prolonged high fever, swollen gums, white tongue

[blessedwithboys]

so what's wrong with my ds, age 8?

he usually has a set pattern for sickness. he wakes up in the AM and while he's getting ready for the day he spikes a fever and throws up. all day he pukes and burns and sleeps and by evening he stops puking. by the next morning his fever is gone and he is 100% back to normal.

the only exception was at 18 mos when he was sick enough to end up with viral meningitis, which we treated at home. also, the first time he broke out in cold sores in his mouth he had a fever for a few days.

well, we did some traveling recently, to a few major east coast cities, and i'm sure we were all exposed to stuff we dont usually encounter at home. no suprise then that ds is sick.

he started a fever sunday night and by monday morning had a bad sore throat. i dont recall him ever having that symptom before. we were driving from VA home to FL all day, and he was miserable in the car.

so since sunday night he's had a fever of about 103-ish, give or take. his throat is red, but theres no pus. he had bitten his tongue on friday, and that spot broke out into a cold sore (isnt the first outbreak usually the worst?). as of today, his gums in the front are bright red and horribly swollen. i tried to brush his teeth and he screamed in pain. theres also a thick white coating on his tongue, but i wonder if that is just from him hardly brushing the last few days (he isnt eating AT ALL, not even ice pops)

it hurts him so much to drink fluid that i am worried about dehydration. his lips are dry and cracked. i have begun to warn him that we may need to go to the hospital to have fluid put into his veins.

so this illness is not "normal" for my ds, but i guess what's got me the most worried is the swollen gums. can strep do that? can strep be handled w/out antibiotics?

ds is completely vax-free and we are "in the process of looking for a new ped" (read: we dont have a dr bc they all fire me for not vaxing) bc of these 2 red flags, i am in no rush to take him to the ER, iykwim.

TIA for any insight!

[springmum]

Thought I would return the favour and post in your thread

Sorry your little guy is sick also

To be honest, it sounds a lot like the illness my 2 yr old has. His fever started low, got better then spiked over 103 for about 12 hours. He never had swollen gums. He still has a white coating on his tongue today, even though the fever has been gone 12 hours, appetite is back, energy is back etc.

I certainly also believe that giving tylenol can prolong an illness, but watching how much pain my little guy was in while trying to sleep made me change my mind for the overnight. I remember when I last had a fever over 103 and it was horrible. Of course every child is different and acts differently when having a high fever.

I don't think it was strep in our case. Dr Sears has some great info on sore throats that helped me feel better about what he had.

We doing some home stuff.

Garlic ear drops (seems whatever is affecting the throat is travelling to the ear, he has the start of an infection in one ear)
Sambu-gurard (great for immune system)
Drink made of garlic, lemon, manuka honey & water (and vit c - it's the only way I can get it in him) It tastes horrible though.

Since your son is old enough to gargle & spit - maybe salt water rinses too.
Fluids, as you know, are so important - especially with a high fever...keep getting him to drink little sips often.

For us from start to the end of the fever it was about 24 hours. I took him to the dr at 36 hours, b/c he still looked very sick. Now at 48 hours, he has a runny nose but is almost %100.

We had to go to a walk-in b/c our dr was on holidays, so I know the prospect of not having someone is not fun. Check the dr sears section on sore throats and see if anything stands out for you.

Hope your little guy feels better soon.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Im on the east coast, and weve had an "outbreak" of fifths disease in recent weeks. Just a thought.

[blessedwithboys]

thanks to you both. ds had fifth disease in kindy. can you get it twice? he had the rash really bad back then and no rash now.

the fever is finally gone and he was able to nibble at a popsicle or two today, but his throat is still killing him and his tongue is still thickly coated. he's lost 4 lbs since the sore throat started. not good for an already bony thin kiddo.

off to pick dr sears' brain...

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Doesnt FL have urgent care? Forgot to mention before that I wouldnt mess around with Strep. I would be taking him somewhere. I am pretty sure the white toungue might be a sign of dehydration.

[blessedwithboys]

a big thanks again to all! between the rec to check out askdrsears.com and the mention of fifth disease, i think i know whats going on.

theres a good chance its hand foot and mouth and ds just didnt get the hand and foot rash. thats self limiting and no big deal.

on the other hand, it could be another outbreak of herpes. last friday my kids were wrestling around and my 15yo ended up whacking the 8yo who bit his tongue so hard it bled. i know that trauma can cause a cold sore to pop up, and i thought i knew that only the first outbreak was really really bad, but i guess i knew wrong.

i myself was fighting something off last weekend. we went everywhere, from FL to NC to PA and OH, then on to NY and NJ, VA, and back to FL. lots of busy public places and hotel rooms. i'm guessing we picked up some little bug along the way, and ds must have been fighting off something when he bit his tongue, so the cold sore got out of control and now his whole mouth is bright red and swollen.

i know internet self diagnosis isnt really a good idea, but in my position, i cant run to the ER for every sniffle. (no vax, therefore no PCP equals risking a call to CPS)

the fever is gone and he is sipping fluids today. i broke my own rule about whole foods only during sickness bc he asked for ice cream. he had a bit of breyers all-natural, not my first choice for sick foods, but oh well. if he isnt nibbling solid food by this evening i will take him in to an all-night clinic instead of the ER. thanks again!