Sick One Year Old, Caugh, Cold, Fever, Possibly Thrust?

Whatever you do, do not listen to the person who said not to go to the hospital. Yes, you may wait with a sick child, you may only be told to give tyelnol or motrin, or whatever. Why risk it though? It's better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to your child. I would have called the doctor with a 100 degree temp (even if they aren't in the office, they have an answering service who will then leave a message with a nurse or doctor and someone will call you back). If the temp reached 102, I would have gotten to the hospital immediately. Do not play around and wait things out with a child. First of all, they are the ones suffering, not you and second of all, they can't tell you when they are that young what all is hurting, so you never really know what could be happening. I can't believe someone would even say not to go to the hospital, especially when you are messing around with a 103 degree temp! That's outrageous and selfish! High temperatures can cause brain damage, even death, do not mess around!

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Here is an odd home remedy I learned from a homoeopath. Take a small ceramic spoon and dip it in clean water (bottle). Then rub the spoon on the back of his neck. For some reason, it works to lower fever. I have no idea why.

Good luck.

Hi J.! I know you are worried about your son. You have been given a lot of good advice below. I just want to share a few things to try to clarify some of what others have said. I am a 36 yr old SAHM with 3 kids (10, 7, &2) so I have a little experience with colds & cough. My middle one ended up at the doctor twice a week for her first year of life because she had every virus that came through her daycare and then chronic ear infections. We have dealt with fevers as high as 105 under 1 year old, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, tubes in the ears...you name it and I have probably dealt with it. But if you aren't sure about what you are getting here, please go to www.webmd.com. This is an excellent source of information on illnesses, injuries and medications.

Fever - Yes, alternate between motrin & Tylenol. Also, these are not made to eliminate a fever. If your son's immune system is fighting really hard, the fever may only go down a couple of degrees. This is ok. Pediatricians have differing views on how high a fever should be before you go to the ER. Some say 100, some say 105. Your son is over 1 so most at that age will say more than 100 for more than 2 days. But, they will also say that as long as your son isn't limp, lethargic, dehydrated and glassy eyed, he is probably ok up to 105 as long as there are no other symptoms of a bacterial infection. Most fevers are from a viral infection which no antibiotic will work on. All you can do is wait it out and make sure they are hydrated.

Hydration - This is ULTRA important! You can tell if your son is getting dehydrated by checking his diapers, checking his fontanel on the top of his head and looking at his eyes. His eyes and fontanel will appear "sunken" in his head if he is getting dehydrated. At this point, GO TO THE ER! Don't call the oncall doc...your kid needs an IV. But if his eyes and fontanel appear normal, and he is still having wet diapers, he is hydrated fine. To ensure that he stays hydrated, make sure he is drinking. Even if he doesn't want to. Someone mentioned getting the fluids in any way you can. Use an eyedropper if you have to. And whatever fluid he will drink other than milk. Milk is not good because it increases the mucous in his system (I think someone else mentioned this too). One time when my daughter had a really high fever (103 - 105), we were worried about it so we gave her 1 oz of Gatorade every hour. It was all she could handle (she was throwing up a lot). Her stomach wouldn't hold down any more than that. But it worked. As long as it is a liquid. Obviously some liquids are preferable to others but when you are worried about dehydration, get something in your child. If all he will drink is kool-aid, give it to him. It's better than nothing!

ER - I don't know what your insurance coverage is...but for some this can be a tough decision to make. If you are worried and would like to ease your mind, the best bet is the on-call doc with your peds office. Usually, they will call you back, talk through all the symptoms with you, and then tell you if they think your son can wait for a regular office visit. The doc will be looking for specific things in your answers to indicate to him/her if this is a viral or a bacterial infection (swollen glands, rash, mucous color, obvious pain, etc.). If they feel it may be bacterial, they will tell you to go the ER or a walk-in/urgent care clinic. Even if the doc says that you don't need to be seen, always follow your "maternal instincts". I have found that mothers are usually right. Some docs pay more attention to this than others. If you just feel that he needs to be seen, then go. It will make you feel better, and it may make him feel better. In the end, you may get there, wait for hours, and be told it's a virus and keep doing what you are doing. But you will KNOW that it's not bacterial and doesn't need a prescription and that you are doing the right thing.

