Can someone reassure me? 4:30 a.m. here on Sunday, dd's fever has returned at 103.8. Scared.

[carfreemama]

Dd had a mild fever (didn't check it) on Tuesday, along with cough and stuffy nose. Fever seemed gone by Tuesday night.

She has had a cough that has alternated between dry and "junky," but all the kids have that right now and she was turning cartwheels by Wed. evening.

Today, I thought we were done. She went to music class and had a playdate. Tons of energy. Feeling fine. No fever since Tuesday night.

She HAS been complaining of a very sore throat for a couple of days. In fact, a couple of nights ago woke up crying with it. So we gave her lozenges and that was it. Today she said it was better. Tonight it seems more about the cough and fever. I called the 811 line and they said as long as she's not blue or wheezing, she'll be okay until Monday morning; unless her fever goes over 40.5 (104). I gave her Tylenol and the fever is down.

Dh is mad at me, because he thinks I'm overreacting. I have an anxiety disorder that manifests as hypochondria.

Can someone please, please tell me by baby is not going to die? She is 7 years old and very healthy. She is "behind" on her vaccines. Is that why she's so sick?

Dh does say she's breathing a bit fast, but her nose is stuffy and I've heard fevers can do that. Can somebody help me through this night?

[CrazyCatLady]

It sounds like something that can wait until Monday.  If she is still awake, prop her up on the couch with movies/tv and let her fall asleep that way.  Being stuffy probably isn't helping her breathing.  It sounds more like an anxiety attack on your part than a really sick kid.  I especially wouldn't worry since your dh isn't worried and you know you are prone to anxiety.

Edited to add that fevers aren't necessarily the enemy either.  It means her body is doing what it needs to do to get better.  Lots of fluids, and Tylenol if it makes you feel better.  Then I wouldn't worry about it unless she got lethargic or very uncomfortable or something.  Fevers also tend to spike extra high at night, so she may be good as new by tomorrow after some rest,

On another note.  What vaccine do you think would have prevented this?  I don't vaccinate my kids at all.  But I would re-do my research or reconsider if I was going to freak out about it anytime my kids got ill.  That kind of stress sounds awful to deal with on top of everything.  Vaccinated kids get sick with colds, flus, and sore throats too.

She will be fine.  Try and get some sleep yourself if you can.  I know that being tired always amps up my anxiety issues x1000.

[carfreemama]

Dear God, thanks, CrazyCatLady. Do you have anxiety too? Mine is triggered by dd being sick more than anything else. I am medicated, but it doesn't touch when she's sick like this.

As far as the vaccines, I don't know if I'd feel better if she was fully vaxed. But I am very phobic of doctors, too; so that's partly why I haven't followed through. She's had everything but chicken pox and flu shots (though she did get the H1N1 last year). She hasn't had her 4-6-year-old boosters, either. So I don't know, maybe haemophilus B? Is that it? We didn't even START vaxing until she was 2 1/2 years old. Don't know how I was so calm then!

So can you tell me anything about this "it's serious if it goes away for more than 24 hours, then comes back" thing? My suspicion here is strep. Is this going to kill her? If you're sick of me, I so understand. My husband is too. I'm sorry.

[CrazyCatLady]

Yes I suffer from severe anxiety.  Just not relating to stuff like this, so I can still be practical about this kind of thing.  I used to be a nurse too, so maybe it helps me have a little more confidence about this stuff. 

It could be strep.  Strep can be potentially bad if it is ignored for a very, very long time.  Personally I get strep a lot...and treat it at home with natural treatments like it's no big deal.  My daughter had strep once that turned into scarlet fever (we didn't know she was sick until the scarlet fever happened).  And even with as miserable as she was then, she never came close to dying.  I've never heard of anyone dying from strep...especially not in three days time when the person was otherwise healthy before like your dd is.

This doesn't sound like anything a vaccine could have prevented, so cross that off of your list of things to worry about for now.  If your daughter has a seizure, severe pain that tylenol wont touch, a fever of over 104 that tylenol wont touch, etc.  Then it would be time to think about seeing a doctor sooner than Monday.  But your husband would know that too since he is less freaked about this stuff.  However, none of that stuff is going to happen and she will be fine until Monday.  Even on Monday, my guess is that going to the doctor will be more beneficial for you than for her since it may relax you some.  This really sounds like something that she will heal from on her own at home.

Tv, fluids, books, etc.  Spoil her and keep her comfy.  Get some sleep.  Have her rest a lot if she needs it.  It will be fine.  I'm serious about you getting some sleep though.  Being up too long is just going to make you nutty.  Let your husband have a shift at watching her (if she even needs watching) and go to bed mama.  Your dd isn't going to die.  She doesn't even sound that sick.  It's ok.

[carfreemama]

Okay, thank you. I just checked her temp again and it's 99.something; 37.6, after about 1 or 2 hours on Tylenol. She says she feels better. So the horror stories I hear about the fever going away and then coming back and the child dead 24 hours later...

I know. I'm trying to believe you. I have all her clothes washed and dried and her health card packed with them, just in case. But I will try to hold off. It's 5:36 a.m. here on Sunday. I am going to listen to you and try to get some sleep and then I'll check to see if you answered later. Thank you so much. You've really helped out a freaked-out mama and I KNOW this is my stuff largely here. I know I took on dealing with a sick kid along with motherhood. I just didn't know how terrified it would make me. It's worth it, though. I'll update you. Thanks again.

