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Family Medicine (Expert Forum)
Teen with high fever/flu symptoms
Answered by
J.M. Keyes, MD - Family Medicine
Gainesville - FL
Questions in the Family Medicine forum are answered by Dr. J.M. Keyes. Topics covered include general health issues, adolescence, babies, child health, eating disorders, fitness, immunizations and vaccines, infectious diseases, medical tests and procedures, and senior health.
Teen with high fever/flu symptoms
by mamiJ, Mar 13, 2009 09:12AM
My daughter called me from school yesterday. She said suddenly, she got short of breath to the point where she could not breathe and started shaking uncontrollably. She said she was also very hot at that time. I picked her up from school and she said that her entire body was in pain. She had a fever of 100.4. 20 minutes later, it was 102.8.
She has had no coughing, sneezing, etc. Her main complaint was headache and body aches (still a little trembling, but not as bad)
The dr suspected the flu and did a flu swab, which came back negative. He told me to force fluids and give advil for the fever.
He called to check on her a few hours later. She was feeling much worse, so he called in Tamiflu. Over night, her fever remained around 99.7 while on round the clock advil. Once the advil wears off, the fever goes back to 103. This morning, she is complaining of head, neck and back pain to the point where she cannot lay down comfortably. She says it hurts for her to bend her neck to her chest, but she is able to do it.
I called the dr again and he said that maybe the Tamiflu has not gotten into her system yet and to see how she feels around 1 pm.
Do you agree with what the dr has said/done so far? Or should I take her to the ER?
I know I am very paranoid because two teens in this area died last month from the flu, but I'm not evern sure if she has the flu, because the swab came back negative.
Thank you very much!
She has had no coughing, sneezing, etc. Her main complaint was headache and body aches (still a little trembling, but not as bad)
The dr suspected the flu and did a flu swab, which came back negative. He told me to force fluids and give advil for the fever.
He called to check on her a few hours later. She was feeling much worse, so he called in Tamiflu. Over night, her fever remained around 99.7 while on round the clock advil. Once the advil wears off, the fever goes back to 103. This morning, she is complaining of head, neck and back pain to the point where she cannot lay down comfortably. She says it hurts for her to bend her neck to her chest, but she is able to do it.
I called the dr again and he said that maybe the Tamiflu has not gotten into her system yet and to see how she feels around 1 pm.
Do you agree with what the dr has said/done so far? Or should I take her to the ER?
I know I am very paranoid because two teens in this area died last month from the flu, but I'm not evern sure if she has the flu, because the swab came back negative.
Thank you very much!
Doctor's Answer
by J.M. Keyes, MD, Mar 13, 2009 09:30AM
, Mar 13, 2009 09:30AMTo: mamiJ
Hi there,
It does sound like she has the flu, so I do agree with your doctor. That being said, any time someone has a fever and headache/neck pain, there is a concern regarding meningitis. Because I cannot examine her, it is difficult to say how likely this is, but because of the severity of this illness, I would take her to the emergency room to be on the safe side. You may wan to call your doctor's office- he may be able to squeeze her in right away and save you a trip to the ER if meningitis is not a concern after he sees her.
Good luck,
JMK MD
It does sound like she has the flu, so I do agree with your doctor. That being said, any time someone has a fever and headache/neck pain, there is a concern regarding meningitis. Because I cannot examine her, it is difficult to say how likely this is, but because of the severity of this illness, I would take her to the emergency room to be on the safe side. You may wan to call your doctor's office- he may be able to squeeze her in right away and save you a trip to the ER if meningitis is not a concern after he sees her.
Good luck,
JMK MD
the only concern that I had was since it is Friday, they would not be able to get any blood work back.