My Baby Is Sooo Sick

Updated on February 17, 2007
D.A. asks from College Point, NY
27 answers

ok i might be a little paranoid but my daughter is 5 months and she has had a fever of 102.4 yesterday and 2 days ago as well she has a bad cough and lots of phlem and a runny nose. What can i do to help her i feel hopeless, its my job to protect her and i cant seem to do anything to make her feel better. To top it off i work FT and she hasnt been letting me sleep. The Doctor says that she will be fine with time. He doesnt prescribe nothing for colds. I think its more then a cold because of the fever. It may be that she is teething as well. What can i do to help her?

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So What Happened?

Well first of thank you guys for all the great advice, my daughter got worse on Thursday so on Friday i took her to the doctor he said that she has Bronchitis but that it was just the beginnig and as bad i still flipped. Well he but her on antibiotics and albuterol. She is so much better today and its only been 3 days on meds. She has slep since saturday night.. Im so happy she id getting better, so once again thank you all...

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A.R.

answers from New York on

If she has a fever that high, give her tylenol, accorinding to her weight. find another doctor. i've never heard of not giving a child medicine if they are sick.

2 moms found this helpful
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V.G.

answers from New York on

Did the pediatrician recommended tylenol or motrin for the fever. Since she's only 5 months, I personally did not use motrin until my daughter was 2.6. Tylenol worked for the fever.

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T.A.

answers from New York on

Well I think it's more than a cold too. Or it could just be teething like you said. She is only 5 months old with a fever for to many days is not good, especially if she has a phlem. I would go and get a second opinion from another doctor. You can use saline that they sell for babies in any pharmacy. Good Luck!

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S.R.

answers from Utica on

my son had the same thing, ask your doctor about using "pediacare" it is drops for cough and congestion in an infant.
also, if you are real nervous take him to the hospital and they will give him a chest x-ray. The doctor won't order it on his own most likely.
My pediatrician did the same thing, "let him get over it"
2 days later he was worse and when I took him back to the office, another Dr. saw him and gave him a prescription for albuterol drops to help him breath better.. Ask for another doctor. If you are on medicaid you can still switch!

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N.B.

answers from New York on

She's too young to get any type of medicine that's why the DR will just let it ride itself out. There is Infant Children's Tylenol and Motrin and Advil for baby's now, just make sure to read the label first. The old fashion way, sponge bath her in very cool to cold water to break her fever. She WILL scream her head off but the fever will break for a while. You must monitor fevers because you don't want it to go to their tiny brains.

Keep rubbing her down with Vicks vapor rub and/or a huidifier with the product in it's waters to help her breath better. You can also try using eucalyptus oil put little drops of it onto her sleep clothes which will help her to breath better at night. Also, this will be gross, if you don't have a nasal bulb to suction out the mucus from her nose then you will have to put your mouth to her nose to suck it out! Yes OMG, but it's better than the nasal thing and just have a cup ready to spit out the mucus and over time she will feel better.

Let me how things work out.

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M.G.

answers from New York on

What you can do is take her back to the doctor to check to see if she has pneumonia or if she has some type of virus that goes away on its on

1 mom found this helpful

H.V.

answers from Jamestown on

If you can take her into a steamy room (like the bathroom with the hot shower going and the door closed) don't put her in the shower, but let her be in the hot steamy room for a little while to help clear her sinuses. Or you can take her in the shower with you. (of course, just make sure that you don't have it too hot if your going to be in the shower with her.) If you have a water sling, then you can hold her, while your in the shower. I used to do that all the time with my youngest son. Hope all goes well for you both.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.M.

answers from Albany on

OH, I feel for you, I remember those days! My daughter is now 5 years old but we were all sick 2 weeks before Chrismas, sounds like the same thing you have at your house. I am a mom of one but have an Early Childhood Ed. degree and have over 10 years experience working with kids. Trust me, this too shall pass. Here's my advice: elevate her mattress or let her sleep in her swing, car seat, wherever she is elevated. Run a cool mist humidifier 24/7. Use the nasal aspirator (or snot-sucker, as my husband called it!), try the nose drops. Check with your pediatrician about using some sort of vapo-rub, I can't remember when we started using it for my daughter, but it really helps. A fever of 102 is a little high for a 5 month old so keep it down with Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen (ask your doctor for dosages.) Be sure to give her the fever-reducer just before bedtime as this may help her (and therefore you!) sleep a little better, and it will help with pain from teething as well. Don't bother with over-the-counter cold medicine, it really doesn't work for little ones and they usually hate the taste anyway. In my experience, just when I think something is never going to end, it usually does so hang in there. Call your pediatrician and talk to the nurses if you need reassurance that you are doing everything you can...that's what they are there for. Try to get someone to help you out at night so you can get a few hours' sleep or just call in sick for a day and nap whenever she naps. Your sick days are there for just that reason. Good luck, keep us updated!

