My 2 month old grand baby received her first shots today. Is there a good way to bring her 102 fever down very fast? Tylenol has been given, and I instructed to give her a cool bath. Did I give good advice?
Thank you everyone for your advice. We did as you suggested and my grand daughter is doing well fever is down with the tylenol and warm bath!
The book "what to expect the first year" recommends that you call the doctor if the babies temp (taken rectally) is over 100.4 & does not go down soon after taking fever reducing medicine. Also, increase fluids (breast milk/formula) sponge and keep cool in light clothing.
Did they call the doctor or nurse hotline? I think that is considered a high fever in a baby that young. Also tell the parents to be extra careful with the Tylenol dosing... Keep records of when they administer it so they don't overdose. Tylenol overdose can be fatal!
And yes, a lukewarm bath is a good idea too. Good luck!
I wouldn't do a cool bath, I think the baby is too young. When my children ran a temp I would take a lukewarm washcloth and wipe them down to cool them off, and never naked with a tee shirt and diaper on, so they wouldn't get a chill, but not a two month old. Make sure her head and feet are not covered to allow the heat to escape her body, and call the doc to be on the safe side. Not sure if Motrin works better or not.
Tylenol : very good (you can also give tylenol and ibuprofen at the same time... they have different modes of action, so can be taken or given together to be more effective. I usually start with one, and 20 minutes later if the fever is still rising, or isn't coming down I dose with the 2nd, and then for the next dose, just give them both at the same time).
A cool or cold bath during a fever can actually send any person (infant, child, adult, elderly) into shock (aka danger of seizures, heart attack, death)... revise it to luke warm (aka wrist temp)... and you're good to go! :)
Note: always dose with tylenol and ibuprofen by weight, not age, and if she's been given both and the fever isn't down to 102 or lower, call the 24/7 nurse advice hotline for the *actual* max dose per weight. (They lowball on the bottles for practical and legal considerations).
If you want something to work quickly, Ibuprofen works faster than Tylenol. Hope baby's feeling better. :)
Not a cool bath - give a warm bath. The water evaporating off the skin will cool them down but a cool bath will be a shock to them.
The cool bath is actually currenlty not doctor advice...they said lukewarm, but cold makes the body work harder and actually does the opposite of getting rid of the fever.
Tylenol and Infant mortin...
-M
Yes, a cool bath, or a cool cloth on the forehead is better. The fever is her body's way of fighting the deluge of vaccines that have just been injected into her poor, yet under-developed immune system. Tylenol is not good for her liver. She is so young. I would consider a graduated vaccination schedule in future (less at a time), especially now that you know her system is on overdrive when she got the shots. Good luck.
Your daughter should call the advice nurse at the hospital ER. It is my understanding that Tylenol doesn't bring fever down as effectively as ibuprofen. And that a baby with a fever should not be given a bath. It's too big of a shock to their small bodies.
