Darn temporal thermometer

Suebee8 · August 2013

Seems to be a lot of sick babies around here the last few days. DD has a fever and I am feeling helpless, especially from work! When DH and I got home yesterday and got her up from her nap she felt warm so we took her temp and the damn temporal thermometer gave me a heart attack as it read in the 105 degree range several times. After I calmed down and I took a rectal read and it was in the 102 range. She had some tylenol and ate some dinner, not the piggy-amount she has been lately. She was a bit fussy but otherwise OK, she had a nice long cool bath, only 4 of her 6 oz bedtime bottle and more tylenol. She slept like a rock all night and I had to wake her up this morning. Temp again was about 101 so more tylenol this AM but my mom says she seems to be OK, a little clingy and tired but otherwise OK.

SO after all that my questions are:
1. Do I call the pedi or wait it out over the weekend?
2. Do I still plan to pack up the bootles this weekend and go all sippy, all the time or wait if she is sick?
3. Do you find temporal readings are way off?

imoverit · August 2013

Im sorry she is sick. I would call pedi to get their advice before the weekend hits. I also would wait about the bottles until she gets better so the transition is more smooth. No advice about temporal readings but I do know that rectal is more accurate.

mnj05 · August 2013

I would wait on the bottles as well. I tend to wait things out before going to a doctor but that's my nurse grandmother in me. If it would make you feel better, call the pedi and see what they say. We use an ear thermometer so no advice there. I can't find a rectal thermometer anywhere and I know I'm just not looking in the right place but my pedi uses an ear reading as well so I'm good with it. Hope she feels better soon!

TJ1979 · August 2013

Aww, poor little girl! I hate those temporals. I have to do it like 10 times then take an average. And like you, if it's worrisome I fall back on a rectal.
Can you think of anything to explain the fever? Recent shots? Teething? Ear tugging? I hate that this always happens when you don't have much time to wait it out bc of the weekend or holidays.
I would definitely wait on the sippy transition. Yu don't want her to equate sippies with being sick.
GL, I hope she feels better really soon.

Suebee8 · August 2013

TJ1979 said:

Aww, poor little girl! I hate those temporals. I have to do it like 10 times then take an average. And like you, if it's worrisome I fall back on a rectal. Can you think of anything to explain the fever? Recent shots? Teething? Ear tugging? I hate that this always happens when you don't have much time to wait it out bc of the weekend or holidays. I would definitely wait on the sippy transition. Yu don't want her to equate sippies with being sick. GL, I hope she feels better really soon.

No recent shots, her 1 year appt. was more than a month ago. I haven't noticed any ear tugging but when she had an ear infection in the past she had no symptoms either. And it could always be teething, those darn things just keep popping out with no warning, she doesn't let me look in there.

Do kids get fevers with growth spurts? She has been eating like a piggy the last two weeks...

ELF4321 · August 2013

DD had a bad summer cold in June that started with 2 days of high fever (between 103-104 when not medicated), then the fever went away and the coughing started a day later and lasted about a week. I didn't bother calling the pedi about the fever because it didn't go above 104 (which is the general guideline for kids after 6 months to call the doc ASAP), it responded to meds, she was still eating and acting normal, and the fever was gone in less than 48 hours.

If it had lasted longer than 48 hours, or if there were any other symptoms like loss of appetite, ear tugging, or lethargy, I would have called.

I haven't heard of a fever with a growth spurt, but DD almost always has a low-grade fever when cutting teeth (but this is only up to about 100 degrees -- anything over that is not likely to be from teething).

Hope your LO feels better soon!

ELF4321 · August 2013

Oh, and our pedi told us to NOT give Tylenol unless the fever is 102 or above, because the fever actually helps her body fight off infections.

PennyLane26 · August 2013

I'm a firm believer in mother's intuition, so trust your gut!

Here's what I would do:

Go with a rectal temp and call the pedi, my office will allow me to speak with a nurse over the phone if I don't feel like it is necessary to go in right away. Could you speak with a nurse before making an appointment? Given she is acting "off" I would call even if the fever isn't SUPER high. And I would wait on the bottle transition.

Hope your little one feels better soon!

Dragonfly1226 · August 2013

If it was me I would call and speak with a doctor or nurse before the weekend. I would hold off on packing in the bottles too. Hope the fever goes away soon!

kaf7 · August 2013

I've never used a temporal one. I would wait on the bottles too. I hope she's feeling better soon!

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