Fever of 103.8!!! When should I take my 8 year old to the doctor?

Question

The doctor said I shouldn't need to take her in until her fever is 105 degrees. That seems really high to me. She isn't dehydrated and my sister said all they will do is give her Tylonal and Motrin to bring down the fever and you can do the same thing at home. I still feel a little on edge about not taking her. What temp would you take your child to the doc with?

Answer 1

with infants (over three months) children and adults you need to be seen for a fever over 105 degrees with babys under three months its 102 degrees

fevers are not harmful (and do NOT cause brain damage) and can be treated at home with the same medication they would use in a hospital (tylonal and motrin)

there is nothing the hospital can do for a fever that you can't do yourself, wait to go to the doctor for real emergencies


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E1D71038F933A25754C0A9679C8B63&sec=health&pagewanted=print
Pediatric experts say that in most cases, fevers below 102 degrees need not be treated at all.

The height of a fever is not an indication of how sick a child is or how serious the cause may be. A minor sore throat caused by a virus that goes away on its own may send a child's temperature soaring, but a more serious strep throat requiring treatment with antibiotics, may result in only a low-grade fever. So, parents should note what other symptoms may be associated with a fever of any degree.

Despite the indicators on thermometers, normal body temperature is not fixed at 98.6 degrees, but covers a range from 97 to 100.4 degrees. Thus, pediatricians do not consider a temperature under 100.5 to be a fever at all. Normal body temperature also varies by time of day, age, general health status and degree of physical activity.

The term ''fever phobia'' was coined in 1980 by Dr. Barton D. Schmitt, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver, who found in a study that parents were often unduly concerned about fever and overreacted to it. In the new study of 340 people who take care of young children conducted by the Baltimore team, 56 percent said they were very worried about the potential harm of fever in children, 44 percent considered a temperature of 102 was high and 7 percent thought incorrectly that body temperature could rise to a lethal level of more than 110 in response to an infection if the fever was not treated.

And, 91 percent of those interviewed (most were mothers) believed that fever could cause serious harm; 21 percent listed brain damage and 14 percent listed death.

More than half said they would check a child's temperature more than once an hour when the child had a fever, 25 percent would give fever-reducing medication for temperatures under 100 degrees and 85 percent said they would wake the child to give such medication. The researchers called such behavior ''excessive and intrusive to children during the time that they are recovering from their illness.''

They stated that frequent taking of a child's temperature was neither necessary nor desirable, and that waking a child to give fever-reducing medicine was rarely warranted.

The study also revealed that many mistakenly believed in the desirability of alternating fever-reducing drugs, giving acetaminophen one time and ibuprofen the next. Finally, the study found that parents frequently gave these medications too often, which can result in toxic effects on the liver and kidneys.

Answer 2

Having a fever is distressing and may or may not be life threatening. High fevers mean that there is something wrong! People normally don't just get fevers unless there is an infection of some kind.
Children with fever for more than three days and, or a high fever, need to be seen by a doctor. Keep child well hydrated and comfortable. Feed as tolerated. If child won't eat or drink take to doctor. Never, never just rely on these folks on the web. Call u doctor or nurse practitioner! I hope ur child feels better.

Answer 3

Don't let anyone scare you. 100.3 is not a high fever. It's a low-grade fever. But now I have a question for you. Why are you so focused on the fever? It's only a symptom, it's not the problem. The problem is the infection causing the fever. Doesn't he have other symptoms besides a fever?? If the fever bothers him, give him Children's Tylenol or Advil to make him more comfortable and monitor his other symptoms. It really doesn't matter if the fever bothers you. He's the one who matters. If he hasn't made improvement in 3 days and/or if he still requires a medication to control his temperature, contact his doctor.

Answer 4

Whats A High Fever

Answer 5

103 Fever Child

Answer 6

You can wait until 105. Fevers are the body's natural deterrent to infection. It's a normal thing to get. Old Wive's Tale's make you think your kid's brain will get fried. It's not the case. Just treat with some Tylenol and maybe a lukewarm bath. Tylenol and Motrin on a rotating basis are there to keep the patient comfortable

Answer 7

If your child's fever is anywhere around 104 then I would say just take her to the emergency room right away. For a fever to get that high there has to be some kind of infection and just giving her Tylenol or Motrin and a tepid bath at home isn't going to help get rid of the infection.

Answer 8

Fever -103.8FM, that's a great station... i listen to it every day driving to and from work. the the morning dj has some great skits and the weather and traffic reports are helpful. the afternoon guy is funny and plays some great 80s-90s music. in the evening it gets a little boring but still the best in the city. i suppose it's ok to let your 8 year old listen to it... they don't say anything to racey or adult-like. 105FM on the other hand isn't kid friendly... too much of that booga-booga home boy stuff... talking about how all the girls are hos and how much bling-bling they have and shooting each other up and stuff... keep the kids away from that stuff... it'll rot their brains!

Answer 9

Try the home methods first, strip her down and get her into a cool bath, wipe her with cold cloths, give her something to take down the fever, keep giving her liquids to drink, keep them low sugar as sugar just heats up the blood. The doctor will tell you to do the same things. If it lasts overnight then I would suggest a doctor, or if she has convulsions.

Answer 10

First of all, DON'T take her a bath. she'll be cold after she you take her out and the shivering could make her have seizures. but on the other hand if her fever keeps going up that could also cause her to have a seizure. SO IN OTHER WORDS TAKE HER TO THE DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!