Watch The Symptoms

Last week I wrote a blog about fever. You can read it HERE. My son had been running a fever all day and then into the night. I know not to fear the fever because it does serve a purpose. It is fighting off an infection of some sort. I paid attention to my sons symptoms. I know it usually is not normal to run a fever with just a cold. I chose to take my sweet heart to the ER with symptoms of fever, runny nose, and cough. He was diagnosed with pharyngitis. I followed up with his PCP the next day and he was diagnosed with ear infections. Its all connected. Throat and the ears all upper respiratory stuff. He got a shot of rocephin and sent home with antibiotics.

Thursday rolls around and he is still running a fever along with all these symptoms, runny nose, coughing, congestion in the chest and vomiting. I call the doctor and ask for advice. I was told then that just because his flu test came back negative did not mean a thing. I needed to pay attention to the symptoms. If he was running a fever an Friday he needed to be re-checked. Yes he was still running this awful fever and had all those symptoms. Since his PCP was out Friday I took him back to the Emergency Room. The doctor on call could not understand why I brought him back since he had been give a shot Tuesday night and sent home with antibiotics. I knew my baby did not feel well and was not getting better. The doctor was rude and well I started getting rude back and insisted on a chest x-ray to be done! She did not think it was necessary because it was clear on Tuesday night. Guess what? He had pneumonia! On top of that she guessed he had the flu as well. We could have had him admitted to the hospital but chose to wait it out. They gave him an adult dose of recephin right in the hip. My poor baby!! I did not want him to be poked and prodded unnecessarily to be admitted into the hospital. He had already been through enough in my opinion. 

We all go home for the night. If he was not better after that huge dose of antibiotics I would have him admitted. The next morning Logan was feeling much much better!! He is not 100% but he is better than he was. It was nice to see my baby smile again. I had missed it for a week. Not to mention he was eating again!

My point of this is Parents if you feel your child needs more tests insist on it. You are the parent and you know your child better than anyone else and most times the doctors! Pay attention to the symptoms!! Always pay attention to the symptoms. Hopefully my son is on the mend. Even though he is fever free I am keeping him out of school for another week to give his immune system time to heal. He has to deal with enough already. 

YOU ARE THE PARENT AND YOU KNOW BEST!

Do Not Fear The Fever

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What a whirl wind of a week let alone just this one day alone! I have had a sick baby on my hands for awhile now. Logan had been sick since about Thanksgiving. I was told it was viral and to just do home remedies. Every time he seemed to start getting better he would end up sick again. He has never really gotten over it. 

Over Christmas break him and I were both sick. The entire Christmas vacation. He got better enough to return to school. He went maybe a week and this week it hit him hard. Fever to 104, vomiting, runny nose and coughing. I woke up around midnight and rushed him to the ER! Fever can be scary. They did a flu test, strep test and RSV all came back negative so the doctor wrote it off with a throat infection. 

Needless to say I followed up with his regular PCP the very next day and he said an ear infection. I believe that was his diagnoses. He said one of his tubes was blocked and the other just laying there, ready to fall out. As I am leaving there I call his ENT and made an appointment to have his tubes looked at. That will be February 3rd. As of today he still had a runny nose, cough and a low grade fever! 

In my late night being awake and worried about my son I found my self doing research on toddler with fevers and what to do to control it. You would think this was my first go round. I found some stuff I had no clue about. I thought I would share some of it with other parents out there who may possibly be reading my blog. 

Do you remember being sick with a fever and your mother would bundle you up and make you sweat it out? Yes! Do not do this!! I repeat do not do this. Sweating can lead to shivering once you cool down, and once you start to shiver it brings your body temperature back up therefore bringing back the fever. Sweating it out does not help. Put your child in light weight clothing. If they happen to get the chills give them a light blanket. Nothing to heavy. 

Another old school remedy I recently heard about from a friends on facebook was to put alcohol in the bath water or an alcohol rub. This is not a good idea either, here is why. This can poison your child. It can cause intoxication, seizures or even coma. Stay clear of this method!!

If you must use a bath make sure it is lukewarm water! Never use cold water for this will cause shivering and cause the fever to get higher. Never submerge you child but rather sponge if you need to. There is no proven evidence if this really does help but if you it relaxes you or your child feel free to utilize this but always make sure the water is the right temperature.  

Make sure to keep your child hydrated. Fever causes dehydration. Do not be alarmed if your child refuses to eat. This is normal. 

If you child runs a fever longer than three days talk to your doctor. Also if there are other symptoms present. It is not necessary to treat a fever unless it gets above 103* or of course if your child is uncomfortable. 

Here is another thing I read on multiple sights.. I had my alarm set every four hours so I could continue to wake my son up and give him medicine to keep the fever at bay. Well I read not to! Never wake a child up to give them medicine. Sleep is what they need. Since a fever is just a symptoms and generally does not hurt the child let them sleep. 

Once again though if your like me and an overbearing and protective parent you might still get up and check the fever to make sure its not over 103. Put yourself at ease and do not fear the fever. 

Check out the articles below and read and research for yourself. 

http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20110228/new-advice-fighting-fever-children

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/best-way-treat-childs-fever

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/05_fever_night.htm

http://www.parents.com/health/fever/fever-fears-a-guide-for-treating-fever-in-children/

Let the fever do its job! Fever is fighting the infection. Treat it only if necessary.