Fever in 11 month old with no other symptoms? *UPDATE*

[WindyCityMom]

This morning, my 11 month old woke up with a fever, 102.  I let her be, but eventually she was just so uncomfortable and I gave her Motrin. 

Around 3am she woke up and just doesn;t look well.  102.5... I gave her another dose of motrin so she'd be able to sleep better (she seemed to be too uncomfortable to sleep).

Now, I took her temp again (it's 4:30) and it was 103.  She's miserable.

She has no other symptoms, isn't teething, no cold, no rash, we don't vax..... it's strange.  WWYD at this point?

(Note:  I don't usually medicate my kids but I've never seen her so miserable. )

She's been nursing and taking liquids fine.  Her appetite is okay too.

[Llyra]

When the meds bring the fever down, how does she look then? If the fever goes down, and she perks up a bit, then I wouldn't worry too much. Kids catch all sorts of viruses, and they're self-limiting and they go away all by themselves. And some kids are prone to run very high fevers even for very simple infections. I would watch hydration, and otherwise ride it out.

What would worry me, and send me to a doctor:
1. a child who still seems totally miserable, even once the fever has been reduced.
2. a child to seems to be in pain-- especially a child who's reluctant to move his/her head, or seems to have an extremely stiff neck or a bad headache
3. a child who won't take fluids
4. a child who's lethargic-- not just sleepy and groggy, but unresponsive-- like if you pulled out a big wrapped birthday gift, and said, "ooh, DD, LOOOK what I have for YOU," and the child doesn't even sit up to look at it because she's THAT miserable (this is with the fever down, of course.

IF you're worried, it can't hurt to contact your medical professional, of course.

A thought--- has she ever had roseola? It usually turns up as a high fever that lasts for a few days, with few other symptoms, and then just as the fever is going away, the rash appears then. It's very common, and pretty harmless, but it can be alarming.

[sosurreal09]

DD had the same thing at that age. she had a fever for five days straight then broke out in a hive-like rash all over her body and started shaking like crazy. i had a freaking heart attack ran to the hospital and they said she was fine it was roseolla (idk how to spell it or if its just something like that haha sorry)

it sucked.

[Mirzam]

My bet is Roseola. Starts with a fever, the fever goes away and the rash appears. It is self-limiting and generally very mild.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

ear infection?  My kids are notorious for sprouting sudden fevers if they have an ear infection. 

How is she now?

[KayTeeJay]

Yep, I was going to say ear infection. My son has had several, and he always starts with a fever and no other symptoms. Hope your DD feels better soon!

[WindyCityMom]

She's the same :(  She's a bit better when the meds kick in, but not 100% (and they seem to only be able to get the fever down to 101 or so.

I just gave her her third dose of Motrin, as her temp got up past 103.

My DD1 never had any ear infections as a baby, so I don't really know much in that area.  She seems fine, though (no ear pulling or anything, no excessive crying).  Still nursing/drinking/eating well.

[sosurreal09]

hmmm probably what my DD had then b/c it was the same the motrin didnt seem to do anything.

[WindyCityMom]

UPDATE:

DD started getting a small patch of a rash on her belly so we brought her into the doctor today.  The nurse thought it looked like Roseola.  The doctor checked her out and she has an ear infection.  Final dx:  Ear Infection.

We'll see if the rash clears or worsens... I have a rx for amoxacillin (sp?) .  Do I have any other alternatives?

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

LOL, waiting.  It could be that she has roseola, and the ear infection (or rather, ear irritation) is an after effect.  Sometimes when toddlers have a virus, things swell, dont drain properaly, then you have an ear infection.  If the rash starts to move around, and disappears when you spread the skin, its roseola. 

Weve been through it.  That and slap cheek this past summer.  It actually is better when they have it at a younger age.  I hear it can be pretty miserable when they are older. 

Good luck. 

