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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
pawleygirl77
member
At what point would you go to the ER?
pawleygirl77
member
DD has had a fever for 6 days now. Started out low and progressively got higher. Right now it's 104.7....we went to doctor yesterday. Fluid in left ear put on antibiotics. Flu test negative and CBC showed slightly elevated white blood count. Doc said to bring her back in if fever wasn't gone in 24 hours. It's been 24 hours so I called the after hours number. Nurse called back and said give motrin and Tylenol and a lukewarm bath. Bath did nothing and, so far, tylenol's not bringing it down either. Motrin has been working but she can't have another dose for another hour. She acts normal when the fever goes under 103 but it just keeps going back up! It's been over 104 for almost 48 hours and just seems to keep creeping higher! I'm getting pretty nervous!
So at what point would you just go in to the ER?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: At what point would you go to the ER?
I agree with the above posters - if you can't control it I would definitely go to the ER. Your doc did say that if the fever wasn't gone in 24 hours to bring her back in. It is always better to be on the safe side. And that is a really high fever. Make sure she is getting lots of fluids. Hang in there!
There is a virus going around right now that they are calling a fever virus. Gigi had it all last week. Her fever was as high as 105.1. Only a combo of Motrin/Tylenol would bring it down below 103. I just made sure to let her nurse as often and as long as she wanted. I also got pedialyte pops. She really liked those. She didn't want to eat anything. She was also on antibiotics for an ear infection, however the antibiotics won't do anything for a virus.
As long as she isn't lethargic, and can be roused, a high fever in infants/toddlers isn't as bad as it is for adults. It is their immature immune system's way of fighting whatever they have.
You do have to be careful of her fever falling too quickly. That is when you worry about febrile seizures. It isn't the high temps, but the sudden drop that can cause them.
I would probably stay away from the ER and all the germs there. There isn't much they can do for a fever anyway. After 5 days, they might start to worry about something more serious.
The fever thing freaked me out also. Luckily I have a ton of doctors in the family to call and bother. Every single one of them said the same thing about the fever virus.
I did not know this!! Thank you for sharing....as a mom I think it would be really hard for me to not run to the ER if my baby had such a high fever. But that's just me.
I would go to the ER...especially if tylenol isnt bringing it down. And going on 6 days of a fever the poor think could be really dehydrated (which could be why the fever isnt going down).
So I say GO NOW! and good luck!
DD had a temp of 104.6 at the pedi's office a couple months ago (with no other symptoms). The pedi kept reinforcing that they treat the symptoms not the number. Since DD was still eating/drinking and playing (although not as much as usual), they weren't that concerned. It stayed around 102 with motrin and lasted for 4 days. It ended up being either a virus or roseola (she had a mild rash when the fever broke)
She did have an ear infection back in November that was resistant to the 1st antibiotic we tried. She spiked a fever in the middle of treatment. So either your DD's illness is viral and won't respond to an antibiotic or she may need a different one. Was there an actual ear infection or just fluid?
If the fever is staying down a bit with motrin or tylenol (or combo), I would monitor it through tonight and as long as she's not lethargic or dehydrated, I would wait and take her to the pedi tomorrow.