Fevers in Toddler

Have you ever taken her temp when she is not sick? (to get a baseline) My husband's normal temp is 1 degree or so above what is considered normal for everyone else. Maybe some of those low grade fevers aren't really fevers after all. Nevertheless, you do need to be concerned about the higher temps.

Hi C.,

Popsicles are always a nice treat for a kid with a fever. They help keep them nice and cool and hydrated, and if you don't allow them all the time, they are something fun on an otherwise unfun day.

Hope this helps.

T.

Hi C.. I literally just got back from the Dr., my son has had a fever for almost 3 days! The Dr. says it's just the way the body fights off infection. My son hasnt had any other symptoms so of course it's a virus..how many times have I heard that! Anyway a good way of keeping the babies temp down is to give them ice with their liquids, give them luke-warm baths, and I found a product called Be Kool, its a sticky gel pad that you can stick anywhere to cool them down, it works-found it at walmart! Anyway, good luck!

I just had this discussion with my childrens Dr. as we have all been sick and I have been at the Dr.s every other day since last Friday! Anyways he says fevers aren't as worrysome its how the child is acting, most parents worry about a high fever (thats why I made one of our many trips last week) because its exactly that high, he said you need to pay attention to how the child is acting, if they are eating and drinking and playing thier usual way its not something you really need to worry about, if they act lethargic then you need to worry because it means that shes not processing the "virus" as well as she should be.. He told me a story about a Mom who had brought her boys in the day before we were there and the Mom was worried about her 4 year old because he was running a 104 degree fever, but he was acting like a normal 4 year old, he did have pneumonia so he was given antibiotics, but as our Dr was leaving the room he noticed the ladies 2 year old passed out in the corner, not acting like a normal healthly 2 year old at all, he didn't have a fever so the Mom wasn't worried about him, and that little boy had pneumonia bad enough to end up in the hospital.. he advised me (my 2 year old had a fever of 104.5) to give her motrin and rotate it with Tylenol, give her cold compresses and keep on top of her fluids, so I went to the store and bought her favorite juice and some unflavored pedialyte to mix with it and just let her take a nap with daddy... the next day the fever was gone, and she was back to her normal to year old self...

Anyways if your worried about the fever see the Dr. but if there are no other symptoms give her some fever reducer and just watch her close.. Good Luck!!

I have a 21 month old son and last month had to deal with back to back colds plus teething. At one point he had a temp of 105! For temperatures of 103 or higher make sure you call your doctor just to be on the safe side. What worked for us when our son had the 105 temp was to put him in a lukewarm bath for about 15 to 20 minutes or until his body temp went down. The doctor also told us to use Motrin at night as it lasts for 8 hours and Infant's Tylenol during the day. As much as it would worry you with the high fever, as long as your child continues to eat/drink, and play her body is trying to take care of the problem. I would really be worried if she becomes fussy and would not want to eat or drink. I hope this helps!

Hi C.,

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It sounds like she could benefit from it. I live in a wellness home which is like a green home and it makes a difference in my families health and well-being.

If you would like to learn more let me know.

N. Marie

Hi, I have a lot of experience with a fever child and after a lot of research and talking with doctors, I've learned a lot about it. It seems children will follow a certain pattern with their illnesses ; my son is a fever child; my stepson always gets a cough and my daughter seems to get an upset stomach. They'll have the same sickness but manifest these very different patterns each time. The fevers used to scare me because they would get very high very fast!! But what I've learned is that he literally will "burn" through the sickness much faster than his peers because the fever is doing its job. If you look online at Rudolf Steiner (the founder of Waldorf schools) and look at his medical philosophies, called anthroposophic medicine. He states that children can safely reach higher fever temps. than adults. He says they can safely reach 107, although I've never been able to test this myself without breaking the fever. He also believes that if you break the fever you are just prolonging it. I.E. Once the medicine wears off then the fever comes back worse than before and lasts longer. It took me a while to build the confidence to trust his body and not break the fever , even when it got high. But its amazing when I leave it alone. He sleeps because the fever makes him tired and he burns through the sickness and usually in one day he's doing better. I've also noticed that since he has the fever and not the other symptoms as much that if I break the fever then he feels great and he's playing and exerting himself in ways that he shouldn't be while sick. When I allow the fever to be there then he rests and gets better! There is a homeopathic for high fevers (not for low grade ones) called Belladonna. I use this when his fever shoots up to 103 or higher and his face gets really red. After 2 or 3 doses the fever will come down to a lower grade and it does not interfere with the healing process. Its been a really amazing discovery for me and now that I understand fever's function for burning off germs, I appreciate its role. And out of all 3 of my kids, the fever child is sick the least amount of time!! Hope this helps!

