My Daughter Has a Fever..

My one-year-old son had his first cold a few weeks ago. I was immediately on the phone with a nurse help-line just looking for tips and things to look for since it was our first experience. They told me the same thing you're hearing form others that fever is the body's way of creating a hostile environment for the virus. That they don't even recommend medicating unless it gets over 102 and only then because the child is usually starting to show signs of discomfort at that point. My son seemed happy, though a bit more clingy than usual, and I didn't give him anything for the fever until it hit close to 102 and only then before a nap/bed because I wanted him to get plenty of sleep. I ran out and bought a vaporizer for his room which seemed to help him breathe at night and through naps as well. They also suggested plenty of fluids and absolutely no cough medicine since he was under one. That if the cough got bad (it never did), to try warm apple juice. Finally, they also stressed skipping any medication that might "dry him up" as the mucus is a way for the virus to leave the body. Hope this helps. If she's not better in another day or two (though the mucus will likely change from runny to goopy and hang on for a couple of weeks) or if she's having trouble breathing, by all means call the doctor asap.

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Hi Nahes:
I'm sorry to hear your daughter is not feeling well. I couldn't help to notice, that you blame yourself. You said, you got her sick.The only way ,you could have caused her illness, is if she caught it from you.You would be absolutely amazed, how many children and adults, catch viruses and colds from shopping carts.Imagine how many sick children,go to the store with mommy,and rub their noses and wipe their hands on the handle of the cart.Thats why so many stores, now provide wipes,by the front of the store. I use it each time I grab a cart.It does help.If you aren't ill,there is a posibility, that shes teething.Some children,will get a fever,a runny nose,and even loose bowel movements,as a result.I bet there isn't a mother here, that hasn't taken their child to the Dr,because their little one had lost alot of sleep,and appeared miserable.....Only to have them act like you took them on their best day! When you get them in the office, the fever goes down,they smile, and act playful. They make us mothers look crazy! lol. "But really Doctor" "She WAS REALLY SICK" lol. I'd keep checking her temp periodically. It sounds like your doing a great job. The bath to cool her off a little,and soothe her is a good idea to.I hope your darlin daughter is feeling well soon.

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Medicating your daughter for a slight fever is only hindering her body's natural defenses. Fevers are a good thing. Every time she will get sick, her immune system will get stronger and more capable of fighting off illness again. Give her fever-reducer, however, and you're only taking away her body's ability to heal itself. The only time I might give in on this is if they are terribly uncomfortable and they can't get to sleep on their own because of it. Since we decided to refrain from using Tylenol and Motrin, we haven't had to use it again, but we always have some just in case.

If your daughter is running around and playing, don't even worry yourself about it. Her little body is fighting something off and it is hardly affecting her. She must have quite the strong immune system for so little a person.

Hope that helps!

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Pediatricians will vary on what to do with a fever. Ours doesn't treat them unless they are higher than 105. I have had better luck and quicker recovery when I let the fever runs its course without medication, it's a hard thing to do, to watch your kid's fever rise and not stop it, but they get over them sooner. Remember that fevers are a sign of an infection somewhere and medication interfers with what the body is trying to do.

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after two-three days of fever, call the doctor, or sooner if she has more symptoms. Try not to give her too much medicine - a fever usually breaks sooner without so much. You can also put cool washrags on her and it will bring it down a little, and a tepid bath (room temp).

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Whenever my daughter runs a fever, rarely thankfully, it's very high, like 103-104. I worried a lot when she was little, but the doctor always told me that her behavior was a more important indicator than the numbers, because every child is different.

If she is still playing and laughing, then she'll be fine. If she was lethargic, then you'd want to check it out. and obviously if it goes on for more than a few days I'd check with the doctor. But it sounds like you just have a cute little furnace like I do!

And remember, the fever is making her better, that's the body's healing mechanism. So don't be too quick to try to break every little fever, it will only delay her getting better. Judge by her behavior! And give her lots of hugs. :)

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HI there,

I think 102.3 is a little high for an 11 month old and should take her to the pediatrician or give the pediatrician a call. I have made the mistake of giving my son too little Tylenol to reduce the fever. Your pediatrician will tell you how much to give her. I had to double the dose that I was giving my son. After I did that, the fever went down within the hour.

Good luck!
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My daughter, 11mo. old, did the same thing about a month ago. Of course it happened over Labor Day weekend and the fever started on Friday morning. She was a happy girl, crawling around, sleeping fine, eating fine, no behavior changes. We kept track of the fever, which ranged from 99-102 all weekend, giving her Tylenol and by Tuesday morning took her to the Dr. The fever was a sign of an infection and it turned out that she had strep throat! I was so surprised b/c I would've thought she'd have been miserable, but was just a little cranky on Monday morning. They sent us home with antibiotics and she was great in no time! So, my advice would be to watch the fever for a couple of days. If it doesn't go away and there isn't any other sign of her being sick, make an appointment and take her in. Our Dr. did a throat culture first to check for strep. Her second test was going to be to check for a bladder infection. I'm sure she'll be fine!

