My Son's Fevers

Dear Nichole,

It sounds like you need new doctors who are going to really follow through. I know a lot of people are stuck with certain providers, but if there is ANY way to see someone else...I'd do it. Good luck!

I hope that your doctor has not been giving any vaccinations to your son when he has been sick. You should delay any until you get to the bottom of this as they could be a cause of the problems.

It is time to get an IgG blood test, check for antigens to foods. Do not take the time to try the skin pricking test as first it is painful and second it does not test the true inflammatory reactors in the body. You will want to remove these foods.

In the meantime removing all dairy and soy could possibly show improvement as this is a main cause of respiratory reactions.

For help with diet changes, go to www.tacanow.org and then to the GF-CF Diet Section for help with EVERYTHING related to food allergies and what to do.

I have a boy, too, that has frequent unexpalined fevers. Or "fever of unknown origin". It started when he was 11 months and still continues at age six, although not as frequently. When he was younger, he would get a fever every 4 to 6 weeks. I could track it on a calendar. Everytime I took him to the ped., they could not find a cause. He had bloodwork, MRI's, EEG's, mainly because his fevers would get so high that it caused him to have febrile seizures at 11 months and 2 1/2 years old. ( everything came back negative). He has been seizure free since then and I have learned to manage the fever and only take him to the ped., if another symptom shows up. I would push for the bloodwork to rule out anything scary.
Look up "cyclic fevers", it is a condition, has to do w/ the immune system, but says that eventually they will grow out of it. It sounds like what you are describing. My son will still get a fever every 6 to 8 weeks now, it ranges from 100 to 103 and is usually gone after 3 to 4 days. He is not miserable during it and once the Motrin kicks in he runs around like normal. I prefer Motrin over Tylenol, but you can alternate them every 3 to 4 hours to keep the fever in check. I did this when he was smaller and would even set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night for his next dose. If I didn't, he would wake at 6 a.m. with a high fever.
Good Luck. I know how frustrating it can be.

Get another pediatrician, to start. Pester them for a refferal to the ear nose and throat specialist until you get it, then pester them until you get an answer. What else is happening in your son's life around that same time each month? Do you go for a picnic? To the beach? Visit a friend? Look for patterns in his life that coincide with his fever. There just might be an allergen that you are overlooking, and maybe he is just severely allergic to something in his environment or in his food that is causing a severe reaction. So...pester the pediatrician (the good one you are about to go get) for a refferal to an allergist as well. Bug the heck out of them until you get what you want-please-because a well child isn't too much to ask.

new doctor.
teething contributing?
wheezing could be household allergy stuff. does he have carpet in his room. we removed the carpet in our son's room and his wheezing went away.
get more medical help and good luck

Hi N.,

I am sorry that I don't have an answer for you regarding Joel's fevers. However, the advice I have is that you should consider changing doctors. I had some issues with my daughter when she was Joel's age and was getting mildly frustrated with my pedictrician. I asked a friend who is a doctor, and his advice was to switch doctors to someone I would feel more comfortable with. I did, and it was the best decision I made. You have to feel comfortable and confident in your pediatrician because they are the person you are going to see when you are at your most desperate.

Fevers are scary just as they are, never mind if they are coming and going on a regular basis.

My daughter does have mild asthma, and perhaps the treatment that Joel is on is not effective. Your doctor should try him on something else to see if it will help his wheezing.

Again, I apologize that I don't have an answer for the fever question, but I do hope that you'll think about dumping your current doctor for someone who will listen to your concerns and act accordingly. Your son deserved the best treatment possible and the attention of a doctor who is willing to be more proactive.

I wish you the best of luck in your situation and I hope that your little guy will get better soon. My heart goes out to you. Having your kids sick is horrible.

All the best,
L.

Hi N.,

These types of fevers are often medical mysteries. In addition to considering an ENT and a pulmonologist, a trip to an immunologist is in order. Your son could have a primary immunodeficiency. While this sounds scary, most (there are over 150 types) can be controlled with appropriate medical care.

Best of luck with your son,

R.

We have been dealing with the exact same issue. I live in NW Las Vegas and my son (2 years old) has been sick once a month and sometimes twice a month since last September. Finally after our last Doctor's visit I feel like we are getting somewhere. He was diagnosed with "Reactive Airway" which may or may not be asthma (the doctors have a hard time diagnosing asthma in children this young because they are unable to complete the breathing tests that need to be done...but can do them when they are older and have a better understanding of what they are supposed to be doing). So now I am looking for things that might be triggering it...like an allergy to something, the cold, wind, dry air, weather changes, etc. They gave him a Nebulizer with albuterol and Singulair. The Nebulizer (breathing treatment) has really helped him. He is now sleeping through the night and it has helped to clear up his congestion. We also use a humidifier in his room for a couple hours at night (you don't want to use it too long because you don't want to promote mold growth...which would cause other allergies). I also have found many answers to my questions on www. mayoclinic.com...it is a helpful and reliable resource for medical questions you need answered. Hope this helps.

Better to get a second opinion if you can I would take him into the Doctors at Childres Hospital L.A. where he can have access to specialists who specialize in children, my sister is longtime pediatrics nurse there and has always warned me against taking my 10 year old into ER locally. At Childrens hosptital they may be able to treat and find out what the problem is rather than medicate and letting continue.