When ever my son runs a fever it is always high. between 102/103. It can be for something a simple as an ear infection. My daughter on the other hand has only ever gone up to 101 when she has a fever. We can also go places with friends and my kids will get sick and theirs will not. I think some kids are just different in how their bodies attack what is causing the infection. Essentially that is what a fever does. It is the bodies way of naturally fighting off infection.

When the fevers are high I would alternate between tylenol and motrin every 2-4 hours depending on how high the fever was. My pediatrician said this was fine. Putting them in a luke warm bath also helps bring down their temp. I know it is misserable when they are so little and sick. But they do grow out of it. Or at least my son doesn't get everything under the sun anymore. Good luck.

Hi C.-

I would encourage you to let her body do what is natural for her. I agree with your pediatrician. A fever is a GOOD thing; it means that her body is naturally fighting off an unwanted invader, raising it's temperature above what the virus or bug can live and breed at. Definitely watch her when it reaches 104, and of course do all you can do to boost her immunity naturally: plenty of sleep, good food, and water.

You may want to investigate a good Acupuncturist or Chiropractor who works with children. Research shows that gentle adjustments to the upper neck (near the brain stem where immunity is controled) increases white blood cell numbers by over 10%.

I hope that helps.
-L.

Hi C.,
My experience with my son, who at around 19M would carry fevers for weeks and not really respond to tylenol was to go homeopathic. Believe me, I was shocked when I gave him a dose of homeopathic Belladonna and his fever broke overnight (this is for fever accompanied by red checks and light sensitivity). I really have gotten a quicker result using this method, continuously. Children are able to respond very well to homeopathics. I also worked to build up his immunities through vitamin/mineral supplements, good diet and immune building herbs. I really feel that this has helped, as he is now 4 and rarely gets sick anymore.
You might want to stop at your local Whole Foods and discuss with a person in the vitamin department.
Good luck.

Everyone's body responds differently to illness and environmental stressors. It is not harmful for your child to have fevers more often than your friend''s child. Your job is to make sure that you call the doctor, if your child does have a serious illness when there is a fever.
Just make sure your child is comfortable, with plenty of cool drinks and cool compresses.

I had a sister-inlaw that had the same type of symptoms if both of us caught a cold I would go to work and she would be down with a temp of 105. Your daughter sounds just the same. My sister-inlaw was healthy as a horse otherwise and there were no negitive affects from these temps. You might want to try wiping her with cool or luke warm rags to speed up the affects of the ibuprofren. My sister inlaw would often take warm baths.

Every child/person reacts differently to illnesses and you would be surprised, what seems like the same illnesses / systoms than your friend's, sometimes your daughter may have something slightly differently. A fever is just the body's way to fight off illness and can actually be a good indicator to the parents that a child is sick -- those who don't get fevers may be almost as sick, too, but may not be treated like they're sick, or as fast. If my son doesn't have fever I usually send him to school, maybe sometimes when he's really not feeling so well, whereas if he has a fever for sure he gets to stay home and is treated. So, as long as you can manage it with the medication, I wouldn't be so worried about your daughter running a temperature when she's sick.

One surprise to me is the use of Ibuprofen for a fever. Though, yes, Ibuprofen can reduce fever the medication normally prescribed for fever is paracetamol. Ibuprofun is more of an anti-inflammatory, and can be used in alternance with paracetamol when there is fever and swelling (a bad laryngitis, for example). My son takes a lot of Ibuprofen for laryngitis which he's prone to, and usually doesn't get fever with this. If he ever does get fever I always start with paracetamol, as it's the best medication for fever. This happened once (high fever) and I also suspected he may have the chicken pox, and thanks goodness for my reaction to give him paracetamol as ibuprofen is contraindicated for chicken pox!! (It may have done more harm than good.) Well, check with your doctor(s) and/or do some research, in the meanwhile don't worry about your daughter having fever when some other kids don't as it's really not a problem.