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Fevers can vary from child to child. 102 might be okay for one, but not for another. Call her pediatrician. When it comes to medical issues, I think a doctor is best to advise us.

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My first born used to get unexplained fevers all of the time. As a first time mother, I freaked out a lot more then than I do now going on to number three.

My husband is a pediatrician and he would tell you that fevers are not so much scary as they are annoying to the parents because it makes for a cranky child. 102 is high but I wouldn't take her in unless it has lasted at least three days especially if she is acting somewhat normal despite the fact that she is sick. If it every gets to 105 degrees take her in immediately.

My daughter would get unusually high fevers and when we did take her in they checked her ears and then her urine (just try getting an 11 month old to pee in a cup), just to tell us that everything was normal. We would give her the proper dose of children's Motrin and that usually did the trick. My husband says that most fevers are unexplained and harder on the parents sleep than anything. There are of course exceptions.

You know your child best. Don't jump the gun and be miserable in a doctor's visit but take the cues from your daughter.

been there, done that

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The activity level of you daughter says a lot. She isn't listless or anything. Does the fever reducer actually control the temp? If so I'd give her three days then call her ped but trust your instincts. My son has had higher than 102. My doctor said that a fever is only one symptom. He's more concerned when the kid is obviously suffering than when he's playing well with 103. Crazy sounding, I know, but it's doctor stuff I guess :)

Increase fluids and cuddle time. Keep an eye on her. Call your doctor if you have any doubts.

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If she is still playing and active then she is fine. When my kids get a fever they go right up to 102 everytime. About 103.5 they stop playing and just lay there and whine. Just keep her hydrated and watch her. Call her pedi in the AM to ask if you should bring her in if it goes above 103.

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Let the fever run it's course as long as she is comfortable, she is probably starting to get her fisrt year molars, that starts fevers, runny noses and diarhea. Unless she is lethargic and really fussy, I would not give her the fever reducers, her body promotes a fever for a good reason, to fight off any virus/bacteria that might try to invade her body during a down time of immunity, which also happens with teething. I have been told that the high fever range is about 103.0 for more than an hour.

Luke warm baths and cool clothes always help a lot!!

Good luck!!

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wow...11 months and the first fever...impressive...my kids son 3 years old & daughter 16 months have sooo many playdates, classes, playgroups, preschool, etc they have been battling fevers, colds, flus, etc from much earlier then that...

I give Tylenol and Motrin alternating with a little overlap, so the fever doesn't get a chance to spike up again

If you can't get it down with meds, you can give a luke warm bath and dress lightly.

You can look at Dr. Sears' web site for medical advice...he has a 'medicine cabnit' link that talks about dosing, etc...

Best of Luck...it's the first of many colds along the way.

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Do you not have a doctor to call, or an urgent care to call better yet to take her to.. yes 102.3 is high, yet even a fever for babies at 99.9 can cause seizures mama source should be your second choice for medical advice or last choice, the doctor would be the right choice

I hope your baby gets better fast, call the doctors

Hi N.....I understand how you may feel But i do believe 102 is high. I suggest you take her in to the doctor so that they can control the temp. if it has not gone down since yesterday. When my little girl had a fever that High i took her a bath, keep her in a diaper and light shirt. I also gave her water to drink it works. I was also giving her Tylenol and Motrin to reduce the fever...that was what i was told to do by the Nurse and doctor. It helped ut i did take her in just to be on the safe side, I STRONGLY suggest you do the same. Hope everything comes out well.

I.

Hello.

As long as your daughter is playing like normal, is still outputting urine and has tears (this indicates your daughter isn't dehydrated), a fever that high shouldn't be super alarming, especially when accompanied with a runny nose. When my 14-month-old has had a fever, I have called the pediatrician every time and each time, the doctor has reassured me that as long as she seemed to be playing normally and wasn't dehaydrated, everything was fine.

If you are concerned, call your pediatrician to be sure. With a cold like your daughter has, it may be a couple of days that she'll have a fever. She's going to be clingy and "naggy" as you've noticed. Babies can't communicate what's wrong, they just know they don't feel well, so they want to be near their parent/caregiver.

If she starts to look lathargic (i.e. not playing, extremely tired), won't take in any liquids and isn't urinating or creating tears, that's when you need to worry.

Hope that helps and hope your little one feels better real soon!

E.

it's not too high as long as she is still active and being herself. I always give my child pedialyte to drink when he gets a fever and I usually will play peek a boo with a cold washcloth so that it helps cool his head down. But the tylenol and cool baths are definately the way to go!