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S.H.

answers from Syracuse on

Baby Tylonol should work and also let her sit in a warm bath

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from New York on

if you feel something different than what the doctor says, switch to a new one. I did, and it was the best thing I could do. You should try out doctors until you get one that fits your style and relates to you. Some of them have old closeminded views and don't listen.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.P.

answers from New York on

Have you tried any homeopathic medicine? At my baby shower when I was pregnant with my first a friend of mine (who is a Mom of 11!!!) gave me this homeopathic kit called "Hylands Kids Kit". I had never heard of that kind of medicine, but she explained how to use it and it came with a little book full of symptoms and what to use when. You can use it on infants and I've used it with my 2 boys. It really does help. You can pick it up at a Vitamin Shop or any other vitamin/health food store usually.

It's so miserable when our babies get sick!!! I'm sure she'll be fine, but it's no fun to go thorugh. Poor thing. Hope it gets better quick!!

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A.B.

answers from Albany on

Tylenol for the fever and lots of love. I know what you mean about working full time and having a sick baby so you are getting no sleep, but she will get over it soon. If her fever gets above 104 then bring her to her doctor, or the ER. Other than that there are a lot of viruses going around this winter. My daughter had an awful stomach bug for five days with a fever. All you can do is sit it out and you might also, if you can, take a day off from work so the two of you can sleep all day and cuddle. The last thing that you want is to get sick yourself from lack of sleep and being around her cold. I hope that helps, let me know what happens!

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C.V.

answers from New York on

For the night time, I would suggest the pediacare plug in. It really helps the babies sleep with a cough and cold. There is also a vicks baby rub that you rub right onto the chest to loosen up the phlem. It works, and smells great- not too strong. Also you can call your doctor and ask how much infant tylenol you can give to her. My son was teething at three months and I was able to give him 0.4mL of tylenol. But the doctor went by how much he weighed, so definately call your doctor. I hope this helps!!!

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J.T.

answers from Hartford on

my baby just had this before christmas. he was 6 mth and the dr kept saying he will be fine just call us if it gets worse. he was really congetsted and had a cough so bad he couldnt sleep and was throwing up phlem and everything. he also had a fever. i finally took him to the hospital and they sent me home with just a prescription for pediacare cough and cold for infants they told me to use half a dropper. it helped a lot. but it does go away in time his ended with a dry cough that still kept him up but it was better. the vicks and a humidifier work great i got the vicks humidifier that you put the medicine right in and it even made me feel good. just keep her hydrated and i offered him water a lot for his poor throat. also i closed the door to my bathroom and stood in there with him while i ran the hot water and let the room get a ll steamy that worked really well and he like it and the noise of the water relaxed him. hope this helps.

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A.K.

answers from New York on

Hi,
My daughter is also 5 months old and just went through the same thing!! The whole week of Christmas she was sick, running nose, coughing like crazy, fever..101.2, not sleeping well. We took her to the doctor the day after Christmas and he said she just has a nasty cold..and like you said, no meds. Instead we had to put nose drops (little noses)in her nose EVERY 4 HOURS and then SUCTION. As much as she hated it and as much as I hated doing it, it really helped her. It helped to subside the coughing alot, because she was coughing due to the flem dripping down her throat. I believe that suctioning was the reason why the cold never got into her chest! Oh and she is teething so the doc blamed the fever on her teething. So if you're not already suctioning..START, it will make a world of difference. It also helped her to sleep better, oh and elevate the top of her mattress...that helped my little one too. Also we have a humidifier running constantly. (And now it might be my turn :( sigh...)

Good Luck!

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S.H.

answers from New York on

The doctor didnt even prescribe a fever reducer? thats weird but anyway, for the runny nose and phlem, if you have a shower let the hot water run and sit with her on the toilet and let the vapors clear her up. I hope this work, do keep checking her temperature? maybe you could wash her down with a cool baby towel. Well I hope this helps. I will pray for her ok

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K.B.

answers from Jamestown on

One of things that my doctor told me, as far as children are concerned, is to give them childrens tylenol and then alternate that with childrens motrin or childrens advil. The doctor said that sometimes after awhile your body gets used to one medication so it helps to alternate them. I hope this helps.

