Well, my son's fever appears to be more than just teething. Friday morning he woke up vomiting. Took him to the doctor's where they did a throat culture due to large, red tonsils and started him on amoxicillin just to be safe, due to the Easter weekend. Saturday, his fever was down and he appeared to feel better. Sunday morning his temperature was back up to 102 though. The Children's Motrin his doctor recommended brought the fever back down, but then he started having diarrhea. Twice Sunday and twice Monday. For a child still in diapers, diarrhea is not a good thing. Trust me. Monday his doctor's office called and said the throat culture was normal and to stop the amoxicillin, which we did. Monday and today, his fever seems to have subsided and his appetite has picked up a bit. Monday I did give him 2 doses of Motrin, just to be safe. Today, he hasn't had any Motrin and his temperature is holding steady around 98. I'm hoping the diarrhea was caused by the amoxicillin. I don't know though. It is listed as one of the side effects and today wasn't quite as bad. Hopefully the worst is over. It's definitely tough to see my son sick and not be able to do anything about it.
One note about the fever. Thursday, I gave my son Children's Stage 1 Tylenol. After about 3 hours, it would start wearing off and his temperature would start climbing again. You are only supposed to give it every 4 to 6 hours. The Motrin is supposed to be given every 6 to 8 hours. That would start wearing off after about 4 hours. The Motrin also doesn't work as quickly. It took a good hour before it would kick in and his temperature would start decreasing. Now, his doctor recommended the Motrin every 6 hours until his fever was gone. Before the 6 hours was up, my son's temperature would start climbing. The highest it got was 104.4. I did some poking around on the internet and discovered one comment which said to alternate the Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. That's what I ended up doing through the worst of the illness. I made sure to write down what I gave him and when though, so I didn't accidentally give him the same medicine within 3 hours. Alternating the Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours definitely seemed to keep his temperature more steady.
With a fever, it's also important to make sure the child stays hydrated. Juices are important. I made a batch of jello and doubled the water required. For the first 2 days, that was a good trick, since that was all my son ate. Luckily he was drinking enough on his own. His doctor wasn't concerned he wasn't eating. She said it was more important to make sure he was staying hydrated. I also read juices are more important than water.
Oh and chicken noodle soup was also a hit.
One note about the fever. Thursday, I gave my son Children's Stage 1 Tylenol. After about 3 hours, it would start wearing off and his temperature would start climbing again. You are only supposed to give it every 4 to 6 hours. The Motrin is supposed to be given every 6 to 8 hours. That would start wearing off after about 4 hours. The Motrin also doesn't work as quickly. It took a good hour before it would kick in and his temperature would start decreasing. Now, his doctor recommended the Motrin every 6 hours until his fever was gone. Before the 6 hours was up, my son's temperature would start climbing. The highest it got was 104.4. I did some poking around on the internet and discovered one comment which said to alternate the Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. That's what I ended up doing through the worst of the illness. I made sure to write down what I gave him and when though, so I didn't accidentally give him the same medicine within 3 hours. Alternating the Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours definitely seemed to keep his temperature more steady.
With a fever, it's also important to make sure the child stays hydrated. Juices are important. I made a batch of jello and doubled the water required. For the first 2 days, that was a good trick, since that was all my son ate. Luckily he was drinking enough on his own. His doctor wasn't concerned he wasn't eating. She said it was more important to make sure he was staying hydrated. I also read juices are more important than water.
Oh and chicken noodle soup was also a hit.
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