There is not much you can do for a virus except make her comfortable and wait it out. For higher fevers you should give your daughter Motrin (with food) because it somehow reduces the higher fevers better than Tylenol. Cool compresses/baths help too. 102.3 is high but pretty normal - my son had fever over 104 a couple of times. Check with your doctor to see if you should bring your daughter in for a check up just in case. It's frustrating when you baby is sick.... hopefully it does not happen often.

Funny that I happened to read your question today.. it's been "one of those weeks" in my household. My 6 yr old was sick for 5 days last week.. fever, cold, etc.. As he was recovering, my 10 1/2 old & I both got "the cold".. it's been bad! So we both progressed to a fever and after several days of it not subsiding, we went to the dr. I have strep throat (oh yay!) and he has a throat infection, too. His 1st dose of antibiotics.. amoxicillin (sp?) here we go! The main reason I waited so long to take him to the Dr was : I am still nursing him & figured he'd get thru it quickly, he's never been sick for more than a few days ever. But since the fever didn't go away, I figured something else was up.. either his ears or his throat. So I'd say give it a couple days & see how she is.. sounds similar to our story.. Good luck.. happy healing.. this was a rough one at our house..

Take your daughter to the pediatrician. She's probably got some sort of infection. Meantime, you can switch with Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours.

Like you said, she's acting normally. That tells you it's not a big deal. If you notice she gets quiet or listless, THEN she needs to go in to the doctor.

Just increase your nursing and if she drinks water, make sure she has plenty. Give her extra cuddles and she should be fine in a couple of days.

I've always been told that symptoms accompanying the fever are more indicative than the actual numbers . . . if she is mostly herself . . . than she's probably just fine with how you're taking care of it. If you're worried, you can always call your pediatrician. ( :

Hi N. E,
my daughter doesnt get sick too often but what she does get are fevers. i use to get really worried and take her to the doctors and they always told me it should last a few day, decreasing and just give her tylenol/motrin. if it last longer than a few days and the fever hasnt gone down then i would recommend taking her in. what i do to keep the fever down, which the doctor said i should do, is i alternate tylenol and motrin. i really like the way motrin works cuz i feel it keeps the fever down longer and faster. i will give motrin then in two hours tylenol then again in two hours motrin( time for second dose) and do that throughout the day especially if she has a higher fever. you daughter should be just fine. i also asked the doc. why my daughter got fevers but not really any other symptoms. the doc said that maybe my daughter fights off whatever it is at a higher temp. so that could be why she gets a fever here and there. then i noticed when other kids at her child care are coming down with something her fever comes. so i'm prepared. just keep an eye on her

Great Question!!

For my son, I got used to any fever and runny nose combo meant ear infection...but, every little one is different! It sounds like your doing everything you can to keep her comfy, and that is all you can really do. My son's doc gave me a guideline for testing when to bring him in, and it was if the runny nose lasts longer than three days with a consistent fever make an appointment...I love Motrin, becuase it lasts longer and is wonderful for night and Tylenol during the day. Bath is great in tepid water. Watch for other signs, if she becomes irritable or not acting like herself, I would call your doctor. But, if she's doing well I'd keep her comfy and keep it up.

Once I knew my son was ear infection prone at about 10 mos., I just knew the signs...so, I would follow your Mama instinct and keep up the good work.

SUrprisingly that's not too high... my doctor said it's to high when it gets to 105 (I couldn't believe they let it get so high now) but besides that anything lower even if you took your little one to the ER they would just alternate giving baby motrin and baby tylonal every 4 hours, and you can do that at home. For fevers a cool bath has always been a big help to our baby, and I find that the baby motrin works better than tylonal. But if your only using one (ie. tylonal) you can only give it every 6 hours. So going back and forth between the two is better.

Hi there!

While it's been a long time (my sons are 10 and 14), I remember my pediatrician telling me to treat a fever only when baby looked and acted uncomfortable, otherwise, let it run it's course. The exception would be, of course, if the fever got too high, which could then cause other issues (I don't remember that magic number, though, call your pediatrician). She reminded me that fever--heat--was the body's natural defense against an invader--virus or bacteria--and if we bring the fever down too soon, we actually prolong the illness.

Food for thought!

I saw you figured this out but just a suggestion as far as keeping the thermometer in.... don't know if you have tried but the ear ones are quick. I have heard the accuracy is iffy but it's worth a try!

Call your Dr. rightaway. 102 is a fever to be concerned about.

Greetings,
My pediatrician recommends that I take my 9 month old son to the doctor whenever he has a fever higher than 100.4. I would take him in just in case.

My 2 children were hardly ever sick as little kids. But fevers were things we would get periodically. Sometimes for 4 or 5 days and really no other symptoms. Tylenol or motrin. Every 4-6 hours to keep it down the best we could and fluids. Then you just wait it out. I am sure it will pass. Be patient and dont stress.