My 13 Mo. Old Has a Fever of 102 with No Other Symptoms. Is She Sick?

Updated on October 24, 2009
J.S. asks from Fresno, CA
27 answers

Hello Moms,
My daughter has had a fever since last night. IT started out low grade and was easily treated with tylenol. At 5 this morning she had a fever of 102. She has continued tao have fevers off and on all day, but she has NO other symptoms. She is happy, energetic, playing as usual She seems a bit tired today, but I think that may have something to do with me waking her up at 5 to give her Tylenol, remove her pajamas, and put a cool cloth on her head ( in attempt to break her fever). She received her 1 year immunizations two a week and a half ago.. could this be the cause? OR is she about to get sick?? She has had a high fever of 104 before without any symptoms and about 24 hour later, she was terribly sick and she even had a febrile seizure. I am concerned we are about to go down this path again. But I am FREAKED out about the H1N1 virus being a possibility.

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E.R.

answers from San Francisco on

I'd take her to the doctor to rule out anything serious. I believe they can test for H1N1. It will give you peace of mind (which is well worth the trip to the doctor).

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L.M.

answers from San Francisco on

I'll agree that it seems to be a common one right now. My daughter had high fever (up to 103.6) for two days, with no other symptoms. It responded will to fever reducer and she seemed to not be in much discomfort. She's fine now (a week later).

I think H1N1 is mostly respiratory, though it sometimes is accompanied by fever.

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A.K.

answers from San Francisco on

Could it be teething? I think it sounds like the right timing and without other symptoms, I've found the fevers are usually related to teething. Do her gums look swolen? Does she have a clear runny nose or lots of drool? This might be the cause...

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G.B.

answers from Boise on

Elevated tempuratures , even low ones, mean some kind of immune response is going on.

I know tylenol brings down a fever, but it also totally masks other illness symptoms. For example, when my 2 yr old had a kidney infection and came down with a very high fever, I gave her tylenol twice a day. In between those dosings she was lethargic, inactive, not playing, not eating, and could barely stay awake. After a dose of the drug she was up and playing- acting like her normal self... For about 4 hours, then the illness symptoms were right back after it wore off. Dosing with tylenol can actually made you think she is less ill than she really is.

You could try to let her go off the tylenol long enough that you can identify any other illness symptoms, and write them down for your doctor.

Fevers in the higher ranges, certainly 103 -106, typically point to a more virulent infection of some kind.

You can try giving cod liver oil and raw coconut oil, 1 tea each, every day. Here is a good article:
http://www.westonprice.org/basicnutrition/codliveroil.html

1 mom found this helpful
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N.A.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi J.,

A fever is a sign of imbalance in the body. Give her more water alkaline water it is the best as it will absorb in her body on a cellular level. I have some other recommendations that will help her to release toxins from her body and regulate her body temperature.

If you would like to learn more let me know.

N. Marie

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B.R.

answers from Sacramento on

A fever means something is not right in her body, therefore the fever to fight against whatever that something happens to be. I don't think the vaccinations would be affecting her this far out, but suppose it may be possible. About the only thing you can do at this point is to keep an eye on her and treat her as you have been, but be ready to get her to a Dr. asap if she begins to show other symptoms, since she's already had the incident involving seizures.

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J.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Yes she is sick. This is the flu that is going around. My daughter is also home on her fourth day of a fever. First day was 101.7, second day 102.7, yesterday 100.9, and today is over 99. Tomorrow she should be back to normal but this is what all the kids are getting at school so I know it's normal. Keep her away from others - it's very contagious.

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L.H.

answers from San Francisco on

My 15 month old went though this. He had a high fever with NO symptoms 5 times in 6 weeks. The dr finally checked his blood. We had test after test done to see why he is getting these fevers with no sign of other sickness. Nothing else was wrong, so they just said every time he got a fever, it was viral. So just keep an eye on her and keep a fever diary. She may just be fighting something. I was freaking out too. Hang in there...

