Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

After I picked James up from daycare this afternoon, he was absolutely fine. My mom came over around 4 - he was fine. We put him in his high chair to eat and he wanted nothing to do with his food - not even his favorites. We could visibly see him going downhill. His eyes got puffy, his nose started running and he was kind of slumpy. My mom picked him up and said he felt warm. Sure enough, he had 102.3 out of nowhere. It was literally 35 minutes between when we put him in the chair until we took him out.

We gave him Tylenol at 6:30 and he went right to sleep. he didn't even want his bedtime milk. Poor boy.

When should we check him again? What do we do if his fever gets higher? If his fever is still up, should we give him another dose of Tylenol? At what point do we call the ped for a fever in a toddler? My mom is coming back tomorrow to stay with him because DH and I have to work.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Poor James. When DS's fever is up to 104, it usually means ear infection for him. They say to put him in a luke warm bath to make him more comfortable, and when his fever was at its highest (103.5), we used motrin and tylenol as per ped. Under 104 they said not to freak out, but over that they said go to ER.

I'd bring him to the ped if it stays high just to check for ear infection.

Message edited 2/7/2011 7:51:33 PM.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

You can piggy back tylenol and motrin. This is what I did when DS had roseola.

I would give motrin when he woke up in the morning, then 4 hours later do tylenol. 4 hours later motrin again, and so forth. Definitely helped keep the fever down and put him back to himself.

If the fever isn't that high I would just stick with motrin versus tylenol. It lasts 8 hours as opposed to 4.

Personally, I don't bother DS when he is sleeping. If he was uncomfortable he'd let me know, no reason to wake him up and interrupt the rest he definitely needs.

My ped won't see us unless the fever lasts more than 3 days and/or the tylenol/motrin isn't helping with reducing the fever.

Hope he feels better soon!

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Poor sweet James. You can alternate motrin and tylenol every 3 hours. A bath helps, and make sure he's not dressed too warmly. I usually have her sleeping without a sleepsack when she is running a fever.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

I only treat the fever if it is really high or she is lethargic, like in your DS's case.

If I give DD tylenol right before bed , I usually keep checking on her to make sure the fever went down. I won't wake her up,I just feel her forehead. If it doesnt break , I would normally wait an hour, then wake her up and give her motrin. Usually the 2 combined can bring the fever down. I don't like her having such a high fever overnight when I can't keep an eye on her so I always try to break it.

I would give it 2 or 3 days, it could be a col, unless he is noticeably tugging on his ears. If the fever doesn't go away then take him to the ped.

tylenol is given every 4 hours
motrin every 6-8

Message edited 2/7/2011 7:57:44 PM.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Thanks girls

We've been really lucky with this winter. The last time he was sick was with Roseola in September.

My poor bug.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by scarletbegonia

Thanks girls

We've been really lucky with this winter. The last time he was sick was with Roseola in September.

My poor bug.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Give him Motrin next. It's better for fevers and you can piggyback that with the Tylenol every three hours or so to keep the temp. down

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

My doc didn't want us to call until the fever lasted 24 hrs OR reached over 105. You're really limited to Tylenol or Motrin (I'm a fan of Motrin personally b/c it lasts longer which is great when the fever keeps returning after a few hrs.) Keep him hydrated.... Call the doc in the a.m. I'm sure he'll wake you up if he's not feeling well. Oh, and call in sick tomorrow - you may need a few days before you can go back to work! Daycare required us to be 100% fever free for 24 hrs. Give him lots of love!

ETA: Be sure not to overlap the Tylenol and Motrin - it's one or the other.

Message edited 2/7/2011 8:22:00 PM.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

My DD is just over 2 and had a cold a few weeks ago and then out of nowhere spiked a fever. For 3 days straight she had anywhere between a 102 and 104. We gave her Tylenol every 3 hrs and then on the 4th morning it broke and she was fine. We did take her to the ped and they said unless it persists longer than 4-5 day or the fever gets near 105 there is nothing much to do other than let it run it's course and keep giving Tylenol. He will be okay, just give it a few days.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by sunflowerjesss

You can piggy back tylenol and motrin. This is what I did when DS had roseola.

I would give motrin when he woke up in the morning, then 4 hours later do tylenol. 4 hours later motrin again, and so forth. Definitely helped keep the fever down and put him back to himself.

If the fever isn't that high I would just stick with motrin versus tylenol. It lasts 8 hours as opposed to 4.