Probably the one thing I can't help you on is the thrush. None of my kids had it. But I do know that what others have stated here is accurate. It is a white coating on the tongue, caused by a yeast infection, normally only in breastfed babies. There are ways that other kids can get it, but that doesn't happen very often. So, if your son doesn't have a white coating on his tongue, I think you are ok.

From what you wrote, it sounds as though your son just has a virus and will be ok in a few days. But if he shows any other symptoms (tugging his ear, green mucous, swollen glands, rash), please be sure to get him seen.

Best of luck! Happy New Year!

T.

i don't hink it is thrush, you would see little white patches on his tounge & mouth & it would be difficult for your son to eat. your son would have to be nursed for thrush to develop, it is a yeast infection passed from mother to baby.

my son was just sick before christmas with 104 fever, vomitting, and the chills.
he had blood work done & everything checked out fine, but he was put on an antibiotic to be safe.
for the fevers switch up motrin & tylenol and give luke warm baths. keep him very well hydrated, maybe pedialyte if you feel necessary.
a cool mist humidifer will help him breathe better! and let him sleep whenever, forget about any schedules!
i would just call his ped., my son's office pages the dr. and he will tell you what to do.
good luck

Fevers are always scary and there is a chance of febrile seizures (brought on by fevers) with a high temperature. It seems some kids are prone to them and others are not though. Both of my children have a tendency to spike high temps and fast, but they don't bother them much except feeling yucky. My friend's daughter gets them with only mild fevers. She's gone through lots of testing and they found no other explanation for the seizures so they are very proactive with fevers - treating even before in some cases if they notice cold symptoms starting, they begin tyolonol/motrin. In general though, fevers are your body's way of responding to and killiing germs in the body. The fever itself is not all bad...just a sign of the immune system reacting to the illness. When our children spike fevers, we watch them but do not usually does them unless they become uncomfortable or it interfers with their sleeping.

Really the main concern would be dehydration --- So you want to do everything possible to get him to drink as many clear fluids as you can. Milk (unless breast milk) will add to the mucus so juice/water/pedialyte are better choices. Breast milk has lots of antigens so it's good too. Let him drink from whatever type of container that he'll use...you can get creative if he's not cooperating. They make pedialyte popscicles. Try a straw, a regular cup, a bottle, a sippy - just get him to keep taking sips. It doesn't have to be a lot at one time, just so it's getting in him. I had a friend that resorted to a medicine dropper to keep her little one hydrated because that was the only way she'd take a drink when not feeling well. Actually that worked for mine once too. As long as he's making wet diapers, you know he's doing fine staying hydrated.

Others mentioned calling your ped after-hours which is probably a good idea since you can't get in for a few days. Whenever you don't have to deal with ER it's always good. They are super resources, but there are lots of other sick kids and if your child's immunity is down with a different illness, you may be exposing them to extra germs. Plus it's hard to wait with a little one that doesn't feel well. By calling your ped and reporting symptoms to them, they should be able to confirm that it is necessary to take them in or offer specific meds/techniques to try at home and what to look for to know when it's time to head to the ER if necessary. By checking in with the ped, you'll also get a bit of peace of mind.

In terms of helping him with the other symptoms....humidifiers and warm baths with vapor bath sometimes help clear things up a bit. When our 1 year old gets sick, we bring a carseat into the house and recline it for him to sleep in. That way he can stay propped up and let the yuckies continue to drain better so he can breath to sleep more comfortably. We strap him in loosely just to be safe but keep him comfortable. You can also try propping up his mattress by putting a pillow UNDER the mattress, but mine would always slide down it like at the playground and we'd find them at the bottom part of the crib so it just ddn't seem as effective. Vick's lotion (they make a baby variety for ver 3 months) can help open passages as well. They always hate bot of these options, but you can use saline drops to help loosen mucus to drain more easily and you can use the suction to help remove some of it for them. Sometimes just a suck or two can help them to rest more comfortably and isn't too tramatic. When we resort to meds, the one we usually choose is "Little Colds" - they have a whole line of "Little ____." We are picky about giving some ingredients and that one seems to have all good ones.

