How can I reduce fever in my 2 yr old?

Question

He was taken to the Dr yesterday & diagnosed w/ a virus and we were told to treat the symptoms----Tylenol for the fever & Robitussin for the cough.

During the day, he is fine. Feels great, no fever. At night, it's a totally different story.

Last night, his fever spiked to 104.2' around 12:30am. We gave him a lukewarm bath (which he screamed bloody murder about), Tylenol and a popsicle. His fever dropped but never dipped below 102'.

At 5am this morning, his fever was up to 102.4'.

Honestly, I'd be happy to just get his temp down to about 100' or so. I am tapped out of ideas.

Help!

Answer 1

Your doing everything that your supposed to do. There's really not much else you can do. The fever will eventually break when it's done fighting the virus.

Doctors don't even worry too much until the fever hits 105. At that point, they'd have you bring him in again.

Just try to keep him as comfortable as possible and try taking the luke-warm bath with him. It may help him feel better if you're in the tub with him.

Answer 2

Keep in mind this can be for a few days, but it sounds normal. Add Motrin to the mix of meds. Start with Motrin 4 hours later Tylenol, then 4 hours later Motrin. Give the Robitussin as needed for the cough. None of these drugs interact and are often prescribed in the manner stated above. Most children run their fevers at night, so be prepared to give the meds and as long as the fever does go down (104 down to 102) then continue as you have. In the middle of the night I may not give the bath unless I did not see the temp drop, but otherwise, you are doing fine. If you still have questions leave a phone message at your doctors office the nurse will surely call you back and give you more advice. Just remember that if at any time you see seizure activity go to the ER. Hopefully that will not be an issue for you. Good luck and give it a day or 2 and he will be back to the normal angel that I am sure he is.

Answer 3

His fever needs to go down completely with tylenol, or he needs to see the ER doctors again. HIgh fevers that dont come down are a sign of something more than a virus- and beyond that the time spent with a fever can easily cause major damage to the organs and brain. Rhuematic fever, retardation, all these things can pose a threat if a fever will not come down.

It should go completely down to normal with medication. And you should alternate between ibuprophin and tylenol.

At this point I would take him back in and let them know that his fever is not coming down with tylenol, and its spiking over 104 even with medication. In this case he probably does have a virus that has created a bacterial infection that needs treated with antibiotics.

Answer 4

You are doing great. Fevers sometimes don't always go away fast and the things we do don't always give the results we want when we want them. Mine had a fever for a week only at night at 100.4. Fevers don't always go away fast, especially with a virus.

The bath though may be a little too much for him. Maybe a sponge bath so he can still keep his clothes on and feel warm.

Give him some cold juice or water and of course no heavy blankets just maybe a t-shirt and a sheet.
Good luck and still take him to the ER if he has a temp up to 104.

PLEASE DO NOT RUB ALCOHOL ALL OVER YOUR CHILD. ASK YOUR DOCTOR!!

Answer 5

with his fever that high you need to call your doc. You need to alternate Tylenol and Motrin they are both fever reducers. Also, there are these "Little Fevers" cooling cloths you can but that will lower the temp or at least the symptoms and your little guy will feel a little better. You just rub them all over their body and it pulls the heat out of their skin. This is miserable and if he does not get well with a fever that high he needs to see a doc again. It has been my experience that you need to use your intuition with doctors because pediatricians are only treating the symptoms as well, so you need to stay on them if you believe your child needs more attention.

Answer 6

Alternate Tylenol every four hours and Motrin every six hours a teaspoon of each should be fine depending on weight. my daughter was the same you might want to take him to the doctor to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection as well.

Answer 7

awwww. i always hate when this happens to mine. they always seem to spike a fever at night. if children's tylenol doesn't work you can safely try children's motrin or any other ibuprofen based product an hour later. they are completely different medications and do not interfere with each other. i always keep both in my house for these type of situations. ibuprofen lasts much longer than tylenol (8 hrs instead of four) so keep that in mind. skip the robitussin, i never find i helpful....just makes them sleepy. otherwise cool baths (if he likes them) and lots of fluids. you can try running cool cloths over his head briefly....but keeping them there just insulates heat and increases body temperature. don't push food. if he wants it.....he'll ask.

as far as you.....clear your schedule and gets lots of naps during the day. if someone can rent you a couple of movies....that always keeps me busy while i rock my crying toddler at night. oh.........and order pizza or something. focus on your baby for a day or two without worrying about anything else. good luck! having a sick baby is so hard....i know how much your heart aches.

Answer 8

Try to use Motrin instead of the Tylenol. It may work better for him and it last longer than the Tylenol. Other than that, a tepid bath is the best thing if he spikes up to 104 again. Hope your little one is feeling better soon!

Answer 9

Usually a common virus takes at least 72 hrs to go down a bit - give him tylenol (the prescribed dose) every 4 hrs and keep on sponging with luke warm until the temperature goes down. It usually does - but if u dont give the medicine after 4 hrs it comes back sharp.

Answer 10

my grandfather told me of a trick he would use on his kids for fever...way back when. Not sure if it's okay to do or not. He wjould take a wash cloth and soak it with rubbing alcohol and rub it all over the child's body. After that dress them again. the alcohol will make their temp drop. I used it on my son when he was about the same age as your son and It worked. He cooled down all most instantanously. Give it a try, if you get desperate. Hope he feels better soon!