should i give tylenol or no?

[AprilM]

I have read not to give meds to bring a fever down because it interferes with the body's ability to fight off infection, but my little guy has a fever and cannot stop crying, and in turn, he is not able to fall asleep and get rest. He is just miserable. This is day 1 of the fever, so I am not sure what it is yet, but his symptoms are as follows:

crying and laying on the floor when he is awake
fever of 100.8 last time i checked
really tired

right now he is in his crib (he is 18 months) sleeping, he has practically slept the day away.... not at all like him. He ate breakfast and then had 2 bananas and some cottage cheese around 3 before going back to sleep.

I caved and gave him 1/2 a dose of tylenol, his fever broke, and now he is sleeping. Have I done a bad thing? What is the lesser of the 2 evils, not being able to rest or giving some tylenol?

I don't know what to do, I am a first time mom and not too experienced with dealing with sickness. Is it normal for him to be so lethargic?

Should I take him to a doctor? (sorry so many questions~)

[tanyalynn]

For me, when my kids are sick, I focus on nutritional support and they rarely get to the miserable stage. I mean--they may have fevers and not run around, once this fall they really had low energy for a few days, but we can snuggle and watch tv and eat small snacks and have an okay day. A few times, my kids (even when feverish) have seemed to feel better, and do better, with a blanket--if they pushed it off, I'd leave it off, but if they don't push it off, sometimes it really seems to help.

For us, bowel tolerance vitamin C (I use sodium ascorbate) is the biggest thing, but a multivit that had some Bs, maybe some extra zinc as well could help (I give the others routinely as part of ongoing health stuff we've got).

I do foods that are easy to digest, homemade soup is one of our go-tos, Aviva Romm's spicy lemonade is another, and I'm more diligent avoiding our food intolerances (we always avoid gluten and dairy, but a couple are okay in moderation). Consider avoiding dairy, it's problematic for a lot of people.

This approach has gotten my kids through a lot of illnesses--can't say if it'll work for you, but something to consider.

[tessie]

I think even those who don't routinely give tylenol for a fever make an exception for when a child is in pain, utterly miserable etc. Personally I would have done the same in your situation.

If he's still not right tomorrow a drs visit might be in order, even if it's just to put your own mind at rest. Though I hope it won't be necessary.

[Panserbjorne]

I don't let my kids suffer, though they've never had OTC or prescription meds. Like TanyaLopez, I have other ways of handling things to avoid getting to that stage, or creating comfort once we have.

Did you do a "bad" thing? No, not at all. However, when you get to this place again, could you have different tools? Maybe. For right now you did the right thing for your child. If you'd rather not do it again then now's the time to start accumulating information.

Hope your little one feels better! You did a good job, mama.

[AprilM]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your replies. He seems to be doing a bit better.....still has a fever, and I did give him another dose of Tylenol...well a half a dose actually. He looked like he was in pain. He still has a fever, the Tylenol never completely freed him of it, just lowered it a bit and took whatever pain he was experiencing away.

Tanya, thanks for the advice on the SA, I have been giving him way more than I usually do. I give him about 1000 mg of SA a day anyway, today, he has probably gotten about 2000 mg, though no bowel movement, just some gas, so I am thinking he probably needs even more.


Panserbjorne, I know you are a homeopathic from your other threads, and I actually did do Hyland's flu care for him this morning when he first got the fever. We did 2 tabs every 15 minutes for 8 doses....per the instructions on the bottle. Do you have any other homeopathic suggestions for a fever like this? You said you don't let your kids suffer, what do you do for them? I have some belladonna here, but since I have no idea how or when to use it, it is sitting in my herbs and vitamins box.

Tessie, thanks for the words of encouragement. It's so hard to see your children suffering. Especially when they are too young to tell you what is bothering them!

[Panserbjorne]

I usually use tissue salts and then remedies to support the body. In this case I would have done ferrum phos tissue salts every 15 minutes or so, or bioplasma if I had it. In terms of a remedy...I'd match the symptoms. Belladonna is generally for very high fevers, flushed red cheeks, dry skin (they don't sweat) glassy eyes and often you'll see disorientation.

Your little one has a pretty low fever, so I wouldn't really focus on that. I'd focus on their behavior, what they seemed to want (to be carried? Nursed? Covered up?) and what times were the worst (worse at night, in the morning, after eating etc.) I'd factor in anything else I saw and select a remedy.

Once you know the remedy that best helps your kiddo it gets easier. Without thinking twice about it whenever ds gets sick he needs pulsatilla. That's HOW he gets sick regardless of the symptoms. He gets tearful, irritable, whiny and frustrated. He just wants to be held. It can be a fever, a cold, the flu, bronchitis etc. and it's just about always going to be pulsatilla.