I think you may mean thrush, which is a candida albicans (yeast) infection in the mouth. You'll see white patches in your baby's mouth and on the back of his/her throat.

You said he had a runny nose that was gross. If it's dreaining green or yellow, that's something that may need an antibiotic.

Make sure with any medicine you give him to read the label carefully to make sure this is the best medicine for him.

Alternate motrin and tylenol because it the alternating helps bring the fever down.

If the tylenol/motrin doesn't help with the fever you should go to your local er. ANy fever that doesn't respond to tylenol or motrin needs further evaluation.

If he suddenly develops trouble breathing, go. If he starts drooling or leaning forward resting on his hands and thrusting out his chin, drop everything and go.

Good luck. Kids seem to get sick on holiday weekends!

Hi, my pediatrician always told me to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin for fever/pain. Supposedly Tylenol is better for pain and Motrin is better for fever but he said to alternate them. Also, he recommended regular Tylenol and Dimetapp for a cold. I tried the Tylenol cold medicines and they never helped my son. Dimetapp made him sleepy but it always made him feel better. And I figured at least he was getting rest so that he could get better faster. I love Dimetapp, wouldn't use anything else for my son. Also, I used to sit in the bathroom with the hot shower running for congestion. I wouldn't recommend that with the high fever but if the fever comes down it might help. Fevers generally spike in the evening. I have heard that running a lukewarm bath is good for fever. Not too cold because that causes the child to shiver and that only brings the temp up. Not too warm for obvious reasons. I only tried it once and it seemed to work. Trust your instincts when it comes to the emergency room. They probably won't be able to do anything for your son but if it would make you feel better it might be worth the wait. Good luck.

I agree with the moms who say to take your son to the clinic. It doesn't have to be the ER try a walk-in clinic. High fevers in young children can be dangerous.If you have a good Pediatrician you can call the office and the answering service will be able to connect you or refer you to someone who'll answer your questions.

If you haven't done so already, you may need to take him to the ER. I recently thought my daughter had a cold, when I took her to the ER, it turned out she had pneumonia in one of her lungs!

I think that fever is awfully high. I would leave a message for the doctor on call to see if your son should be seen or taken to the hospital.

My girls both have something similar right now--cold, cough, and temp. Our 2-year-old is on Robitussin DM for the cough, Benadryl for the runny nose, and Tyelnol for the temp. Our 7-month-old is on Pediacare cough and cold and Tylenol. Perhaps the doctor can tell you what to do over the phone to get you through the weekend until he can be seen on Tuesday (if needed!). Good luck--I know how stressful and worrisome it is to have sick little ones.

your right to watch his fever the cough and runny nose is normal growing up things and the doctor will tell you to run a humidifier and make sure he has no trouble breathing and as far as thrush the inside of his mouth would look like a very thin layer of stuck on cottage cheese and it looks also like it hurts and if he has this go to Bilo Pharmacy and ask for Genation Violet pronounced (jensen violet) rub that in there it is bright purple and stains so wear old cloths or what i call "throw away cloths" because a pediatrician will precribe an antibiotic after they coat the mouth in "purple stuff" and this genation violet is an all natural remedy and i dont know about other parents but i know this stuff works in very few applications and an antibiotic takes like 10 days.... and can build up a resistance to the antibiotic so why not stick with something natural and inexpensive and that works wonders right!?!? dont forget to boil all his bottles/cups to remove germs if he has thrush because it will just come back and come back so i hope this is a help to you i went thru it with my one y/o daughter :o)