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J.M.

answers from San Francisco on

It could be Roseola. My daughter had the same thing about a month ago and just turned 1. she had between a 100.9-102 degree fever for 3 days. The first few days I called the Dr they said she may just have a small tiny stomach virus and to keep her hydrated. I gave her Pedialyte popsicles to be sure she was ok and lots of water. I took her to emergency on the 3rd day because it was the weekend and my Dr. office was closed and they told me the same thing, probably just a small stomach virus but she seemed fine. That night in the middle of the night her fever broke, took her to daycare...BAM she had a huge rash all over her chest and back and daycare found it. SURE ENOUGH ROSEOLA! By the time the fever breaks thought they aren't contagious.The only thing that helps them is Tylenol otherwise there isn't anything you can do about it. 90% of babies from newborn to 3 get it. It's very common and no worries. I hope that's all it is. Poor Baby!

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S.D.

answers from San Francisco on

J.,
she is most likely coming down with something. A fever is the body's natural defense mechanism to fight off viruses. her immunizations were too long ago for her to be having a reaction now. just keep a close eye on her for other symptoms popping up and talk to your doctor about what symptoms to look for regarding the H1N1.
now is the season where bugs get passed like crazy, don't you wish you could put her in a bubble sometimes??
I hope she feels better soon.
S.

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S.N.

answers from San Luis Obispo on

Hi J.,
I am very freaked out byH1N1 also. I would definately take your child to the Dr.

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C.D.

answers from San Francisco on

it could be the roseola virus, my 2 yr old got it when he was about 1 yr old, with the same symptoms but a rash followed on day 3- it is just a childhood illness that passes pretty quickly, also if the rash does not occur, my 2 yr old had a moderate fever(101-102.5) for 3 days straight this week w/o any other symptoms, he was tired from the fever with puffy eyelids and I was waiting for a cough or snotty nose or stomach flu, something to accompany the fever, but nothing and now the fever has passed. maybe there is a virus going around that is only causing a fever response. I am glad he is better but it was a strange virus-
I was scared of H1N1 too
take care

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D.S.

answers from San Francisco on

It could definitely be related to her vaccinations. There is an incubation period, and our pediatrician said a fever could pop up up to two weeks after the shots. I hope your little one feels better, soon. A similar thing happened to a friends son almost two weeks after his shots. The fever lasted a few days, and then it was gone. If you're unsure, call your pediatrician. (that always makes me feel better).

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S.M.

answers from Stockton on

Many years ago my first son has something of the same nature happen. He ended up having an ear infection. He also had a febrile seizure due to this and the temperature spike. Keep an eye on her and if it doesn't get better I would call the doctor. Also remember about the Tylenol recall. I noticed that Target had taken all Tylenol products for children and infants off the shelves. You may want to try motrin. Hope this helps and she gets better!

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A.S.

answers from Sacramento on

Good chance it is an ear infection even if she's not showing pain in her ear.

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E.N.

answers from Dallas on

well you should talk to her doctor i went through almost the same thing my 10 month old had a fever of 104.0 being the highest and 101.1 being the lowest with no other symptoms but she had this fever because of her flu shot but all her doctor said was to keep the fever down so id she has no other syptoms she might be getting sick or she just has fever and you should just keep her fever down by giving her motrin or tylenol you can also mis this up and give her plenty of liquids and a warm bath with alcohol that what i did and it went down in two days with me doing all this good luck and i hope your little angel the best

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T.M.

answers from San Francisco on

J.,
Your daughter's fever is enough of a concern to take her to the doctor's office. I understand that she appears fine but given her age and the high fever, I recommend seeking medical attention. At 15 months my daughter, after receiving her routine immunizations came down with a fever, approximately 10-11 days after getting her shots. Within one night her fever escalated from 99 degrees to 102 degrees. Due to the short time her fever rose she suffered a fibrol seizure. After being taken to the hospital via an ambulance and suffering 3 more seizures, her fever eventually came down. Needless to say I was TERRIFIED!!! I do not want to scare you but after this happended, I looked into the possible side effects of the shot given to children between 12-16 months an in approximately 10% of the population, children experience this type of adverse reaction. When I asked several doctors at the hospital about this most minimized the potential of the immunizations causing the fever, but one doctor who had nearly 30 years of practice under her belt acknowledged the correlation. As a mother I encourage you to take your daughter to the doctor just to be evaluated. Good luck.
- T.