Even though I like doing clinical cases, it's never as simple as for a fever give X. What matters way more than the symptoms is how they are experiencing them. I know that's a lot to take in...but if you want you can describe the symptoms and the reactions to them and see if someone here can get you closer to a single remedy.

[AprilM]

Originally Posted by Panserbjørne

I usually use tissue salts and then remedies to support the body. In this case I would have done ferrum phos tissue salts every 15 minutes or so, or bioplasma if I had it. In terms of a remedy...I'd match the symptoms. Belladonna is generally for very high fevers, flushed red cheeks, dry skin (they don't sweat) glassy eyes and often you'll see disorientation.

Your little one has a pretty low fever, so I wouldn't really focus on that. I'd focus on their behavior, what they seemed to want (to be carried? Nursed? Covered up?) and what times were the worst (worse at night, in the morning, after eating etc.) I'd factor in anything else I saw and select a remedy.

Once you know the remedy that best helps your kiddo it gets easier. Without thinking twice about it whenever ds gets sick he needs pulsatilla. That's HOW he gets sick regardless of the symptoms. He gets tearful, irritable, whiny and frustrated. He just wants to be held. It can be a fever, a cold, the flu, bronchitis etc. and it's just about always going to be pulsatilla.

Even though I like doing clinical cases, it's never as simple as for a fever give X. What matters way more than the symptoms is how they are experiencing them. I know that's a lot to take in...but if you want you can describe the symptoms and the reactions to them and see if someone here can get you closer to a single remedy.

Oh my, yes that is alot to take in, what are tissue salts?

Here are his symptoms and the reactions to those symptoms:

symptoms:

red watery glassy eyes
red enflamed eyelids and eye rims
cough here and there
fever
runny nose
blushed cheeks (almost rashy like at times)
no appetite (he has a small appetite to begin with though)

reactions:

He wants to be held, but when he is held he cannot get comfy and wants down
He lays on the floor and cries
When he gets enough energy to actually play, he is totally flustered with his toys and starts throwing them
I cannot walk away from him or he cries
He wants to sleep, always going for his pillow, but still cries once he has laid down because he is in discomfort

Do the tissue salts (whatever these are, I am very curious) and pulsatilla sound appropriate for him? If not what do you think does?

Thank you so so so so so much. Next up on my list of 'to do's' ...learn about homeopathy.

[Panserbjorne]

actually, yes. pulsatilla seems like a decent first choice given what you've written.

Tissue salts are not homeopathic. They are nutritional. They support the body on a cellular level. There are twelve in total and they are the 12 inorganic materials that are essential to life. When we get sick they are out of balance or depleted and reintroducing the nutrients necessary to correct that balance allows our bodies to get well that much faster.

Ferrum phos is iron. When we get sick our stores are rapidly diminished. Because of it's form it is able to bypass digestion so it's not dependent upon how well your gut is functioning or other nutritional cofactors. It just goes straight to the cells. Bioplasma is a combination of all twelve salts.

They are very user friendly and one of the best things to have on hand for at home care. You can do so much with them and they are fairly easy to learn.

[AprilM]

Originally Posted by Panserbjørne

actually, yes. pulsatilla seems like a decent first choice given what you've written.

Tissue salts are not homeopathic. They are nutritional. They support the body on a cellular level. There are twelve in total and they are the 12 inorganic materials that are essential to life. When we get sick they are out of balance or depleted and reintroducing the nutrients necessary to correct that balance allows our bodies to get well that much faster.

Ferrum phos is iron. When we get sick our stores are rapidly diminished. Because of it's form it is able to bypass digestion so it's not dependent upon how well your gut is functioning or other nutritional cofactors. It just goes straight to the cells. Bioplasma is a combination of all twelve salts.

They are very user friendly and one of the best things to have on hand for at home care. You can do so much with them and they are fairly easy to learn.

Thank you! I will look into all that. In your opinion, if I wanted to learn what you know, what would be the best resources? (books, sites, etc)

[Panserbjorne]

I really like Practical Homeopathy by Vinton McCabe. It's a great read and excellent for at home prescribers. In terms of cell salts the Biochemic Handbook is fairly easy to use. You can find both (I think?) on www.minimum.com You may find better prices on amazon for PH...but I don't think you'll find the BH there.

[AprilM]

Originally Posted by Panserbjørne

I really like Practical Homeopathy by Vinton McCabe. It's a great read and excellent for at home prescribers. In terms of cell salts the Biochemic Handbook is fairly easy to use. You can find both (I think?) on www.minimum.com You may find better prices on amazon for PH...but I don't think you'll find the BH there.

Thank you so much!! I will check out these resources. I can't wait to find the time to be able to emerse myself in this knowledge. You all are very helpful. update on ds, he is feeling much better. His fever is just low grade, still have some fussies, but at least he is not lethargic anymore.

[Panserbjorne]

excellent news!