Need Some Answers About My Lil Girl

the ER is great for broken bones and bleeding, but not so great for the endless unidentifiable childhood illnesses.

the ER will stabilize a patient and keep 'em alive, but to cure an illness you need your regular pediatrician if it's beyond the scope of parenting. have you taken her to your regular doctor?

it IS a frustrating cycle, and we've all been there. no point in going to the pediatrician if it's a virus and you just have to nurse them through it, but you also want an expert opinion on what's going on.

that's exactly how tylenol works- it's NOT a cure. it will bring the fever down for a few hours. that's it. that's all it's designed to do. and that's a big deal- it gives her a break from the misery of a fever.

the fever is not the illness, it's just a symptom. it's super hard to cope when they throw up everything, but keep trying to get liquids down her. also use non-medicine methods to ease her fever, cool baths or cloths.

but don't rely on the ER to fix a typical childhood ailment.
khairete
S.

It's the worst time of parenting, isn't it? You're caught in this vicious cycle of not being able to give her anything because she's vomiting. And there are no meds for a virus, it's true - plus she's not keeping them down.

It's completely normal for a fever to come back after a few hours. The fever is the sign of the body fighting the infection (whether it's viral or bacterial) and so the Tylenol only helps her be a little more comfortable for a while. Then it wears off. And if she's vomiting, she's not keeping it down anyway so it's of limited use. And if she's got a lot of goop from her nose and sinuses going down into her stomach, that's a real cause of upset too.

To help with the fever, you can do a cool (not cold) bath. You can also sponge her down with a wet washcloth if she doesn't want to sit in the tub. And be sure not to bundle her up so much that she sweats and overheats. Dress her as you dress yourself for the temperature in the room, or a little less if she's super hot.

The concern is dehydration, of course. But giving her a glass of water (which I am sure she wants - she's certainly thirsty) just makes her throw up. So she has to sip little by little. That's hard to do with a young child, so try ice chips and popsicles that she has to suck on a while to get anything down. But you have to give her just a little bit and then wait an hour to give her more. That will limit the vomiting.

After 4 hours with no vomiting, you can try a VERY SMALL amount of toast with fruit jelly. Little bites, no more than a quarter of a slice of bread. Then wait an hour. The sugar in the jelly, like the sugar in the popsicles, can help offset the drop in her blood sugar level from all the vomiting. (Same goes for pregnant women with morning sickness.) After an hour or more with no vomiting, you can try another piece, or you can try a few slices of banana, plus a few sips of water or part of a popsicle. If the popsicle is too hard for her to handle, make a few small pieces in ice cube trays with fruit juice (apple or cranberry, no orange due to the acid).

You didn't mention whether she has diarrhea, but sometimes these things "move down" in the child's body, especially with the phlegm in her stomach moving through her digestive tract. The classic bland diet for kids in this condition is "BRAT" - bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. Small amounts, every few hours. No dairy at all, including no cheese, and no butter on the toast. You can also try some chicken broth (for salt and fluids) or some plain Cheerios.

Please stay in touch with your daughter's pediatrician or the on-call pediatrician or nurse from that practice. Keep a food/fluid/temperature/vomiting log (with amounts and time of day) so you have it handy for this call. Let them advise you on whether you should go to the ER for IV fluids. I would avoid an ER on a holiday weekend if at all possible. You can also find out if there's an urgent care center near you - far preferable to an ER in most cases.

Welcome to mamapedia, C.

You need to take her to a different hospital. A Children's hospital. You don't want her getting dehydrated. If you "pinch" her skin on her hand and it stays "up" like a tent? She's dehydrated.

They can test for virus, bacterial or flu. If it's virus? There is no antibiotic they can give her, but they need to ensure she stays HYDRATED.

You can give her children's Tylenol every 4 hours.
Ensure she stays hydrated with popsicles and gatorade.

It sucks when our babies are sick.

It's hard when your baby is sick and there's no antibiotic for a virus.
It's important that you keep her well hydrated.
That means Pedialyte - small sips if she can't keep it down - as often as you can.
Sickness just doesn't go away quickly - so be prepared for this to go on for a week or two.
At this point she sounds dehydrated - take her back to the ER so they can get an IV into her and re-hydrate her.

A pediatrician would probably tell you to use baby Tylenol and baby Advil and rotate using them - use one, then before it wears off, use the other, etc for awhile to manage the fever.
If she has a lot of mucus, then use a humidifier in her room at night.
A warn bath as often as you can could help her feel better too.
She's at an age where you have to watch for croup - you'll hear a barky gasping cough - her throat is closing and it's hard for her to breathe.
If that happens then steam up the bathroom (run the shower so the room steams up) and get her into the steamy room to help her breathe - and call your doctor.
Hope she feels better soon.

Have you tried taking her to your pediatrician? I'd call them immediately and make an appointment.

Sounds like you need to take her to a different ER. Since she's not keeping the fluids down that's why I'd be concerned. Is there another hospital in the area? A Children's Hospital perhaps?

Our nearest Children's Hospital is about an hour away so it would be a journey to take a child there but if your little one is so very sick I think it might be work it to take the trip. IF the roads are safe and such.

Pedialyte. They make many flavors, they have popsicles. They are formulated to help a child avoid dehydration. I suggest you try that and alternate fever meds to keep the fever down. My child's pedi has us do that when we are batteling fever. Then make the child comfortable. Wet washcloths, baths as tolerated, cuddle them and let them know it will all be ok. This too should pass. Check with your child's dr, my kids Dr will not usually see a fever right away without other symptoms such as earache, sore throat, cold symptoms etc. Your child's dr may want to see your child or wait for as days till they were them ( my Dr has ya make an appt if the fever has been present for a full 5 days) so. Check with the Dr on that.

My daughter went through something like this at an early age, like yours. It was a very scary time! We took her to a children's hospital where she got an IV and they ran tests. It was some sort of stomach bug that was causing the fever and vomiting. They gave her something for nausea and vomiting (if I remember correctly, they injected it into the IV) and it helped tremendously, because until then, she could not even hold down water. She slowly got out of it with Pedialyte, fluids, lots of sleep, and very light meals like broth and soup. I would go to a children's hospital for a second opinion. Make sure you mention how long she has been sick, how often the fever comes back, her change in behavior, and all the medications and schedules you have followed up until now.