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T.F.

answers from San Francisco on

How scary for you to have your baby go through a febrile seizure. Good for you for asking for support in this as that memory must be so fresh when your baby is sick.

I agree with Gail, her immune system is working for some reason and you may not know right away or she could be over it soon. Keep an eye on her but stay calm. Talk to her pediatrician and ask what to do and look out for. Fluids are important and setting a timer every 20 minutes and giving her a very small amount (tablespoon) will help. Her little body (and ours) is/are stronger than you realize and those wanting to sell you something would have you believe. Tylenol will treat the symptom (fever) and definitely has its place but her body is hot for a reason, it's literally trying to burn out the illness. I have used once for my daughter and use it very sparingly as I'm a little freaked that it (acetaminophen) has been linked to liver failure. The one time I did use it, we had Swine flu. For us, the only thing different about this flu is it went on for days, literally. A few days near the end of this I gave my daughter Tylenol to give her a break from the fever so she would eat more. We were in constant contact with her pediatrician because of secondary infection (phew, neither of us got anything else like pneumonia or bronchitis) Take care and all the best to you! Try to get rest yourself and stay hydrated.

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K.D.

answers from Dallas on

It could be that she is teething, did you check her gums? If she is up to 102 I would call a nurse line if thats available to you, OR take her in to the doctor as soon as possible.

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R.F.

answers from Knoxville on

I would take her to the pedi. The intermittent fevers can be a sign of an ear infection even though there seem to be no other symptoms or indications of it. It is unusual for a fever after over 10 days (although you never know.)
Call your pediatrician!

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L.H.

answers from San Francisco on

She may have an ear infection. In my experience a fever always warrents a trip to the doctor. My guy had very similar symptoms and it turned out to be an ear infection.

Hope she feels better soon.
L.

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J.I.

answers from San Francisco on

Could be ear infection, or urinary tract infection. At 3 mos, my son had a fever with no other symptoms, the doctor checked him out and said it must be a cold coming on. The fever continued and I noticed his urine had a strong odor - to the point that I could tell the second he wet his diaper. I told the doctor and they tested him for urinary tract infection which is very unusual in a newborn, especially a boy. Sure enough he had it and it indicated he had reflux of his urinary tract which we treated with antibiotics until it resolved itself a year later. We were lucky for the early diagnosis that prevented damage to his kidneys so I would take her to the doctor to rule other things out.

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T.Y.

answers from Sacramento on

Hi J.:
I have been told by drs and hospital personnel that anything over 101 is considered a fever for a child. However, teething can cause a fever too so if your child seems okay it could be that but I always err on the side of being concerned and call the pediatrician and do as they say. Good luck!
T.

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C.W.

answers from San Francisco on

You should call your doctor anytime your child has a high fever.

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J.K.

answers from Sacramento on

My son had his one year shots and the nurse said 10-14 days after the shot he may have a fever ... Due to the MMR or one of the other I cant remember

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A.A.

answers from San Francisco on

Could be the MMR or Varicella vaccines or a virus. Keep an eye on her. If she had a flu, she would be coughing, have a sore throat and be fairly grumpy from the acheyness. Managing the fever is the best treatment, acetaminophen or ibuprophen in a dose for her weight, and plenty of fluids. Call your doctor if the fever gets to 104.

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M.P.

answers from San Francisco on

She is probably just having a fever, but :

Call the doctor in the morning and get the doctor's opinion.

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