How soon or late do you go to the doctor?

[Neera]

If your school going dc has fever, do you go right away, do you wait for a day or do you wait longer?

Thanks.

[missnoodlesmom]

I wait it out until they are fever free for 24 hours unless I'm very concerned and feel like they need to be assessed and diagnosed by a professional.

[missnoodlesmom]

Are you worried they will miss material in school?

[amber3902]

I think most fever medicine like Tylenol says if a fever  hasn't broken after 24 hours to see a doctor.

With my first daughter the mistake I made was I wasn't giving her enough medicine so her fever wasn't breaking.  When I took her to the ER they showed me how much to give her.  I felt so terrible!

BTW- If the fever hasn't broken after 24 hours, take her to an urgent care facility, they're cheaper than the ER.

[jgallagher66]

I definately wait unless there are other symtoms that concern me. Most of the time it is viral and the doctor can't do much anyway and we really try to avoid unnecessary medications especially antibiotics.

I'm not a big fan of over the counter medications like tylenol or motrin either. I have used them for very high fevers but most of the time we just go with rest and lots of fluids.

[mamazee]

I usually check on AskDrSears.com to see what they recommend. It's different for different things, but it's generally about three days before I call the doctor, unless there are other concerning symptoms. And then they don't even always have me come in at three days. I don't give medicine to bring the fever down generally, except for one time with a really nasty flu bug when the doctor said to keep track of the fever and bring it down with medicine if it got too high, and then I only did once. If they're sick,  I would give medicine to make them comfortable if they were very uncomfortable, but not just to bring down a fever.

[Peony]

I don't go in just for a fever. There has to be something else going on that I can't treat at home. 

[Red Pajama]

kids get sick. The doctor doesn't need to see them every time they are sick. They'll probably just pick up something worse in the waiting room.

 I don't take them to the doctor unless I feel that I can't handle what's going on.

[glassesgirlnj]

Our health plan has a "Nurse Line" where you can talk to an RN 24/7 for free. I'm assuming they put this in place because it was cheaper than paying out for "unnecessary" doctor visits.

The nurses give pretty mainstream allopathic medical advice, but I figure when *they* are telling me to bring my child to the doctor, it could be serious...or at least it's something the health plan could have some liability for.

[jgallagher66]

My experience with these nurse lines is they often tell you to see your doctor because they are so worried about being sued. Of course if you're worried you should see your doctor but I agree with Red Pajama that kids get sick. I feel that often people go to the doctor too soon and take unnecesssry medicine. I look for signs that things are getting worse and instead of better or that complications are setting in. We do go to the doctor. I just wouldn't go for a fever unless there was more going on that suggested things were getting worse or that it was not just a viral infection that will resolve on it's own.

[eleonrauis]

I wait it out.  I honestly usually google 'when to call the doctor for ________', (Mayo, Dr Sears, WebMd, many sites have similar guidlines of what symptoms or number of days mean you should call).  Our ped's office encourages us to call and talk to a nurse if we are concerned and then the nurse can tell us whether we should come in or not.  I have found them to be pretty reasonable.  I don't even bother calling for most things. 

[mom2mygirls]

I wait a few day and if the fever hasnt broke I then take them to the doctor.

[colsxjack]

We usually don't go to the doctor for a fever. But if it is an illness, that isnt getting better and then gets a fever we take her in.

Last time I took her she had a cough that got worst and worst over 4-5 days. Then she broke out in a fever. The fever didn;t come down with tylonel, so I took her in. It was nothing. She was fine. Just a cold.

And the time before that. She was only sick for one day, but had a fever and was complaining about her ears hurting. Doctor saw her, gave us a prescription for antibiotics and told us to fill it if she didn't get better or got worst over the next three days with home remedies. (our doctor doesn't love antibiotics).

We live in Canada, so seeing a doctor just costs us time and transportation. I can call the doctor and be seen the same day for free. But I still wait and see.

If I had to pay for the visit, I would probably wait longer.

[meemee]

fever can happen to dd for two reasons. 