Hi C.,

First I just wanted to say you are definitely not alone. Fevers are so normal in little ones. It means their bodies are trying to fight offthe illness which is a good thing. I also wouldn't say 103 is a low grade fever, low is more like under 101.0. Anything over 101.0 is a reason to call your doctor and maybe have them look at her. My 4 year old daughter recently had a fever of 104.4... very scary. Then my 9 month old came down with the same thing and his fever never got over 99.8. Each body just reacts differently to an intruding virus/bacteria. Just keep taking her to your doctor when you are concerned and you will always feel better being safe rather than taking any chances! Good luck!

My now 6 year old boy ran pretty high fevers as a toddler...in the 103/104 range ...my husband took him to the ER many times or sat up with him all night with a cold washcloth. It was normal for him up until the age of about 2.5-3 yrs old..now he rarely gets sick or very mildly if he does. We always took him to the dr to be checked out and still recommmend that for your piece of mind. There never seemed to be a reason, for him, as it was never over teething or ear infections but just the way his body worked. I also have a 21 mth old and 4.5 yr old that have probably never run over 101 degree temp...but have more general colds ..runny nose, teething pain, etc...that their low grade fevers relate to. I do believe that at some point you have to relieve these fevers...and motrin worked best for us. Good Luck to you.

Every body has it's own way of dealing with infections, etc. some of us get fevers, some of us throw up or both.
My son seemed to get a fever if you looked at him funny, especially with teething and a cold always meant an ear infection with a smokin' hot fever and vomiting like the exorcist until he reached about 3 1/2 years old. There's hope in your horizon - once teething is over you should notice a drop in the number of fevers and ear infections and once she's about 4 her immune system will be more experienced and able to knock out infections better. Feed her healthy - maybe add a multi vitamin to her juice and limit the amout of sweets she eats and good tooth brushing helps too.
Ibuprophen is the only thing that helps my son with a fever - tylenol doens't work at all.

Robyn's advice scares me. Whenever a fever reaches 104 you are told it is an emergency and take them to the dr. right away. A fever at 107 causes brain damage and other problems. Please disregard her advice. Fever's are a good thing as you've been told, it is just when they reach high temp's they are bad. I would take your daughter to the dr. and do a blood work up to see if it is infections causing this or a disorder of some kind. If she is always getting fevers her body does have an infection of some kind. Sounds like an on-going one. Have her tested and see what the blood results are. Fever's all the time are not normal because it is a reaction to something else. Look into it . Good luck

This is called fever spiking. My oldest son (now 14) was the same way...he would be fine one minute and then have a temp of 103+ within an hour or less. One evening he ended up having a febrile seizure. He went to bed feeling fine and two hours later had a fever over 105 degrees that caused the seizure. This is VERY scary, but does no harm to the child...it's actually how the body protects the brain from damage from the heat. My doctor said it's like an emergency "shut down". My doctor said she wasn't sure why some children spike and others don't. I do know that 9 times out of 10 when my son had a fever spike, he had some kind of infection that required antibiotics.

Keep both ibuprofren and tylenol type products on hand as you can give them alternating to keep the fever dowwn. Make sure to ask your doctor if this is still recommended and for advice on dosing and timing as obviously it has been a while since I had to deal with fever spiking...he grew out of it and only had the one seizure. Take care and don't worry...this too will pass. ;0)