Ask your pediatrician immediately for 2 referrals (if you have an HMO, you need them - I do) - for an ENT and a Pulmonologist. I have a daughter (now 2.5) who had fevers for 30 out of 45 days of about 103 -- repeat, uncleared ear infections that would supposedly almost clear or clear then flare up before the antibiotic would be completed. She got ear tubes at 10 months. Then, my son had a virus (like RSV) that hit him hard and we ended up in the ER and then admitted with him when he was 5 months old --followed up with neb breathing treatments for 3 months. The pulmonologist (can be an allergy/asthma doc as well- they don't call it asthma for kids under 2 now) put him on a steroid breathing treatment daily as the normal albuterol didn't fix the problem. He is 15 months old now and perfect. I must admit- - my kids were in daycare from the time daughter was 8 mos and son from time he was 3 months. We pulled them out in September and got an au pair - she is FABULOUS! My kids were 26 mos and 10 months at that time. They have each had about 1 illness since then (and we DO NOT live in a bubble...I take them to stores, tot classes, and they have 11 cousins that they see regularly). We decided that though they might get sick as they get older...it is better when they can tell you what is wrong. If you would like to explore this alternative, please give me a call or e-mail. I can also give you fabulous referrals to an ENT and Pulmonologist (even if you aren't interested in the au pair program...I am not pushy).

Best wishes!
A.
Local Care Coordinator Cultural Care Au Pair (and FULL time attorney)
###-###-#### cell
http://aferrini.aupairnews.com

I think at this point you need to take control. Right now it sounds as though you are giving all control to the doctor. Call on your own and find a specialist, or ENT. And take control!

My son was sick for 9 months straight. As soon as he'd get over one thing, he'd be sick again. He had pnemonia twice, the stomach flu a couple of times, the regular flu twice and a couple of colds and then several ear infections. It was seriously one thing after another. I took him to a pediatric allergist/immunologist. I found out that his immune system is normal but he's got allergies which was keeping his system inflamed all the time. We steam cleaned his carpet, put an allergy cover on his mattress and pillows, put a HEPA air filter in his room and put him on singular. Now he's sick about as much as other kids and not every time I turn around. You might want to consider taking your child to an allergist.

T.

It may just be that he is catching multiple viruses. Do you have an older child. I am going through the same thing with my son. My son had RSV than was better briefly then got Croop then an ear infection. Has he been on antibiotics? There are some nasty viruses/illnesses going around right now. I would take him to a doctor referral that is affiliated with a children's hospital. They may know better. If you find out what it is please let me know. I haven't slept for more than a couple of hours for a month!
GOOD LUCK.
L.

unexplained fevers. you will have to go back to your pediatrician and demand he give you prescription for some blood testing. going to ER, to me, has always been pointless, and kids get exposed to other sicknesses.my then 3 year old had unexplained fevers. no other symptoms. blood work was ordered to see if some components were present (during check up ask the ped. to check if he has swollen glands as well). we were in a big scare after those blood work results came back, but in the end it was false alarm
a few questions, although, i may know the answer: he's not in daycare is he? around older kids who go to school? if the answers to both are no, then ask for more testing.
i am purposely being vague because no need for alarm at this point.
good luck

I think you should seriously consider taking him to an osteopath. Most great, reputable ones will treat the whole child and will assess the whole system and what might not be working. Our insurance covers it about 60% because it is out of network but I swear by it. They will also tell you if it is a really drastic problem that they can't treat and refer you to specialists but I know osteopaths who are able to treat everything from asthma to colic to certain difficulties arising from autism, etc.

I say get a blood test today! from experiece

Hi N.,
How frustrating! Try taking him off all dairy for 2 weeks and see if there is a difference. My son had ear infections when I put him on formula (after breastfeeding) and when I switched him to soy they went away. It was a friend of mine that suggested it, not the doctor as she wanted to put tubes in his ears.

Good luck to you and your little guy! (mine is now 16!)
M.

Hi, I am sorry you are having such trouble with your little one :0( I REALLY hope he is better soon. I do know that your baby can get a fever when they are teething.. but my personal thoughts would be either demand answers or get a second opinion. It sounds like the doctors dont want to do their job or maybe your doc is quite sure and is afraid to admit it. I know my daughter had a problem when she was real little and thought she may have had RSV and my doctor(family practice doc) sent me to a pediatrician to hear what they had to say.. She didnt have it BUT they did give her a nebulizer to use for a couple of weeks and she was better but she also NEEDED to use that nebulizer EVERY time she had a little cold of anykind cause she was having labored breathing. She eventually grew out of it around 2 years i think.. But of course i still have it in case she ever needs it again. She is now 6. If i were you personally though I would ask another doctor or take her to a specialist. Good luck!!

I didn't really understand what they meant by cold and flu season until I had kids.

Especially that first year or two, it's hard. I have a son who is about the same age as your baby and last year during November through March really didn't get all that sick. This year has been such a different case. I've seen it with my oldest too...some years it's worse than others. It just depends on what is going around. This year seems to be a bad cold and flu season.

You baby getting colds and viruses that often is pretty normal, especially if they are in daycare or have older brothers and sisters. They just don't have the same immunities yet that we have. Just make them comfortable, try and avoid getting sick yourself and I bet you see a huge difference come April when all this goes away again until November.

Good luck.
-M