my active 8 yrs old son is running a high fever for about a week. this morning he woke up in tears complaing of headache and wanted to sleep in bed with me. what should i do?
(sorry for my bad english)
i took him to the doctor on the second day and he told me to give him Cefdinir, but todayhe's still running a fever of 102. i think i'll see his doctor again
This could be spinal meningitis which is fatal if not treated take him to the er right now. He could die.
if you son has had a "high" fever for a week, you should have already had him at the doctor. there's a million and one things it could be, but a high fever + a headache could be a virus, it could be something very serious as well. please get him to a physician asap.
ETA: well, if the omnicef isn't kicking it, it's either a bacteria that's resistant to the omnicef or it's viral - in general, if you don't have a significiant reduction in fever about 48 hours after starting an antibiotic, it's time to revisit the doctor. hope you get something that works for him and that he is feeling MUCH better very soon :)
I'm going to be another voice about checking for meningitis. It is often misdiagnosed. If he has either of these signs, skip the doctor and go straight to ER right now:
stiff neck (uncomfortable to touch chin to chest)
A weird reddish or purplish rash. This rash is totally painless
Good luck! Let us all know when he's okay.
Definitely go back to the fever. If an antibiotic works, it should take down the fever within 2-3 days max. If not, it's the wrong antibiotic.
To keep fever down, alternate tylenol motrin, as another poster wrote, but more frequently. Say you give Motrin at 10 am, I'd give tylenol at 2 pm and motrin again at 4 pm and tylenol again at 8 pm. Each drug is to be given once every six hours and you can give them both simultaneously.
A lukewarm bath also helps take down fever. Good luck!
I'm not sure what you consider high but since it has gone on for a week and seems worse today I'd take him to the doctor. Fever for a short time isn't bad, it's the bodies way of fighting illness. This long something could be going on, such as a secondary bacterial infection. It may not be but a doctor should be consulted to make sure.
If my kids have any fever for more than 3 days the dr wants to see them. Strep can cause horrible headaches, my oldest had very bad headaches and high fever when he had roseola, it could be anything please take him to the dr!
Did they check his ears? My daughter had a high fever last week (she's 8) for 2 days, and I thought it was viral. Took her to the doc and she has a double ear infection! I'd take him back if the doc didn't do a thorough exam. Good luck!
My daughter had the same symptoms recently (also 8). She weighs just shy of 50lbs.
I was told to give her ONE 200mg Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin/Generic) every EIGHT hours and ONE 325mg Acetaminophen (Tylanol/Generic) 3-4hrs AFTER every Ibuprofen.
Her Dr was worried about her temp being too high at 102.6 AFTER just Tylanol. So he told me to rotate Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen to help keep it under 100.
LOTS of fluids, rest, and if a fever gets up to over 103... ice packs wrapped in kitchen hand towels and place them under the armpits.
They did do a strep test on her (when I took her in to her Dr's) and put her on an antibiotic. The next morning, no fever and no strep.
I, too, would skip the doc and head straight to ER - 102 is not severely high but too high for too long to ignore....take him, please....
i could be allergies! good luck hope he feels better :)
I would def be concerned about menengitis. I'm writing this 4 days later, I hope everything got resolved. A high fever and headache is cause for major concern. Next time don't wait and take to the ER.
take him to the emergency room ER!!!!!!!! could be menningitis, or something small, but better safe than sorry. you should never let a fever go for a week, 2 days max!
I absolutely agree about the concern for meningitis. A fever plus headache that is bad enough to bring him to tears puts up a red flag for me. I strongly encourage you to revisit your dr or go to the ER, especially if he develops worsening headaches, neck stiffness, or nausea/vomiting. I truly hope he feels better soon.
Just out of curiosity, has he been swimming recently in any ponds, lakes or rivers? There is a water-born amoeba called Naegleria Fowleri, that can cause these symptoms. If it is this, it is VERY serious. For more info on this amoeba, visit www.kylecares.com
Good Luck!
