No More Fever, Thanks for the Advise.

Some children respond to Motrin better than Tylenol. They're two different meds. Things that I've done over the years is the strip off clothes except for diaper or panties. The idea is to cool down the body. Give a lukewarm bath to cool the body. It can't be "cool" or she'll start to shiver, which is the body's natural way to warm itself back up. Give Popsicles, cold drinks, room temperature foods, nothing warmed up. Sometimes kids feel ok even with a fever and will still want to play. That's ok, but no running around or anything active. Cool cloths on the head can help. Don't hold the child next to you as your body temp will warm them up. Put a sheet on the couch if they need to lay. It tends to not warm up as much. Good luck!

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

You can also use ibuprofen (Children's Motrin) to bring down a fever. Just follow the dosing on the label or ask your pediatrician or pharmacist. Sometimes they even recommend alternating between Tylenol and Motrin. If you give her the Motrin, just make sure you give her some crackers or milk with it.

As mentioned baths are good. Motrin works *much* better on fevers than tylenol. Give it a try. I bet it brings it down much quicker.

If she has a fever she may have an infection of some sort,like may be her ears or throat. do not mess with that and natural remedies. you need to call the pediatrician. if she does have an infection she will need anitbotics. Sometimes ibuprophen may bring down the fever better than tylenol. do yourself and your child a favor and make a doctors appointment right away.

J.~
Give her a lukewarm bath and/or wet her with a cool washcloth, especially on her forehead.

Scary as it is, a fever is the body's way of fighting something. Unless it gets VERY HIGH--check with YOUR ped for temp--you can let it go. But my logic is: why let them suffer when you can give a dose of Tylenol? I've heard good & bad about alternating it with Motrin and I would not do that unless your doc says it's OK. Just follow the Tylenol dosing instructions carefully.

One thing that used to work with my son - who will be 7 next month - is a cool bath with some alcohol in it... or if the bath tub isn't really a comfortable solution then use a cool washcloth. There are also some things you can buy in your local pharmacy (ie Walgreens, Rite Aid) that are little patch type things that you put on your childs forehead. They are kind of a gel pack type thing with a light adhesive on the back of them - you can put them on her forehead or neck (same places you would primarily put cool compresses).
Has she been showing any signs of a cold or viral situation that could be causing the fever? Or is it a teething fever? If it's a teething fever it will probably go up and down for about a week, but as long as it doesn't go up - and stay up - to 106 (which is the temp my pediatrician said is "serious") then the cool water/alcohol compresses or the fever patches should help to keep it down.
Good luck! I hope she's feeling better and back to her loveable (i'm sure) self soon!

Hi J.,

With a fever of 102, it's time to see the doctor to find out what is causing it. Young children can spike high fevers, but they also get dehydrated with fevers, so for this reason, regardless of the cause, you need to get it down. Don't wait until you can't fight it.

That said, Dehydration can cause our body temps to go up. So water can help to lower the body temperature. Another option for liquids is fruit juice, because the vitamin C will help the body fight infection.

This has been going on long enough for you to want to stop medicating her. I would, therefore, at least call the doctor. They know what is going around, and may even be able to give you info regarding whether or not it's viral or not. If it's bacterial, you will need antibiotics to clear it up.

Good luck ! I hope she gets better quickly !

barb

My pediatrician advised me to treat a fever when it reaches 100.7. If Tylenol is not bringing it down then you should alternate it with motrin. If the fever persists with no other symptoms then you should have her seen by her pediatrician. She could have an infection and you may not be able to tell. (This happened to me once. My daughter had a UTI) I would not mess with natural methods, especially with the fever reaching 102 because some children are at risk for febrile seizures. I hope your little one feels better soon.

Hi J.~ My ped said that tylenold will not bring a fever of that nature down unless it is alternated with motrin.....Your Daughter(poor thing) is prob fighting off some sort of infection(our bodies do that often)....you could just ride it out and keep an eye on her....plenty of ice pops, and crackers....

My 8 mo. old had a 102 fever this weekend (teething, gotta love it!) I gave him tylenol and sat him in a lukewarm tub. For some reason you're not supposed to use cold water. When he wouldn't tolerate a tub, I used a cool wash cloth and dabbed the "hot spots" ~ his temples, neck and armpits. This brought the fever down rather quickly.

102 is a pretty high fever to go on... I would take her to a doctor if it stays that high.
but a lukewarm bath (not cold or cool), homeopathic aconite or belladonna - belladonna is for high fever, aconite is for the beginnings of an infection.
raw onions in her socks (sounds weird, I know). Lemon slices on her wrists and feet to draw the heat from her head.
Those are a few ideas, but do keep an eye on the temp.

J., What do you do for yourself?

