Fever - Lansing, MI

M.,
Fever is there for a reason- to fight off whatever he is trying to come down with. Unless it gets over 104 or 105 I wouldn't give him anything, let him fight it.
You can discuss this with your doctor, but be sure to ask him about it. So many parents are scared of their kids getting a fever, but it is the immune system's natural response to fight getting sick, and you are hindering that by trying to stop the fever. Just see if you can keep him comfy and cuddle him a lot. Check the fever regularly if it seems to be getting too high, but this is rare.

1 mom found this helpful

HI Mellisa:
You should be able to contact a pediatrician by calling your local hospital. There is usually one on call 24 hours for questions such as these. Just call and ask to speak with the pediatricain on call and they will ask for your name and number and then page who ever is on call and they should call you back. Actually the only on here that i would take the advice would Jennifer, since she actually is liscensed to practice.
K.

I was always told to alternate tylenol and motrin. This way he is getting something to help every 4 hours instead of every 8.

I would suggest that you can try vinegar and cool water. When my daughters were little we used that old remedy and it worked like a charm. It broke both of my daughters fevers. It's an old remedy that my husbands grandmother taught to his mom and aunt and they told us about it and it works.

I was told when my children were younger that to use tylenol and Ibprofen. Tylenol first then four hours later ibprofen and then tylenol again.

Do not give it early. There are hourly restrictions for a reason. If he were a little older I would suggest Motrin, it last longer and helps my babies better. Give your baby plenty of cold fluids and try a tepid bath. The baby will not like it, but it will help bring the fever down naturally. Remember fevers are a good thing and help the body fight things off. I had a doctor tell me that unless the baby seems bothered by the fever try not to give too many meds. As long as it is not too high. I just took my 9 mo old to the Er for a fever 103-104 after 5 days and they just suggested alternating tylenol and motrin, as they found no major illness. But definately talk to you doctor.

Never Ever give a child under 2 a OTC med with out calling your doctor first! No matter what, even just for Tylenol!

I haven't looked at the other responses yet, but we alternated tylenol and motrin- I have always been told this was ok to do- then you have them medicated more regularly. I advise to verify this with the pediatrician as well.

I would wait for the advice of the doctor Cool the baby with a cool washcloth

A temperature of 103 is really not that high and means his body is trying to fight an infection (usually viral). The increase in body temperature makes the environment unfriendly for the infection, which is what you want. The vast majority of fevers are caused by viral infection and last no longer than 3 days. If the temperature gets to 105 then it could be bacterial. Fevers cause no harm, such as brain damage, when it is less than 107. Fortunately, the brain's thermostat keeps untreated fevers resulting from infection below 106. If he has convulsions, these are generally harmless, but there is a need to rule out a more serious condition (especially meningitis).
You do need to see a doctor if:
a. the fever gets above 105
b. if it gets hard to wake him up
c. if his neck gets stiff (associated with meningitis)
d. he starts getting convulsions
See a doctor within 24 hrs:
a. the fever gets above 104
b. burning or pain with urination
c. if the fever "breaks" and then returns within 24 hrs
d. the fever lasts for longer than 3 days
The best thing you can do for him is to try and make him comfortable. Make sure he is getting liquids. Boil a chicken with lots of vegetables and feed him the strained broth. Don't use broth you buy at the store. It's really not a problem that he doesn't have an appetite, but he does need fluids.

DON'T GIVE HIM ASPIRIN!!!! Several studies have linked aspirin and viral illnesses with Reye syndrome.

If you have to give him anything give him acetaminophen. This should reduce the fever by 1-2 degrees in a couple of hours. Keep in mind though that the fever is helping him fight the infection, so why try to help the enemy?

Good luck and I hope he feels better soon.

Most of the info above comes from "Current Pediatric Diagnosis & Treatment" by Hay, Hayward, Levin, and Sondheimer 15th Edition.

My doctor always tells me to alternate Tylenol and Motrin. Tylenol doenst last as long but Motrin keeps going. Any fever over 101 can cause febrile seizures. I have a son whom has them every time his fever hits 101 so I dont know about not causing any brain damage it sure does to him. I am glad that your taking him in thats probably the best decision. Good luck and sorry you and your little one are going thru this.:(

I was told by my Dr that I could give tylenol and then in 2 hours I could give Motrin opposite each other to control a bad fever.