[sosurreal09]

at her age there isnt any real alternative that i know of. i did give DD ammoxicillan (sp) when she got an ear infection and shes ok.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 
 Do I have any other alternatives?

of course you do!  It's more a matter of your proficiency and how comfortable you are with them.  You can use herbs, home remedies, homeopathy, nutritional supplementation, chiropractic care etc. if you are interested in doing so.  However I would still be taking the kiddo in for a follow up to make sure things are progressing as they should.  If you see a chiropractor/homeopath then perhaps they can check the ears as well, but someone should be making sure you're on the right track.

For ear infections I tend to do cell salts/homeopathy/home remedies along side chiropractic care.  They get adjusted, get a remedy, are given salts and I put onion juice in the ear. This helps with pain and infection but can only be used if the eardrum is intact.  If the lymph nodes are swollen too I also do a castor oil pack.

Kali mur, kali sulph, mag phos and ferrum phos are the cell salts I turn to most frequently for ear infections.  Belladonna, pulsatilla, ferrum phos, aconite, coffea and chamomilla are the common remedies that I use the most.  You can take a look at them and see what you think in terms of fitting the picture.  I will often up vitamin D and A.  I don't tend to rely on herbs for things like this, but many do and that's another avenue.

Best of luck for both of you!

[WindyCityMom]

Oh thank you so very much for all of that info! I'll look into that.  No chiro here though, and we can't afford one either :(

For ear infections, DHs family believes in rolling up a mint leaf (yerbabuena?) and putting it in the ear canal.  I might do this- we still have some surviving mint in the yard.  I'm also wondering if I should be putting breastmilk in her ear.

The doctor said that "It's not one of the worst cases I've seen, but it is there, no doubt about it".  I'm pretty sure her eardrum is intact.

She goes back on her birthday (12/22) for a WBV.

[Panserbjorne]

breastmilk would be excellent.

I would also probably want her to be seen by monday if it were my kiddo to make sure what I was doing was working. 

[springmum]

For the 2 times my son has had an ear infection the garlic ear drops worked amazingly well. Took away the pain immediately and cured the infection completely without issue. As long as the ear drum is intact of course.

I've heard cuttin back on dairy for the time being too, to cut back the mucous production.

You can get them at the local health food store here. St Francis is the brand we have, but there may be others.

It may on Dr Sears site, but I've been reading more and more that dr's are adopting a "wait & see" approach to ear infections b/c most resolve without abx on their own. 

[deditus]

My dd had 2 ear infections when she was little, and we rode it out w/o abx and used other measures to deal with the pain. Honestly, by the time it got bad enough that I took her to the doc, she was better by the next day. Our ear infections were both 3 day deals. We had follow ups with our hcp to confirm they were clearing up.

[sosurreal09]

Originally Posted by springmum 

For the 2 times my son has had an ear infection the garlic ear drops worked amazingly well. Took away the pain immediately and cured the infection completely without issue. As long as the ear drum is intact of course.

I've heard cuttin back on dairy for the time being too, to cut back the mucous production.

You can get them at the local health food store here. St Francis is the brand we have, but there may be others.

It may on Dr Sears site, but I've been reading more and more that dr's are adopting a "wait & see" approach to ear infections b/c most resolve without abx on their own. 

garlic was proven to work on the Dr Oz show

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by sosurreal09 

Originally Posted by springmum 

For the 2 times my son has had an ear infection the garlic ear drops worked amazingly well. Took away the pain immediately and cured the infection completely without issue. As long as the ear drum is intact of course.

I've heard cuttin back on dairy for the time being too, to cut back the mucous production.

You can get them at the local health food store here. St Francis is the brand we have, but there may be others.

It may on Dr Sears site, but I've been reading more and more that dr's are adopting a "wait & see" approach to ear infections b/c most resolve without abx on their own. 

garlic was proven to work on the Dr Oz show

it's been proven to work long before that!  I find that onion juice is faster and more effective, but garlic oil does have a long history of being immensely helpful.  I moved to garlic oil because in many cases where garlic oil didn't work *enough* onion finished the job.  After enough reports from people that garlic oil helped but onion resolved it I just recommend onion now.