My son has been running a low grade fever all day (99.9) what cuold be wrong?

Question

My 6 month old son has been running a low grade fever...he has no other symptoms besides a fever. Should I call a doctor or wait until it gets higher (100.4). I gave him tylenol. What could be the problem?

Wouldn't he be pulling on his ears if it was a an ear infection? I've checked his gums and there are no teeth yet!

Answer 1

Might be teething. Some get teeth earlier than others. Watch him and see if he shows any other symptoms. Teething sometimes will also have symptoms of runny stools, crankiness, gnawing on fingers (yours or his), runny nose........ A low grade fever that doesn't last long usually isn't anything to worry about. Children can carry a higher fever than an adult often without feeling as sick. My pediatrician would always tell me to come in if the fever lasted more than a couple days with no improvement.

If fever spikes and the baby starts vomiting, having severe diarrhea and acting listless, or anything doesn't seem right see your pediatrician. It is always better to error on the side of caution. If you aren't sure, just call. The nurses are used to worried parents calling and will guide you as to whether there is anything to be concerned about.

Answer 2

While the average normal body temperature is 98.6 °F measured orally, it usually rises during the day from a low of 97.4 ° in the morning to a high of 99.6 °F in the late afternoon. However each child has a normal temperature range that may be different from another child's. Mild increases to 100.4 °F can be caused by wearing too many clothes, taking a hot bath, or being outside in hot weather. Also if your child has recently had his shots, that can cause his temp to rise.

By the way, it's a myth that teething will cause a fever. If your child is teething and has a fever you need to check for other symptoms.

Monitor his temp, make sure he's dressed comfortably, out of the heat and make sure he's drinking enough fluids. If the baby's cranky or irritable give him the tylenol and make sure you call your ped for dosage. Giving your baby too much tylenol isn't good for them either.

But the best rule of thumb is if you feel like you should call a doctor, then you should.

Answer 3

Well what the problem could be is for one a nerve impingement, from birthing, sometimes if the doctor uses forceps or forces the baby out of the vagina, it causes trauma to the neck of the baby. And remember this a babies neck does not develop until they are 6 months old, and these kinds of things happen at birth, the neck is not even strong yet, and the doctor pull the baby out. An impingement in the neck does not always create symptoms until later on, like ear aches, fevers, muscle imbalances, and so on. A lot of people don't seem to realize that these things happen. So I would recommend that you take your baby to a chiropractor who specializes with children, a pediatrician chiropractor. The chiropractor will not hurt the baby, it is extremely safe, and the baby does not have bone they have cartilage, and that is very strong. Also the baby could be teething and this could be wrong, but I still recommend that you check out a chiropractor.

Answer 4

A fever could be caused by a billion things. Without having more specific symptoms, I doubt you'll get any real answers from anyone here.

If he's six months old, it could be teething (even though he has no teeth yet). Both of my boys always ran a low-grade fever when they were teething.

And your baby doesn't have to tug at his ears to have an ear infection. That's just a symptoms that *some* kids have. Neither of my boys ever tugged at their ears when they had ear infections.

Is your son in daycare? If so, it's likely he could be getting sick (cold, more than likely).

Answer 5

no reason to rush to the doctor unless he stops eating, has excessive loose stools, or is vomiting... or the fever reaches 103

at six months a baby's immune system is learning to fight off infection and they get those all the time. that is why baby's commonly run low grade fevers.

an excerpt:
If your baby is less than 3 months old and has a temperature of 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C) or higher, call the doctor immediately. A baby this young needs to be checked for serious infection or disease. For a baby at least 3 months old, ask your doctor what her guidelines are for phoning. She may suggest you call if your baby is between 3 and 6 months old and his temperature reaches 101 degrees F (38.3 degrees C) or higher, or if your baby is older than 6 months and his fever reaches 103 degrees F (39.4 degrees C) or higher.

Answer 6

A fever of 101 indicates infection. Dont worry as of this point. Don't rush in with the Tylenol. Fever is the body's way of figting infection. Of course, do not let the fever get over 101. Just becareful with the use and over use of antibiotics. Most infections are viral in nature and not bacterial. Antibiotics will not kill a virus. The over use of antibiotics is causing super mutations of germs.

Answer 7

Teething maybe? Overheated? Yes wait until the fever get higher or there are other symptoms before you call your doctor. It could be many things, don't be alarmed, just keep up with the tylenol and keep him lightly dressed. Wait for other symptoms to appear.

Answer 8

Could just be starting to cut a tooth - this isn't uncommon. Could be allergies. Could be 24 hour fever.

If Tylenol reduces the fever you're doing something right.

Of course, take mine or anyone else's advice from this site (or similar) with caution. You have no idea what my medical background may be (have trained as EMT) or if I'm even being honest with you. The prudent person will seek the best advice available when dealing with a human life.

Answer 9

From the stated age, it could be just teething. If it gets to over 100.4, try the child's Tylenol. Any temp more then 102, call your doctor and ask for advice.

Answer 10

99.9 is normal. i was told that a child could reach 101 before going to the doctor. if the fever tends to get higher there is an infection some where, so take him/her to the doctor