M.,

When my children were younger and had a persistent fever, our Ped would have us alternate bn children's tylenol(Acetominiphan), and children's Motrin(Ibuprofen). We would give the recommended dose of Tylenol, then 3 hours later give the recommended dose of Motrin. We would repeat the dosing until the fever was under control. It is safe to alternate these two medicines, as long as you follow the dosing recommendations. Just to be safe, you could call the nurse line to verify. Good luck!

M.- I would not advise on giving any medication 'early'. This will put too much into his system. Even one overlapping dose of tylenol can cause tylenol poisoning. What I would advise is that you rotate between infants tylenol and infants concentrated motrin drops. The motrin drops last for 6 hours. You can give them along with each other...this way when the tylenol wears off the motrin is still going. Plus, motrin combats fever better than tylenol does in children. Keep him hydrated with his fever too. My son is 10mo and we just went through a virus where he had a temp for several days. The doc told me it was just a virus and then the very next day it was pneumonia with a 104.7 fever. So be careful! Glad you're going into the docs!

Tylenol is very safe, so you would probably be fine. However, they don't recommend ibuprophen for children under 6 months, so you may want to wait on alternating with tylenol for the time being. Does your doctor office have a nurse you can speak with to see if giving the tylenol early is okay?

You can alternate tylenol and ibuprofen every 2-3 hours.

My doctor always says we can overlap tylenol or painkillers in general by 30 mins to prevent the spike in the temp. Apparently it takes about 30 mins for the medicine to actually digest and take effect. So, taking it 30 mins early gives them a steady dose of medicine with no disruption. But I was told to do that for my children. I would check with my dr. before doing anything against the directions on the bottle regardless of what anyone else says you can or can't do.

When my oldest daughter was 2 weeks old the nurse on call for the doctors office told me to switch between tylenol and motrin. tylenol u give every 4 hours and motrin u give every 8 hours. Oh boy did it help with the fever she had. I also know motrin does do kidney problems because that is what partially made my dad have a kidney transplant along with his diabetes and blood pressure. It comes from taken motrin every day on a daily routine. Not from just given one or two doses. Its just like any other pills u take.... all pills can hurt ur kidneys. That is why they are always tryin to cut down my dads meds. Like taken him off his sugar pill and replacing it with a shot. Here is a website i found that gives some information about motrin tablets. Plus a website that has a dosage table for infants.. Good luck !! and if all else fails ask ur doctor what they think of motrin. Also remember if u look on most package for OTC meds in always says see a doctor for the dosage if they are under the age of 2. Good luck

http://www.fda.gov/medwaTCH/SAFETY/2006/Jan_PI/MotrinTab_...
http://www.motrin.ca/eng/child/product/infant.html#dosage

Hi,
I wouldn't give them tylenol early, but what my doctor told me to do is to use a little motrin too. It is okay to use them both if you need to. So if you get to the 3 hour mark with tylenol and it is not working give them a little motrin.
E.

Try Motrin. When my daughter gets a fever and Tylenol isn't working, Motrin usually does. It lasts longer than Tylenol, too.

I would not wait 10 hrs. for a visit--go to a redi-care! Also, alternating tylenol/motrin is what my Dr. always said too!

My doctor told me a few years ago that you can rotate between tylenol and motrin every two hours. This helps keep the fever down by having the second one start working before the other one wears off. This has always worked well for my kids and as long as they have the two different ingredients it is safe. Hope this helps in the future!

If you ever have any questions you need answered right away, you can always call the Mercy Nurse. I believe the number is in the phone book under Mercy. They're great!!

M.,

You can give your little one motrin for children inbetween the tylenol. I am a grandma of 5 and when ever my little ones had a fever their doctor always told us to atlernate tylenol with motrin. Hope this helps and your little ones gets well soon.

Grama Griz

You can stagger tylenol and Motrin like give the dose of tylenol give a dose of Motrin 2-3hours later to keep the fever down and then give the tylenol on schedule.

They work differently and it's completely safe to use both at once. In fact if you take a baby to the ER with a high fever they often will give both at the same time to bring the fever down faster.