I had a friend that was a nurse when my oldest was a toddler. Her advice was: to give him lots of fluids-- as many clear as possible; bathe him in water that was only slightly cooler than he was ( If the fever was high, sponge his head with a warm wash cloth-- this works like perspiration and doesn't chill the child); and if need be, alternate motrin with tylenol(as close as an hour apart, but I only recommend this if your child is 103 degrees or more OR if they are susceptable to fibrile seizures)-- they are processed by different parts of the body and the alternation keeps the tylenol causing a spike in fever as your child's body is coming off of it. Someone had told me to strip my child down to cool him off when he was an infant-- his internal thermostat ( for lack of better words ) was not fully developed and he went into a fever-related (fibrile) seizure.

The room temp baths work great. A temp of 102 is not a major issue. The temp is the body's way of getting rid of an infection, and other than maybe some discomfort, it is not at all a problem. The only time that a fever is dangerous is when it spikes over 105 or 106. I would let it go with no treatment. Treating it prolongs the illness or what ever is causing the fever.

A tepid/warm bath usually works best. The reason for this is so you don't shock the body by bringing the fever down too quickly. Sometimes just putting a warm washcloth on their feet works too.

A warm bath. Also, I know you don't want to do more meds, but if your child ever has a high fever that won't break with meds, you give the opposite fever reducer that you are using (i.e. if you have been using aetaminophen, you guve ibuprophin next). If you ever have to take a child to the hospital for a high fever, the first thing that thye do is ask which fever reducer that you have been using and then they give the opposite.

It sounds crazy, but it works. Cut a potato and put it in her socks. It will bring her fever down.

I've always used ice water, popsicles, yogurt, anything cold they will eat or drink. My daughter may go thru a box of popsicles in one day, but for that day it helps bring the fever down and keeps her hydrated. You can always use pedialyte ones if you're worried about too much sugar.

Put vinegar on a piece of cloth and put it on her feet. You could also put on her belly, but it is acidic so she will feel a bit uncomfortable. The vinegar works. I tried this on my daughters when they had very high fever and the motrin was not doing as much as we needed it to do. Good luck!

Have her drink fluids every 1 to 2 hours, and restrict activities. This will detoxify the body and keep it from dehydrating.

I have not done this personally, as I have been fortunate enough that our daughter rarely gets fever, but several people have told me that they put their children in a tepid bath. Not too cold, but tepid, and that it worked for them without having to give them medication.

Hi J.,

Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to try this since I learned about it, but I was told from a friend of mine(who only uses natural remedies) that lemonade will bring a fever down. It will also help keep her hydrated. Just have her drink the lemonade. If you try it let me know if it works, I have been waiting for one of my girls to get a fever so I could try it for myself. They never get sick when you want them to! lol! Hope everything works out!

E.

How about honey? I'm not sure if it works but it won't hurt her. Honey has been getting a lot of attention on the news as being a natural healing agent for many things.

Not natural, but try Motrin. You can even alternate them so that she is getting a med every 2-3 hours. It was a big help when my daughter had her last virus.

Hi J.,
I live by this and have done this with my 3 yr. old. My grandmother would do this with me also when I was a kid. Cut up an onion and put it in her socks!!! I swear it draws the fever out. Your house will smell like fried onions and yes, the onions will become wilted, but it works. My three yr. old loved it too. Thought it was neat and when he got sick at another time, he asked for his onions and cool washcloth for his forhead. I think I timed it last time and within one hour the fever was down!
Has worked every time for me. Good luck and I hope she feels better.
S.
http://www.LovePrints.net

You can do that with vinegar. Souk a towel in vinegar and you have to put it down on their forheath,ankels and wrist. that would take their fever away.

Hi J.,

As a mother of 3, the oldest being 16, I agree with the other moms that responded here. I was always told by my children's doctors to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin. Also lots of Popsicles, icee's. Also I have also used the old cool wash rag to help out my suffering child. I put a cool wash rag on their face, just to help cool them down. Of course if the fever persists more than 48 hours, there could be something serious going on there and I would then advise taking her to the Dr. More and more doctors now days will not treat for a fever unless it's over 48 hours. There are too many people who panick and rush their child to the doctor as soon as a fever hits. Doctors are reluctant to prescribe an antibiotic unless it really is necessary due to the fact that if you take an antibiotic repeatedly (like every time your sick) your body will become immune to it and it won't work. One big thing that a lot of parents don't do enough of is liquids, liquids, liquids. Any way you can get it in them. I once gave my child some gingerale in my favorite coffee cup. It was a big deal to get moms coffee cup and it worked like a charm. Good Luck!

just went thru the same thing with fever...baths helped alot..motrin...

Be sure she drinks cool fluids and keep wiping her head with a cool cloth. It really helps! Best of luck!