Concerned First Time Mommy

[DelisMom]

For the past month, my 2 yr old daughter has had a recurring fever. the first time she went from good to bad in a matter of minutes. She was playing and then she got chills and her body was super hot; her temp 103.4. So I gave her some tylenol to bring the fever and down and took her to the doc the next day. At her first visit she had a slight throat irritation and was prescribed amoxicillin. Two weeks later (Mothers Day),we got home and the same symptoms occured all of a sudden shes feverish and has chills.. i take her to a different doctor after a couple of days of hoping the fever would go down and this time they tell me she doesnt have a high white blood cell count so there is no infection but that she has slight anemia. I explain to the doc that i had failed to give my baby her amoxicillin for the full 10 day duration and explain my previous doctors visit. She suggested that maybe the throat infection had not fully subsided and again prescribed a 10 day regime of amixicillin..I completed the treatment as direct and now, two weeks later, she has a fever again. I just checked it and its barely at 100.3 but i fear it will rise as it has done before. Ive read on different sites different things it may be but only maybe 2 other stories claim the same: no symptoms just fever and no answers. Please someone give me some insight on this. Oh yes! and Ive checked her for teething and there are no signs that a tooth is coming in. Im going to take her to the doc on tue since tomorrow is memorial day but i fear that they will again tell me she has no infection...What does a mother do when she sees a difference in her child and everyone tells her its a passing thing? How do you remind a doctor that not all hoof beats are horses? Any advice is appreciated

[fishrman954]

It sounds to me like the fever has broke.... Normal temp in a child will fluctuate from 97.7 to 99.1. As a general rule the temp is higher at night and lower in the am. The temps you posted there fall pretty close, but remember that an armpit measurement is not the most accurate. Don't get caught up thinking her temp should be 98.6 all the time, everybody is different, so if she's in that range it may be her normal body temp.

Also remember that a fever is the body fighting off viruses and bacteria. So fever is a normal occurence if she had either. Hopefully she had finished her medicine regimine at this point and is feeling better. But it's always possible she got rid of one virus, then the next day got sick with another. This is especially true if she spends time with other children at a daycare, church, etc.

There are a lot of stomach viruses running aroung out there that make kids sick for a few days at a time. So don't be surprised in the future. Also don't freak out everytime she gets a fever. From my personal experience with my kids, when they get a fever, I try to let them ride it out for awhile, remembering this is a natural body response. If they get miserable, or start approaching the 103 range I give them medicine to lower thier temp. Many times thier temp will go up and down for a few days (mainly from the medicine). I make sure they are geting plenty of water ( a lot more than usual). That's how we ride it out here. Good luck I hope she's feeling better.

[DelisMom]

oh man i dont think i wanted to have that thought in my head but yea ur right i do need to get to the bottom of this...i check her temp with a digital thermometer thats placed under her arm...and to complicate things more today she has no fever AT ALL?! during the night her temp went down a bit to 99.8 and then this morning, it was 97.9. So, now what do i do? One day she wakes up with a fever and the next with nothing..this is getting way too confusing.

[fishrman954]

Going from normal temp to 103.4 as fast as you descibe can be dangerous. You should definetely find the cause. That kind of rise in temperature can cause a febrile seizure, and if you think your scared now trust me you don't want to see that. Upper respiratory problems precede febrile seizures a lot of times as well, and that's exactly what she had. How are you measuring body temp by the way?

[DelisMom]

thank you for ur input! i think that the ER would probably be my best bet cause i dont think i can sit at a dr's office for a 3rd time to have them tell me she has nothing..the last time i took her, her white blood cell count was not high so they brushed it off as nothing and now 2 weeks later im back at square one...hate not knwoing whats up

[victoriab1974]

BE FIRM AND DIRECT WITH THE DOCTOR. TELL THEM YOU WANT AN EXPLANATION OF THE FLUCTUATION IN BODY TEMPERATURE IN YOUR CHILD. PERHAPS THE THROAT INFECTION NEVER COMPLETELY LEFT. I WOULD GET A SECOND OPINION IF THE FEVER CONTINUED, IF IT GETS DANGEROUSLY HIGH LIKE THE NIGHT IT WAS 103.4 TAKE THE CHILD TO THE ER ASAP.DO NOT WAIT.