PLEASE don't give it to him less than than 4 hours apart. This is not a slam on you, of course, but misdosing is why none us can can get cold meds anymore. Keep him dafe, he'll be all right before you take him to the doc. Best wishes.

give him 1/2 a dose of tylenol and 1/2 a dose of motrin. his fever will be gone in 30 minutes of less! i took my daughter to the er for teething and this is what they had me do.

Hey M.!

One thing the doctor told me to do was alternate between the motrin and tylenol....i just can't remember if your son is old enough yet to take motrin....hmmmm, better check with the doc on that.
So glad you're getting him to the doctor though.

Blessings!

T.
http://tinamccomb.stayinhomeandlovinit.com

Mellissa,
Switch off between tylenol and motrin. that way you can give him something before his fever goes up again. you can give it to him every three to four hours that way!
This is mom's best friend when baby is sick.
good luck!
H.

Sure, if you want him/her to end up in the hospital???? Babies that small can overdose VERY EASILY!!!
It says every 4 hours and that is what a parent is supposed to follow. that is why they are recalling all those child cough medicines, because the parents are not following the specific instructions on the label!!
you could try taking all his clothes off, leaving him in a diaper, then taking a light recieving blanket if he gets too chilled. I always use a warmish/cool wash closh to either wipe or lay on thier forehead, or just cover the top of his head, not making it cold though, because if you try to drop thier temp too quickly, you can cause them to have convulsions, my sisters baby did this!!
You can even give him/her a lukewarm bath, in maybe 1-2" of water and just let him lay there and relax, and keep swooshing the coolish warm water over him for at least 10 minutes.
these tricks usually help.
Sorry to be cranky, but babies die everyday from being overdosed...or poisoned...and ask your Dr. or pharmacist, if you can switch off and on from Infants Tylenol to Infants Motrin, that sometimes helps too, because the Infants Motrin lasts longer. 6- 8 hours.

Hi M.,
It is okay to piggyback tylenol and motrin but you should call your ped. because I don't think you can give a baby motrin until 6 months.
Chris

M.,
What I have always been told to do with high fever like that is alternate every 4 hours between tylenol and motrin/advil to get the fever down. 1 hour is not going to hurt your little one.

Good luck nothing worse then high fevers in little ones. I woudl also call your Dr. and see if you can get in earlier.

S.

Hi there~ I trust you have already seen the doc but I have to speak up! Despite the 'safety' of Tylenol or Motrin, they are both strong pain medications and should only be dosed by a pediatrician in any baby under 2 yrs. While it is typically safe to follow the pkg directions, dont ever, ever give more or more often than instructed, even and hour! Tylenol can cause serious liver damage and just think how little your baby's liver is...and brand new! Parents think OTC meds are safe, and they generally are, but they are STILL medications and can be very harmful! Please, please don't take medical advice from any source other than your ped. If you are concerned, there is always and ER open!!

Hope he is feeling better soon!

~L.

I know he's already been to the doc but I just wanted to throw out some advice for other moms:

Motrin (Ibuprofen) shouldn't be given to children under 6 months.

Over 6 months, some MD's will recommend alternating between Motrin & Tylenol to decrease side effects (one breaks down in the kidneys, the other breaks down in the liver). However, you still should not give them any earlier than every 4 hours.

P.S. Motrin will probably work a little better for fevers, especially when teething is involved.

Call your doc to find out the dose. If you call Walgreens they don't like to give you the dose info because of the age of the infant. To bring the temp down give the baby a bath in tempid water. If the temp gets too high the baby could have a seizure. I am telling you this from experience. My daughter has had a fever almost every month for the last year. Good luck!!!

What you can do is alternate between tylenol and ibuprofen. They have different active ingredients. So if tylenol says every 6hrs and ibuprofen says every 8hrs then you can alternated them and give one every 4hrs, tylenol then ibup, then tylenol etc-hope that makes sense. I've done this a few times when my children had very high fevers and it was actually a suggestion from my peds nurse. I would call you doc and make sure that this is ok for a 5mo old though. They call it "piggyback" the meds. Don't let his fever get to 104 no matter what!!! If it starts to go that high, put him in a lukewarm bath and feed him juicecicles. Good Luck!!!!!