[carfreemama]

Okay, so she just threw up yellow bile and said she feels better. Her temperature has held at 37.6 since 1:30 a.m., even without Tylenol.

She says now that all that hurts is her throat.

I worry about pneumonia because of this junky cough; but all through this, she has not complained about any chest pain or had trouble breathing or anything and except for the one day of fever, there hasn't been any of that. And I also read that if their noses/heads are stuffy, it's less likely to be pneumonia. Could it really be pneumonia if she was RUNNING with her friend until last evening? Could it get that bad, that fast? It's those scary stories about "perfectly well" children having a fever, having it go away and then come back again and then they DIE...that's why I'm so afraid right now. But she's sleeping and her fever hasn't spiked again yet.

Oh and she's HORRIBLE at taking medicines. I have some vitamin D drops and some Oscillo that she will take. That's about it. But if you have other suggestions (I have Ester C orange flavour, but she won't take it); as far as natural remedies, I'd love to hear them.

ETA: This exact thing happened a couple of years ago. She was on abx then, but she came home from her grandparents' with a fever after having been fever-free for days on the abx for strep. I took her to urgent care because she was HOT. She threw up there, came home and was better within hours. And the fever never came back.

[mamatowill]

I am not a dr but I had pneumonia a couple of years ago. I had it for 6 WEEKS before I went to the dr and I was still not close to dying. My DS had pneumonia at 1 and you could tell the little guy was sick because he had fever, diarrhea, cough (I called an on call dr and was told I could wait until morning to be seen) but the biggest tell tale sign was the lethargy. He just sat in my lap and did nothing. He was not close to dying. Kids illnesses can be funny about symptoms. I tend not to worry if the fever goes down with meds even if it comes up after the meds wear off. Drs seem to worry if the meds don't touch a high fever. Also I have found fevers can be better during the day and come back at night. To ease my fears one of my favourite sites is Dr. Sears- I find he reassures me. He lets you know if you need to go right away to the hospital or if it can wait for awhile.

[carfreemama]

Thanks, mamatowill. I suck as a parent in this area because of my anxiety. Her temperature wa 36.6 when I just took it and it's been at least 7 hours since I gave her the Tylenol. I so appreciate the reassurance. She asked to come downstairs to watch TV and sucking a popsicle and she is talking to me. Definitely lethargic and sick, but responsive. I called 811 again and am waiting to hear back. The walk-in clinic opens in 1 hour, but I hate to bundle her up and take her there when I can see the ped across the street tomorrow. Still, I don't want another night like last night. I think she's gonna be sick again.

[ttcintexas]

Wanted to give you some hugs. This is so hard I know. I tend to get very anxious when my kids are sick. I have never medicated for it, but we had a recent two week period where I lost 8 lbs. because I was too anxious to eat. The advice to sleep is a good one, and maybe to get out for a short walk in some fresh air. Try to get yourself out of the moment a bit and calm your mind. Easier said then done, I know.

I believe that when you talk about a child being lethargic as an indicator of something being serious, you are not talking about a kid who is up asking to watch TV and eat a popsicle. Lethargy as a sign of seriousness means pretty much non responsive. My DD had a fever of 105, that we treated with homeopathy and not fever reducers. She was mostly sleeping but she would wake up, I'd ask her how she was, she would say "good," I'd offer her water and she'd take a sip and go back to sleep. I felt that she was not lethargic. It was scary, but we made it through. She also woke up, threw up and then was up for about 10 minutes, chatting away with DH and me.

I know it is so scary to hear these horror stories of children who are fine and then decline and die very quickly. I try to remember that these situations are very rare and that in the event that that was to happen, there is likely nothing I could do to change the situations. I don't think in those cases the parents neglected proper care, but that there was simply not enough time or indication before things went severely downhill. I don't know if that makes you feel better or not. But you should try to focus on providing the best care you can for your child and listening to and trusting your gut. You know your child and you would know if something were seriously, seriously wrong needing immediate medical attention.

I hope this passes soon. Try to take care of yourself as well. If you are not well, you cannot take care of her. 

[carfreemama]

Thanks again. She is at the walk-in clinic with an appointment time of 2:30. It's 2:48 our time. I can't believe it, but I didn't go. My dh said it would be better for everyone if I stayed home and I agreed. I know he'll take good care of her.

Her fever spiked to over 40 (104) and kept climbing till I gave her Tylenol. Then she threw up, but she must have kept some down, because the fever went back down to 38.6 (101.4). She was reading Babymouse with me when they left and I guess they still are.

If she was going to be one of those kids, the fever medicine wouldn't be working like that, would it? Would she be responding like that? I am sitting waiting for the phone to ring and I keep thinking dh will say "they're sending us to the hospital..."

[carfreemama]

UPDATE...IT"S PNEUMONIA!

So they're back. It's "mild pneumonia." They say she can probably be back to school by Wednesday! I guess we caught it early. She is sleeping and dh has gone to get the prescription. Maybe I should do a thread search or post about how to keep this from getting worse, aside from abx.

Thanks for keeping me calm(er)!