Sinus Infection??

L., please heed Maura's note, and take your daughter to the pediatrician as soon as possible. This could be any of many potential issues, and since she can't tell you what's really wrong, only a doctor's visit can let you know. (And your pediatrician should never make you feel silly for "overreacting." If you're hesitating to go to the doctor because your doctor or the nurses make you feel like that, change doctors now!) My daughter, who is 7, had a sinus infection recently but the doctor said at the time he was a little surprised - he said kids don't really have much in the way of sinuses as their faces/heads are relatively small which is why most goo from colds moves into the ears and turns into ear infections, instead of sinus infections. Still, it can happen. Your daughter also could have an ear infection and the chewing relieves or pops her ears in some way that helps her. Not all ear infections show a fever and not all kids grab their ears when the ears are infected. All that said, I'd get her to the doctor and don't be reluctant to go. If a kid hurts, she hurts, and you're not overreacting. Good luck!

Has she gone to the dentist yet? If she's chewing I would think something going on with her teeth. I also think I would take her to the Dr., and yes you can have a sinus infection without a cold or many symptoms.

Good Luck R. A

maybe an ear infection i'd definetly take her today if i could get an apointment. normal pain (headache, sinus infestion head cold etc.) shoudn't last this long. and if tylonol is helping then i would give it to her. maybe one inthe morning. you dont have to give as often as they say but she needs releife if she really does hurt.

L., in my experience, when a good kid suddenly acts up like that they are usually sick, even if they don't know it yet. The fact that she's telling you she doesn't feel well means you should take her to your pediatrician as soon as possible.

Another possiblitly is that she's on a developmental cusp, which can also cause otherwise well-behaved kids to act up suddenly and seemingly for "no reason". But rule out medical problems first. It's also possible that she is having "growing pains" -- which are very difficult for a child to describe. For the moment, trust her that she "hurts" and see the doctor. Best luck!

p.s. Also, it IS possible to have an infection without a fever that registers. When I was a child I had strep throat for MONTHS with NO fever, and no sore throat, which can be extremely dangerous if left untreated.

Does she have any allergies? Mabye an allergy headache? Try giving her an allergy medication for a couple days and see if she improves. I was going to suggest teeth, are you sure all of hers are in...feel and look at her gums to be sure. Something is going on for sure.

as far as adults go, yes it is possible to ahve a sinus infection wiht no obvious symptoms because i ahve had my share. I would tkae her to the doctor. My daughter got that way awhen sdhe had a sinus infection or ear infection and she has since had tubes, had her adneoids removed and been out on cingular and the combo is GREAT for her

I have heard of strep cases that are presenting without a fever. i would take her to the doctor and not wait.

Sinus infection without the running nose or other symptoms wouldn't be my first guess, what I would guess is an ear infection. Many kids get very bad infections and don't get a fever until after the ear drum ruptures. When I was reading your question I started thinking ear infection, but when I read the chewing part I would almost say I'm 100% sure, that is exactly what my son would do. He had a lot of ear infections, enough that by age 3 we've had 2 sets of ear tubes and an adenoidectomy. Those were his symptoms, they're moody and cranky and just down right frustrated with everything. If she's waking up at night where she didn't before, that's another symptom. Some children get fevers with ear infections, but like I said many won't until the ear drum ruptures. Be careful if this happens, she may start feeling/acting better, but she'll then have a fever, she's acting better because the drum ruptured relieving the pressure, but an open ear drum can lead to a much worse infection and should be check, another symptom of a rupture is drainage from the ear. If I were you I would take her in and get a once over, I waited with the last one thinking the truly terrible 3s had started only to finally go when the drainage started!

Yes, she can have a sinus infection without having a cold. She can also have an allergic sinusitis, which will give her the same pain without any infection. And she can have ear infections which cause pain and can come on without any prior infection. If your child is in that much pain that it changes her behaviors and makes her chew to find relief from her pain, I think that a visit to her doctor is the best thing you can do for her. At least continue the tylenol so she is not in pain. You are lucky that she is old enough to articulate that she is in pain, but at 3 it may be hard for her to pinpoint a pain that is in a more generalized area. Take her to the doctor.

I would be thinking along the same lines, that the Tylenol helped so something is going on. My 5 yo daughter just had a urinary tract infection and I noticed she had developed the strange and annoying habit of chewing her sleeve (it was winter and she had long sleeves). I thought the chewing was a nervous habit (she had started at a new school) but as soon as the UTI was treated the chewing went away. The UTI had caused her to urinate in her pants and I think she was so distraut about this that she chewed.

Your daughter could be so upset about the pain/discomfort that she is chewing. She also may have a bit of a UTI (or other infection) and having some bladder pain but can't pinpoint where it is. We women know how miserable that can be! Try to notice if she is peeing more often or if her urine has an off smell. I actually think my daughter had one for awhile and I just didn't pick up on it right away.

Definitely get it checked out--I'm sure your instincts are correct.

You may also want to consider something wrong with her teeth, like a cavity. Tooth pain can be pretty intense too. Also, my son would get ear infections and not have any syptoms. He once had a double ear infection without symptoms. The only sypmtom he had was his horrible behavior. He went from my sweet boy to a very mean and angry boy. Once he had the medicine, his behavior went back to normal. Good luck.

My daughter just recently had a sinus infection. She was just getting over a cold, so I thought she was all better. She started out complaining that she had a toothache. Turns out, she had so much sinus pressure in her face it made her teeth hurt. I took her to the Dr. the next day & Dr. said she had tons of mucus in her throat. It's going to be hard to tell what it is if your child can't tell you what hurts. Another key factor was that my daughter couldn't sleep well at night. She's an excellent sleeper. And she kept crying, saying she didn't feel good. She also was dizzy as a result of the infection. Fluid build-up from sinuses in the ear can also easily cause dizziness. It was a very whiney time.
I have sinus infections myself on a regular basis because of my allergies. But mine are always accompanied by cold symptoms or sometimes Strep Throat symptoms. The infection makes you feel awful. You might want to have her checked out by her Pediatrician.