Personally, I don't bother DS when he is sleeping. If he was uncomfortable he'd let me know, no reason to wake him up and interrupt the rest he definitely needs.

My ped won't see us unless the fever lasts more than 3 days and/or the tylenol/motrin isn't helping with reducing the fever.

Hope he feels better soon!

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by Hofstra26

Posted by sunflowerjesss

You can piggy back tylenol and motrin. This is what I did when DS had roseola.

I would give motrin when he woke up in the morning, then 4 hours later do tylenol. 4 hours later motrin again, and so forth. Definitely helped keep the fever down and put him back to himself.

If the fever isn't that high I would just stick with motrin versus tylenol. It lasts 8 hours as opposed to 4.

Personally, I don't bother DS when he is sleeping. If he was uncomfortable he'd let me know, no reason to wake him up and interrupt the rest he definitely needs.

My ped won't see us unless the fever lasts more than 3 days and/or the tylenol/motrin isn't helping with reducing the fever.

Hope he feels better soon!

My ped specifically said to NOT go back and forth between the Motrin and Tylenol. She said choose one or the other and stick with that only. Just wanted to put it out there because she had made a point of telling me.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

I just checked on him - he's down to a 100.7

When I went in, he made noise and moved around but never really woke up. I'm wondering if he has the chills - he has his blanket wrapped so tightly around him and he's so snuggled into it.

I can't remember if I asked this in an earlier post - should I wake him to give him another dose of Tylenol at like 10:30 or just let him sleep through it and only give it to him if he wakes on his own? I just sent my doc a msg on FB - hoping for his usual quick reply!

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by scarletbegonia

I just checked on him - he's down to a 100.7

When I went in, he made noise and moved around but never really woke up. I'm wondering if he has the chills - he has his blanket wrapped so tightly around him and he's so snuggled into it.

I can't remember if I asked this in an earlier post - should I wake him to give him another dose of Tylenol at like 10:30 or just let him sleep through it and only give it to him if he wakes on his own? I just sent my doc a msg on FB - hoping for his usual quick reply!

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Thanks B!

BTW - he's still with his sitter. I know she cares about him and will be fantastic with him until June. I think it's more my own issues that I have to put aside.

Miss you guys!

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by Diana1215

Posted by Hofstra26

Posted by sunflowerjesss

You can piggy back tylenol and motrin. This is what I did when DS had roseola.

I would give motrin when he woke up in the morning, then 4 hours later do tylenol. 4 hours later motrin again, and so forth. Definitely helped keep the fever down and put him back to himself.

If the fever isn't that high I would just stick with motrin versus tylenol. It lasts 8 hours as opposed to 4.

Personally, I don't bother DS when he is sleeping. If he was uncomfortable he'd let me know, no reason to wake him up and interrupt the rest he definitely needs.

My ped won't see us unless the fever lasts more than 3 days and/or the tylenol/motrin isn't helping with reducing the fever.

Hope he feels better soon!

My ped specifically said to NOT go back and forth between the Motrin and Tylenol. She said choose one or the other and stick with that only. Just wanted to put it out there because she had made a point of telling me.

Really? I've always heard to piggyback the two for fevers.

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by scarletbegonia

I just checked on him - he's down to a 100.7

When I went in, he made noise and moved around but never really woke up. I'm wondering if he has the chills - he has his blanket wrapped so tightly around him and he's so snuggled into it.

I can't remember if I asked this in an earlier post - should I wake him to give him another dose of Tylenol at like 10:30 or just let him sleep through it and only give it to him if he wakes on his own? I just sent my doc a msg on FB - hoping for his usual quick reply!

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Re: Talk to me about the "fever virus" please

Posted by Hofstra26

Posted by sunflowerjesss

You can piggy back tylenol and motrin. This is what I did when DS had roseola.

I would give motrin when he woke up in the morning, then 4 hours later do tylenol. 4 hours later motrin again, and so forth. Definitely helped keep the fever down and put him back to himself.

If the fever isn't that high I would just stick with motrin versus tylenol. It lasts 8 hours as opposed to 4.

Personally, I don't bother DS when he is sleeping. If he was uncomfortable he'd let me know, no reason to wake him up and interrupt the rest he definitely needs.

My ped won't see us unless the fever lasts more than 3 days and/or the tylenol/motrin isn't helping with reducing the fever.

Hope he feels better soon!

My ped specifically said to NOT go back and forth between the Motrin and Tylenol. She said choose one or the other and stick with that only. Just wanted to put it out there because she had made a point of telling me.