1. either she is sick

2. she was overworked and needed rest and so she'd get a one day or sometimes two day fever. it comes and goes with no other signs. 

in your case i would definitely wait a couple of days. usually fevers do take a couple of days. 

it also depends on how 'sick' she is. her other symptoms. fever does not concern me. dd does not 'suffer' through a fever. even with 104 temp she can be outside riding her scooter. so really fever doesnt tell me how sick she is - her behaviour tells me more.

for at least 24 hours i will try everything to bring down the fever (i have never really used fever reducing meds - except to please dd's dad - but tepid water baths, whole body wash cloth wipes) have worked better. if nothing works then call the docs. the doc will first want to know what you did and what you tried. if it lasts more then 2 or 3 days - they are concerned about what's causing it and why its not reacting to treatment. 

honestly for most of dd's illnesses i've never had to really take her to see the doctor - even when she broke her toes. 

[Jennyanydots]

We don't go in for fevers, either, at least not once the kids are older (school aged, as you say). My DDs are teenagers now, and it's been years since I've taken either of them to a doctor (probably 2+ and last time was for an asthma attack). I always go by their symptoms- if they're super miserable and nothing's helping, I'm more likely to want to get it checked out.

[Neera]

Dd gets sick a lot. She's been sick with fever at least 7 times since school started. As soon as she informs she's sick or I suspect something the fever is 101.9 or 102.5 and the last time it was 103.6. The fevers usually don't go away with home remedies like salt water gargle, lots of rest, soups etc. Only once did it subside in a day's time. I know dd is allowed a couple of days without a doctor's letter at school but because she's sick such a lot I am kind of at a loss whether I should just get up and go the doctor as soon as we know because we end up going to the doctor almost all the time except that by then she's missed two days of school and has suffered a whole lot (especially with painful throats) and yet at the end of it all ends up at the doctor's office and ends up on antibiotics.

[meemee]

so really what your question is - its not about fevers. fevers are nothing but a reaction. 

the key here is sore throat. almost too painful to swallow. and along with that comes a fever. 

foods dont reduce fever. tepid water baths reduce fever. putting a cool washcloth on hot points like behind the knees, behind the neck reduces fevers. not being bundled up reduces fever. 

now for us in our family we have a tendency to get high fevers. so for me a 104 does not bother me. however a 101 would bother me if dd acted sick. however i would say for me i worry about a low nagging stomach ache more than i do about fever. it means something in her diet is affecting her and its really tough to find. 

dd usually gets a nasty sore throat without fever. i do nothing. i up her water and greens and do soft foods 

so i'd say dont worry. it seems in your case the doctor is the best way to go. 

in the meantime i'd up her natural antibiotics in her diet and see if that makes a difference. things like garlic http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Natural_Antibiotics___Foods_that_Work_as_Antibiotics_a979.html

i'd cut out all dairy and see if that affects her colds. try it for 3 weeks at least (it usually takes i've been told 3 weeks to take anything completely out of your system).

and for sure - i'd make sure she is getting enough water - not liquids - but plain water. 

[jgallagher66]

I agree with everything MeeMee said. I'm confused about why she is getting so many antibiotics. Is she testing positive for strep? I suggest a probiotic. Multiple courses of antibiotics will wreak havoc on her intestinal balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria. This will in turn effect her immune response and make her more susceptible to getting sick. It becomes a vicious cycle.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by jgallagher66 

I agree with everything MeeMee said. I'm confused about why she is getting so many antibiotics. Is she testing positive for strep? I suggest a probiotic. Multiple courses of antibiotics will wreak havoc on her intestinal balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria. This will in turn effect her immune response and make her more susceptible to getting sick. It becomes a vicious cycle.

Before she began school, we never took her to a doctor. Once she went because of stomach flu and once because of ear infection and since we were new to ear infection then. Now, because the school will allow a certain # of days without a doctor's letter we have to go and yes, she's had strep always except once when they did 2 tests and the lab results were going to take a week. In the mean time, the doctor prescribed antibiotic.

[Neera]

We have florastor, I think the name is. And we have soooo much trouble getting her to drink it and that too in juice. Anyone know of a probiotic without a taste or after taste. i don't know which one it is but she just won't drink it. It's a constant struggle getting her to have it.