[ramama]

At what temperature do you treat fevers? And how? Cold washcloth at X degrees, fever reducer at Y degrees, natural remedy at Z degrees, etc? Is your child frequently feverish? If so, does that impact how you treat?

DD1 had a temp of 104 at school and I was pressured by DH to give her fever reducer, although I normally wait until 105 for that. Now she is up and about, feeling better, but not being better. I'm just aggravated. This is how her immune system works. She gets feverish for a day or day-and-a-half and her body fights off whatever it is and she's back to normal the next day. I know my kid. To me, a fever is a sign of an immune system working properly, not an illness per se, in and of itself, with no other symptoms. Am I crazy for waiting to 105 to treat, or should I trust myself?

 

[Honey693]

We do one dose of Tylenol at 101 to make sure it goes down. If it does and DD is acting fine I'll leave it alone until 102.5-103.

 

[Mosaic]

Everyone is different. DD doesn't get a fever often, but when she does, she can get pretty hot and stay hot.

102 (underarm) makes me notice but usually do nothing
103 I treat if she's feeling lousy
104 (underarm) automatically gets tylenol because that's past my comfort level (though she's never gone past 104 and NOT felt really cruddy, so I'm treating the symptoms as well as the fever).
105 I call the doc, as they've said in the past that 105 isn't dangerous but may point to a secondary bacterial infection.

 

[MJB]

I would wait until 105 to give ibuprofen unless my child is in a lot of pain. My oldest son had an ear infection a couple weeks ago and was crying from the pain so I gave him an ibuprofen even though he only had a fever of 102. I'll put a cool washcloth on their forehead with any fever if I think it'll feel good to them.

 

[Kailey's mom]

When dd is clearly miserable, no longer playing, or acting like herself. This usually happens when the fever is around 102.5

 

[LynnS6]

When my child actively complains of pain, I'll give tylenol or ibuprofin. Unless the fever is 105 or more, I don't treat it. When I treat the fever, then my kids bounce around and don't rest and get well. When they have a fever, they lie on the couch and rest.

(And I'm not opposed to medicines. I just think fevers are useful.)

 

[zeldamomma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kailey's mom When dd is clearly miserable, no longer playing, or acting like herself. This usually happens when the fever is around 102.5

Me too. If I felt miserable, and ibuprofen would help, I would take it. It would seem unkind to hold my child to a different standard.

 

[*Erin*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeldamomma Me too. If I felt miserable, and ibuprofen would help, I would take it. It would seem unkind to hold my child to a different standard.

yes this for me also.
if they are totally miserable, i will definitely give a dose of motrin.

 

[One_Girl]

I give my dd ibuprofen if she is really miserable or if her fever hits 101. We have been to the ER twice with very high fevers that wouldn't respond to medicine, so I tend to treat before they get high now instead of waiting. I think 105 is dangerously high and warrants a trip to the ER. Have you asked your dd's pediatrician about this?

 

[ecoteat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeldamomma Me too. If I felt miserable, and ibuprofen would help, I would take it. It would seem unkind to hold my child to a different standard.

Ditto. DD hasn't had many fevers, and never above 102ish, so we've never been in questionable territory. But I don't judge how to treat on the numbers. If she is obviously suffering, then she gets some Tylenol.

 

[SunshineJ]

DD gets ibuprofin as soon as it goes over 99. However, her fever spikes FAST and once it hits 103 she gets seizures, so it's a little different for her. For DS, he usually starts feeling poorly around 102-103 so that's when I'll give him something. Honestly anything over 103.5 starts to worry me, but that's my comfort level (and DS has a lower resting body temp, which I'm sure figures into how I feel about it). I asked their pediatrician this same thing when DS was pretty small and the answer I got was that the magic number varies from child to child, but once the child starts acting lethargic and very unlike themselves, then it's time to treat it.

 

[ledzepplon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeldamomma Me too. If I felt miserable, and ibuprofen would help, I would take it. It would seem unkind to hold my child to a different standard.

Same here. I go by how the child is acting/feeling, not by the number on the thermometer.

It's been proven that healing is delayed when you're not getting good sleep or if you're experiencing significant pain. I definitely believe pain relievers/fever reducers have their place, and while we don't jump for the Motrin every time someone sniffles, I don't hesitate to use it when we really need it.