K.

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V.M.

answers from New York on

get a humidifier that u can put vicks in it ...also u can give her a lil bit of childrens benadryl about 2.5 ml to help dry her upmy best friends a pediatrician and that is what he tells me to do hope it helps

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R.R.

answers from New York on

Try using johnsons vapor bath or vicks in a humidifier to help her breathe better and get rid of the phlegm.Remember that babies get sick the same way that adults do and we cant always make ourselves feel better so its not your fault, you know that you are doing everything you can.If the fever still isnt going away with tylenol or even baby motrin bring her back to the doctor.And it doesnt sound like you are happy with the response the doctor gave you so if that type of thing continues you may want to look into finding a new doctor that you feel more comfortable with. As far as getting enough sleep at night to get you through work and worry for your daughter the next day theres not alot you can do about that but hopefully if you can soothe her with the menthol vapor bath and have her sleep slightly inclined(you can wedge a blanket or pillow under her mattress)to make her breathing easier she may be able to sleep better, if she does you will too.

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A.D.

answers from New York on

Hi D.

Double check with your pediatrician to see if he/she recommends baby Tylenol (not motrin - she's too young) to help bring the fever down. Also, if she's teething as well, try putting a damp wash cloth in the freezer and then letting her suck it. Sounds weird but they love it and the coolnees may also help with the fever.

If she's really congested, try 5-7 minutes in the bathroom with lots of steam from the shower (don't put her in the shower just let the room get steamy). It will help break up the mucus and make it easier to breathe. Lastly, give lot's of liquids -- like water with a drop or two of gerber juice (I mix it 1/2 oz juice to 3 1/2 oz of water). That'll also help the break up the mucus. If it's nasal congestion, a little saline solution in the nose helps to loosen it as well. You can suction it with an aspirator.

I know it horrible when they have colds . . . so hang in there. - Robyn

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C.S.

answers from New York on

I love johson & johnson vapor babies (i use it myself!) the teal color bottle helps with colds

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A.O.

answers from New York on

my ten week old just got over being very ill (the dr almost put him in the hospital) saline nose drops thinned out the mucus, and i had a humidifier running 24/7. tylenol as directed for fever will make her less miserable too. also try to keep her upright as much as possible. his dr said he could sleep in his swing if it helped him. hope she gets well soon. is there anyone who can come and help you even for one night? you need rest so you can take care of her.

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J.B.

answers from New York on

An trick my mother-in-law taught me and I still use this remedy and my kids are teenagers. When my children have a fever of a 101 or more I would fill the bathtub w/luke warm water and add vinegar a good amount but not the whole bottle(depends on how much you can stand the smell) and put would put the children in the tub for as long as they could stand it (no more than 20 min) and their temperature would go down about 1-2 degrees or I would make a buck of the smae solution dip towels in the solution and wrap them around arms .legs wash cloth on forehead and that would work too a little easier on you I think. This year because of the weather it is so difficult to keep the family in good health. I also use a holistic pharmasist that has done wonders for so many people that I know her name is Dominista Uilean ###-###-####.

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R.I.

answers from Syracuse on

first I believe in a mothers intution... if you feel you need to get a second opinion do it!!! Next... a vaporizer has helped my little ones! Also when as much liquid as possible when they have a fevor... I even would spoon feed them liquid...also as far as your fulltime job... I am a single mom of 5 and I work from home around my children's schedule.... feel free to visit my website at www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/infante to find out more about that opportunity. I live in Auburn, New York and I help mom's have a plan b... I pray your little one gets better asap!!!!

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K.B.

answers from New York on

Just keep an eye on her. Last year my son started out with a cold which developed into Pnemonia and RSV. I'm not telling you this to panic you but if you feel she isn't any better then take her back to the doctor. That is why they are there. Mother's intuition has probably kicked in by now so use your judgement. I'm sure everyhting will be fine.. Sleep??????????????

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S.D.

answers from Syracuse on

it sounds like a cold or teething, just remember that as long as the babys fever goes down with medicine, its just a virus or teething. she will be fine. just give he lots of liquids, and rub her back, my son always loved that when he was sick

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C.B.

answers from Albany on

A Sick baby is never easy to handle, Just make sure you call the Dr if it does not clear up, My Daughter will be 8 months old and has Bronchitis! It too was nothing at first, but it did not go away so I took her back to the Dr's. But do what you can to make her happy....a little Tylenol will help and a lot of love!

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