Hi C.,
Oh my goodness! That advice from Robyn scares me to death! Please do not let your child get high temperatures like that without giving her something to break it! Running LOW GRADE temperatures is good for the body in that it is allowing the body to creating more white blood cells to fight infection. A low grade temperature is anything below 101 (and that's either orally or rectally, if you're taking her temperature in her ear or under her arm, add a 1 to that. For instance, if her armpit temperature is 100.3, it's actually about 101.3). I don't know about the research Robyn has been reading, but it is extremely dangerous to let your child's temperature to get in the 104s and above. You run the risk of seizures and severe brain damage. The brain is literally cooking inside your child's head. And for some children it only takes temperatures in the 102s to have febrile seizures. During a seizure, your child is not getting oxygen to her brain, she is at risk of brain damage just from that, and she is at risk for aspirating vomit, which is sucking vomit into her lungs while she's seizing. This leads to aspiration pneumonia and other dangerous problems. Frequent fevers are very common for many children, so your child is not abnormal. If the fever is 101 or greater, you can use ibuprofen or tylenol or alternate them every 4 hours. You should be choosing your doses based on weight, not on age, since weight varies greatly between different children. For tylenol, you should be giving 10-15 mg/kg, and for ibuprofen, you should be giving 5-10 mg/kg. A kg (kilogram) is 2.2 pounds. So say your child weighs 25 pounds. Divide 25 by 2.2, and that's how many kilograms your child weighs. Then you multiply that by either 10 or 15 for Tylenol and either 5 or 10 for ibuprofen, and that's how many milligrams you give at one time. Go with the lower amount for a lower temperature and the higher amount for a higher temperature. I know that is a lot of information, but it is very important to give the right amount. Most people don't give their children near enough, so the fever is very difficult to keep under control. The other thing is lots of fluids like Pedialyte or store brand. Of course the lukewarm baths are good, also, as previously mentioned, but you don't want it to be so cold as to make her shiver because that makes the body think it's cold and it will try to heat up even more. I have seen many children who have permanent brain damage from high temperatures, and you don't want that for your child, I know. As long as the fever is coming down with the tylenol, ibuprofen and other cooling measures, you are safe. If at any point you are unable to control the temperatures with these methods, you need to have your child seen somewhere quickly. Your child will grow out of this. Her immune system is still in the process of refining itself, so don't worry about the frequency of the fevers. There is light at the end of the tunnel! And it shouldn't be too much longer. Take care, and God bless.

Hi C.-

I don't want to scare you but have you ever had your daughter's urine tested to rule out a UTI? I ask because my daughter would run fevers and we and the old peditrician didn't think much of it.

It turns out that my daughter had a condition called VU reflux (it's where urine backflows up into the kidneys). This condition makes it very easy to get a UTI. If you haven't had a urinalysis done on your daughter I would mention it to your peditrician. They may have to catheterize your daughter to get the sample (it's not pleasant) but it's better than UTI's going undiagnosed and risking scarring of her kidneys (a situation that we are now managing). It's better to be safe than sorry! Good luck!

C.

The main advice on fevers I would like you to have is to be extremely careful in monitoring them. If your little one gets fevers a lot, make sure you are aware of something called a "febrile seizure". These can happen when the fevers spike. My son had one at 2 1/2 and I didn't know anything about them. I'm not meaning to scare you, as the seizures are harmless, but can be very scarey when you are unaware of what's happening.
In addition, my niece had the same kind of reaction to colds/etc.
She would ALWAYS get a fever, and it would just run it's course and then she would be fine. I think that doctors said that some kids' bodies just get fevers. And I've been told that fevers are an indicator of something else....like an oncoming cold.
Ok, so I am rambling.
Make sure you monitor your little one's fever. Good luck and take care!!

Hi C.,
I think it is best to consider your daughter's fevers as the good and very effective way her body has of getting rid of the inevitable colds etc that children get. People have different tendencies in that regard and fever is one that seems very alarming but is really efficient..I had lots of fevers as a child, and tend to spike a fever much more readily than most adults, although I simply don't get sick much since my mid 30's and went 10 years without a single cold. Both my daughters had plenty of fevers, but less readily than I had as a child.) Fever is simply one of the ways the body mounts a defense against an invasion of a illness-just as a runny nose, cough, swollen glands etc-are as well. Suppression of fever (i.e. taking motrin, tylenol, etc to lower the fever)makes the person or child feel a little relief but interferes with the body's attempts to get well. I suggest that you try not to use these unless absolutely desperate for some relief..I am very wary of other cold or flu suppressant medications as well for their tendency to make the problem last longer and be worse in the long run .. I agree with your doctor (based on my own experience with lots of people, children, and myself) that fevers are normal for your daughter, and I encourage you to just let her efficient little system do its healing-with-heat as much as possible. Obviously staying in close touch with our children and noting the severity of their symptoms is always necessary. Best to you and your warm-natured daughter and hope the spring brings on fewer colds!