fever after fall???

WYEngTeacher

DD fell down the stairs a little bit ago. Scariest moment ever. DH caught her about halfway down. She didn't appear to hit her head at all, but had a little bleeding in her mouth as if her tooth cut into her gum. She cried a bit, but was "fine" pretty quickly. As we were snuggling after that, I noticed that she felt warm and took her temp. Sure enough, she's running a fever - about 101. I didn't notice the fever earlier, but of course it's possible that it just started and I hadn't noticed yet. 

I'm so scared it could be related to the fall - seems so coincidental - and I'm wondering if we should take her to the ER even though she is acting totally normal, goofing around etc. I hate to go if it isn't really necessary - obviously ERs are a nightmare, and we have a baby at home, and its a cold winter night at bedtime, and yada yada yada. Then again, better safe than sorry? wwyd???  

j&jp

I'm sorry.  I'm glad the fall wasn't too bad.  While I'll say I've never heard of a fever being a sign of head injury, I know I would be concerned too - I get concerned very easily.  Is there anyway you can call your pedi's after hours line to reassure you instead of going to the ER right away?

WYEngTeacher

j&jp:

I'm sorry.  I'm glad the fall wasn't too bad.  While I'll say I've never heard of a fever being a sign of head injury, I know I would be concerned too - I get concerned very easily.  Is there anyway you can call your pedi's after hours line to reassure you instead of going to the ER right away?

I know they'll say to go to the ER. I've learned that calling the after hours nurse line is more of a PITA than it's worth. I always end up having to repeat the whole "story" (whatever I'm calling about) to like 3 different people, just to be told to go in to be safe. 

meggiekins

The fever is unlikely to be caused the fall. The fall, however, might be related to the fever, particularly if she has an ear infection, which could throw off her balance making her clumsy or more prone to falls.

I would call the nurses line before you take her to the ER. Who knows what kind of nasty germs she could be exposed to there, and it's better to minimize that exposure if you can, obviously. That being said, trust your instincts. If you think she needs to go, take her!

If she is acting normal, not vomiting, and her pupils are the same size and not excessively dilated, she's probably fine. But you gotta do what you think is best.

PS- I'm a nursing student, and am basing this off what we've been taught.

meggiekins

WYEngTeacher:

I know they'll say to go to the ER. I've learned that calling the after hours nurse line is more of a PITA than it's worth. I always end up having to repeat the whole "story" (whatever I'm calling about) to like 3 different people, just to be told to go in to be safe. 

Your nurses line DOES sound like a PITA. Ours has never been like that. Either way, I hope DD feels better, and you get some peace of mind!