You need to watch his fever, of course, but don't let it freak you out - coughs and runny noses are yucky, but if he is acting normal enough, don't panic. I've been told by my pediatritian that you need to watch their behaviour more than the thermomoter.
Thrush is just a yeast infection in the throat. Yeah, gross but true. You'd look for a white-ish coating on the back of the mouth/throat/tongue area. Don't try to scrape or pull off! Not threatening, just nasty - will need a trip to the doctor for meds to clear it up, that's all.
Of course, if there is any sign of trouble breathing, lethargy, limpness, etc - go to the ER right away, don't wait! If he seems like he feels yucky, just sick, he'll be fine enough soon enough!!

with a temperature that high i would take him to hospital. also for fever my daughter's doctor said to alternate tyonel and motrin to bring it down faster. but i still take him to er.

Are you talking about thrush?? It's a type of yeast infection that is oral. My daughter had it when she was just 2 weeks old. It turns parts of the mouth and tongue white. You cannot scrape it off. The ped. can give you something that will cure it pretty quick. I just got this message today so i'm sure you may have even gone to the doctor by now!! Good luck and I hope he feels better!

I am sorry to hear that your son is sick. I know what it is like to have a little one sick over the holidays. If you are thinking it might me thrush, my suggestion would be to go to WebMD and read up on it. I use this website anytime I want to find out more information on illnesses that my family may have. It is very helpful and they offer home treatments for almost everything. Hope this is helpful to you and hope your little one gets better soon. Have a Happy New Year!

I learned with a fever that high, you have to take them to the ER.I am serious.Also, if tylenol and motrin do not get rid of the fever in just a few hours, it is an infection.Please dont wait.You may think it is just a cough, cold, runny nose, but it could be alot worse.I went through the same thing last week.Mine started with diaherra, and cough, then runny nose, then vomitting, and fever, and dehydration ect....I took my daughter to the ER on Christmas eve, and she was diagnosed with a viral, and bacterial infection, and a UTI.IV was given and so was antibiotics.

a fever that high, you should have him at the hospital... a fever that high is NOT goo at all... is this the temp on the thermometer??? if it, add 1 degree to it for the true temp.

you son needs medical attention, and needs it NOW...

I completely understand about kids getting sick on weekends and holidays when you cannot take them to the doctor. Trush is a yeast infection in the mouth. Their tongue will be coated with white...not just milk. It's actually painful for them. It may even be around their mouth. They need to be seen by a doctor for a prescription for this.

Now the fever....103.5....that's high and you should call the doctor's call center or emergency number if the fever is still that high. For the cough and runny nose, they will rest much better if you can have them laying in a sitting position. Carset works well...buckle them in. You can also run a hot shower where the bathroom gets very steamy. After it's steamy, take your child and sit with them in the bathroom for 15 minutes. You can also use a vaporizor in the room they are in. Just make sure that the vapors aren't pointed directly at your child. Lay a towel under the vaporizor to catch the drips.

Push clear fluids as often as possible. There are no medications for viruses. They just have to run their course.

There is a major virus going around. My youngest had a 24 hour fever just 2 days ago.

I hope this information helps.

Love and light,
J. L.

Hi J., you poor mommy, I have had my son being sick on most holidays, that now I usually take him in before a long weekend if I even suspect something. You received lots of advice and it varied. All mean well along with me. I know that ped's even give different advice with fevers. Here's my ped suggested and I followed. My dear friends received different advice. I followed my ped's advice, I choose them and I trust them. My son was very sick with high fevers (103-104.5) off and on for over a year. The fevers would last for three days or more. I would freak out. We did find out why he was having them and was able to get rid of it. My main concern whiling having the fevers was to keep him comfortable and that's when cool compresses, taking the clothes off and motrin and tyenol would work. As soon as the 4 hour mark came, the fever would spike again. My ped says the height of the fever is no indication of the sickness, its the other symptoms, being limp, dispondient. Dehyrations is diffently a concern, those pedilytes at the store, try those. As with the other symptoms, humidifier! Bottom line, go to the ER, call your doctor (I have called them on July 4th, Christmas eve at 11pm, just to name a few, and paged them to speak to my ped directly, even at 3 or 4 in the morning)do what feels right now to keep your child on the track of gettin better. Sometimes they said, go directly to the ER and they would call ahead to inform the ER of our coming, other times they would instruct me on what to do to get through the night and go in first thing the next morning. Call you doctor and do what they say, even if it's midnight on New Year's Eve, LOL!!! May you bring the new year in with a healthier child!!!

