreshed--wet her feet, moisten her arms and brow with a washcloth, and don't let go of that motrin or tylenol, whatever works best for her.

Hi J.,

It is very scary when our kids get hight fevers. i agree that Motrin works better than tylenol but I also find that alternating helps too. When the fever spikes above 101 i recommend a cool bath or at least a wet wash cloth on their head to cool them down.
I hope she feels better quickly.

J.

Ever since I conceived my 2 year old I began a journey to heal my self. It's incredible how much our children know what we feel without us even trying to communicate it to them. They are a part of us and they just know. Just like we just know. Trust your sixth sense. Anyhow...I came upon book that is helping me deal with certain issues in my life. It's called Heal your body by Louise Hay (the mental causes for physical illness and the metaphysical way to heal them). I have the little quick referance book. Anyhow. Problem - Fever; Probable cause - anger. burning up; new thought pattern: I am the cool calm expression of peace and love. Problem - Seizure; probable cause - Running away from the family, from the self, or from life; New thought pattern - I am at home in the universe I am safe and secure and understood. Obviusly your baby cannot change her thought patterns by herself. So you have to do it. I suggest nature, peacful music, hugs, love, warmth, security, look into her eyes and help her understand that you know her. Your gut knows exactly who she is. My daughter also went through a time when she'd get a lot of fevers. It was also during the time she was teething. Also now she's going through a runny nose 'bout and is coughing...I say it's allergies, change of seasons, wet leaves etc. Zyrtec or Clarinex helps. The coughing, I suppose, is the mucus in her throat that bothers her becuase she doesn't know how to spit it out yet. So you have two ways to look at what is happening. I always look at it in these two ways...mental and physical. It's working for me and for my Love. Good luck.

Hi J.. It is great that you are able to be a stay at home Mom and enjoy your daughter's energy and be with her when she is not well. Only a Mom can pick up on the early signs and provide that loving care. Some children will tend to run high fevers ,especially with strep and ear infections.Your daughter is still very young and hopefully as she grows older and her immune system becomes stronger she will be able to fight off the childhood sicknesses as well as she may be more prone to higher fevers. Go with your motherly instinct and try preventive measures as well if your daughter tends to be more susceptible.Hang in there .Take it from a Mom who has spent a good portion of her time in doctor's offices.

My 2.5 yo daughter is what I like to call a "fever" child. For everything she gets fever. Teething, runny nose, cough, belly ache, ANYTHING. Our doctor told us unless the fever reaches 103 or persists more than 3 days it is probably just a virus and some children get fevers more than others. Some get get the poops, other the pukes, and our, well fevers. I would let her live with her fevers if everything else seemed well. I would call the doctor on the third day and take her in on the fifth day or Friday so we wouldn't have to go the ER over the weekend. If her fever is 104 she might have some other infection than strep, but don't worry, some kids just get fevers. Good Luck!

Hi J.,
Believe it or not some virus's can give a high fever for up to 3 nights. My son had a nasty virus had a fevers that went up to 102.8 then it stopped and he got a rash from head to toe. I thought for sure he needed antibiotics but no.
This year is pretty nasty my son has one cold after another.
If you don't trust your baby's doctor then I would look into someone you do trust.
As for the fevers I do believe some kids are prone to getting fevers. My son has ear infections after ear infections and hardly any fever but I knew he had one.
Good Luck

A fever is a scary thing for a parent but not concerning until it reaches 106. Any viral illness will cause a fever for 3-5 days, fevers are usually worse at night as well. With the history of febrile seizures you should give Tylenol and Motrin around the clock at the first sign of a fever to HELP prevent another seizure. With febrile seizures it is not how high the fever is, it is how FAST the temperature rises that causes seizure threshold to decrease. Fevers are a good sign that your childs immune system is functioning.