 

[meemee]

in my books you are not crazy.

i do step in when dd is miserable IF she cannot sleep restfully.

it is normal in our family to get fevers of 104. so i never give dd till her fever goes over 104.5.

usually by 103 i give her tepid water bath. or leave her alone if she doesnt want a bath. the other thing is wet wash cloth in teh hot areas. under knees, nape of neck, underarms and back.

i have thrown away bottle and bottles of ibuf and tylenol.

HOWEVER ex gives dd medicine at the drop of a hat. i dont say anything. its his way of showing love and care. he just cant imagine dd suffering. last evening her throat was hurting and so he gave her ibuf. what i had done before that was give her some hot tea and then let her curl up and read. i find diverting the mind really helps with pain management.

i always try other things first before i go anywhere near medicine.

also ex was brought up with medication. he himself cant handle pain (dont blame him - gets severe migraines) so i can understand why he gives dd medicine. he will give her a fever reducer at 101.

:

when we were together though he left it upto me to make the decisions.

 

[Plaid Leopard]

I really put off giving fever reducers as long as possible. If dc is uncomfortable I do cool cloths, face/head/neck/massage, acupressure etc. Usually that helps them stay calm and relax enough to go to sleep. Sometimes I will give a homeopathic remedy. Sometimes a warm shower or bath does the trick.

If they have a sore throat I give them hot tea, or apple cider vinegar in water, lemonade, and garlic (fresh sliced garlic on bread and butter). If we have them, I will give a popsicle.

A couple of my kids have had pretty high fevers, but it is usually during the night while they are sleeping. I just keep them next to me and watch over them. Usually by morning the fever has gone down.

When my kids are sick they either need to sleep or rest, or they want to be "nursed" - in the sense of being taken care of. DH would rather give them medicine right away and leave them on their own. I stay with them as much as possible to help them feel better and to monitor their symptoms.

I very rarely take medecine myself (I've had Tylenol maybe three times in the past five years - for wisdom tooth removals and for a nasty sinus headache on my dd's birthday that just wouldn't go away), so I am not denying my children anything that I take advantage of.

 

[mommajb]

Everyone is different. My girls I rarely treat a fever with anything other than a bath. Ds1 vomits at the slightest fever, ds2 has befrile seizures so I like to keep their fevers under control.

Trust yourself, trust your knowledge of your child's body, do what is best for that and the situation. Not much help is it?

 

[Llyra]

I lower fevers for two reasons:
1. If I'm not sure how serious the illness is, I'll give meds to reduce the fever. If the child perks up and looks better once the fever comes down, I know I'm not dealing with something more serious. If the fever goes down, and the child is still miserable, in pain, lethargic, or whatever, then we start looking for other causes of the misery. For instance, DD2 had bacterial pneumonia recently. When a child has a high fever, they routinely breathe faster and with more effort, like panting. With DD, I gave meds to lower the fever, and her breathing was still labored, and that's what clued me in that we had more than a simple virus.

2. I lower fevers if a child is too miserable to sleep soundly, or too miserable to stay fed and hydrated.

 

[DaughterOfKali]

I treat with med if ds is really uncomfortable with the fever.

I have to be careful with ds so I tend to treat at 102.

 

[angelpie545]

In general, I follow my kids' lead. If they ask for medication b/c they are so uncomfortable and in pain, they get it, regardless of what their temperature is. I suffered from chronic painful conditions as a kid so I know understand how not fun it is to feel horrible. If they are acting fine and their temp is below 102, I generally won't medicate. Over 102, I will watch carefully and give medication if their temperature seems to be rising, which also usually means a trip to the pediatricians office for us.

 

[claras_mom]

I can't always get dd to let me take her temp--and I'm not going to force her--so I don't have a hard and fast way of knowing just what the temp is. When she has a fever (and she gets hot ones; when I can take her temp I've gotten in the 103 area, so now my hand is sort of "calibrated") she tends to hunker down--sleeps a lot. I don't worry if she doesn't want to eat much; I do push liquids. Popsicles I don't have to push.

Actually, if she were to turn down a popsicle, I'd start to worry.