J.. once fever reached 102 you should immediately give motrin. motrin works better than tylenol. one mom said it, fevers mean child's body is fighting off the infection. i wouldn't take him to ER but that's just me. i have done it in the past and except for waiting endlessly with a sick child they didn't do much except give fluids through an IV. if you're son is drinking fluids that should cover the IV thing they'd do in the hospital. but you need to monitor the fever. about 40 minutes after taking motrin his temp. should go down. if it doesn't then that's when you need to take him in. also you may alternate motrin and tylenol first 24 hrs, meaning give motrin then 4 hrs later give tylenol, that way you'll keep his temperature down.
fluids, lots whatever he takes except for milk products. if he won't go for pure water, which is understandable then add juice just so it sweetens it a bit or gives color and make it more desirable for him. try pedialite, gatorade deluted with water.
there are also things called urgent care or medexpress. they usually aren't open all night but well into the night and the wait is pretty short and staff is usually great. if you suspects he has an infection the staff there will be able to give you a prescription for antibiotics. CVS is open tomorrow and monday so you won't have problems getting the medication
do not freak out. fevers are a common thing. my girls even if little sick their fever usually gets to well into 103s, it's just how it is. i would place a call with the on call doctor and see what they say
do not worry, there are a lot of bugs out there this time of year.
vlora

I agree with all the others that said he should have been at the hospital. My doctor told me anything over 101.5 with a child is dangerous and the child should be taken to the doctor or emergency room immediately whether or not you are giving them Tylenol or Motrin. If for some reason you can't get to the doctor immediatley the child should be put into a cool bath and given Motrin (which I agree works better than Tylenol) until you can actually get to the doctor.

With a tempature of 103.5 he really needs to go to the ER cause I was told by a person in the ER that at that tempature and abouve the child can have seizures cause it happened with my son when we were at Hopkins Hospital.

Thrust is a bacterial infection in the mouth. It will turn their tongues white. You have to get an antibiotic from the doctor in order to get rid of it. If I were you, I would just take him to Children's Hospital. I wouldn't mess with that fever. It could easily turn into dehydration. Good luck and I hope he feels better soon.

If you child has/had that fever for multiple days TAKE TO THE ER AT ONCE.
If it spiked and then is slowly coming down, keep a watchful eye. Keep fluids handy!
I personally loathe tylenol. Every 4 hrs is a pain in the butt. Motrin is what I would use if you child is 22 months. It's good for 8 hrs.
In the mean time. Call the doctor. The answering service will pick up (they have to). At that poin tell them how nervous you are and then tell then you are headed to the ER.

Good luck

with a fever that high you should take him to the er a child should never have a fever over 100 go unattended it could be very dangerous and possibly deadly sorry to be so grim but better safe than sorry

hi J.,
My name is A. and I am a 21 yr old sahm with a 20month old son. With a fever that high I would roate the tylenol and motrin once and put him in the tub w/ ROOM temp water. If I couldn't get it to go down after that I would go to the ER b/c there is somethng else wrong. With the thrush It will look like white in his mouth. If you get some plain yogurt, not that baby yogurt, and put it in his mouth a few times it will go away. You have to also wash everything he puts in his mouth b4 he puts it in his mouth again. I also went to the drug store and picked up some acidophiles and I opened it up and put about 1/2 the power from the pill in his mouth 2x a day (when he went down for a nap and b4 bed time at night). Let me know how everything goes.

ash