Help settle a dispute?

Laura Zoey - posted on 03/23/2011

What's the diagnosis Sharon?

Alexis - posted on 03/22/2011

I would wait, unless you have insurance then it may be worth to go to the ER just for dads piece of mind. If your little one is still drinking fluids and is fairly active for being sick I wouldnt worry too much. Now if after a week he still has it i would take him in to the doc for sure.

Meghan - posted on 03/22/2011

My son has funnel chest which is fairly common but his case is a little worse than the normal cases. He had a lung infection last year and it was the scariest time of my life! Generally I am pretty relaxed about colds and such but there have been a few times that he has gotten sick and I have noticed problems with his breathing in which case I would/have taken him to the ER. But just being sick, when tylenol and other meds are helping, I hold off.
Hope he feels better soon! :)

Sharon - posted on 03/21/2011

He has a non emergency appointment at 11.30 today

Sapphire - posted on 03/21/2011

"Oh good idea Sharon! I'd heard of a couple of folks losing dogs to valley fever recently."



When Hercules started to have seizures he also tested positive for valley fever. While valley fever primarily settles into the lungs, it can spread so the vet thinks the valley fever spread to the brain.



I've learned way more than I wanted to learn about VF in the past few weeks. It's airborne and predominately in agricultural and/or natural desert areas. Well duh...I'm in both. My high school overlooks the fields/crops. Funny, how no one thinks of Arizona as 'farm land' but it is! And of course it's the Sonoran Desert. It's one of the last things doctors think to check about becasue my xrays showed black splotches, which resembled pneumonia. Therefore, I was treated for pneumonia. A blood test is the easiest way to confirm or rule out. Let us know!

Stephanie - posted on 03/21/2011

Sharon- How is he this morning? Doc app today? Let us know how he is and how it goes! Good luck, fingers crossed, good thoughts, prayers and all that good stuff your way! ; )

Ashley=) - posted on 03/21/2011

If the fever is coming down and he seems well enough, he is aware of were he is etc i would wait.If your not worried hes okay.If something was not right your mothers instinct would kick in.Only if the fever was rising with the meds i would take him in.Good luck, hope your son is fit and healthy soon enough.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

hhmmm what happened to my reply?

The valley fever thing is a good suggestion! I tend to forget about it and we took a trip to phoenix recently.

Thank you Sharon!

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

Oh good idea Sharon! I'd heard of a couple of folks losing dogs to valley fever recently.

Sapphire - posted on 03/20/2011

Back in November I was in the ER and diagnosed with pneumonia. Well, 4 months later and 4 sets of x-rays, it never went away. 3 weeks ago I was FINALLY diagnosed with VALLEY FEVER. I'm now on 6 month anti-fungal antibiotic. Sharon, you're only a couple of hours from me and valley fever cases have spiked in the past 6 months. The doctor had to report it to Pinal County Health Services. What I'm saying is this: valley fever is so hard to diagnose since it is masked like the flu, or bronchitis, or a common cold. It's worth having the blood work done on your little guy to check for valley fever. A flu could range from 24-72 hours, or longer. The Tylenol should bring down the fever, but it's not. Same with me, I was being treated for the wrong illness and given the wrong meds. I hope he starts to feel better real soon! No one likes to see a sick kid!

Teresa - posted on 03/20/2011

Hope you get some sleep tonight!

Nikki - posted on 03/20/2011

lol I wasn't suggesting that you were drugging him!! If he was handling it during the day he should be fine, temps are always worse during the night so the tylenol's a good idea.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

ahhh I think you guys misunderstand. I only give him meds at night to sleep. He gets a half dose of childrens nyquil and hours before that he gets a full dose of tylenol. Otherwise he wouldn't get any sleep at all. During the day we tough it out.

Kate CP - posted on 03/20/2011

Laura: Try warm packs on his ears and elevate the head of his bed. That'll relieve the pain and pressure.

Nikki - posted on 03/20/2011

I haven't read all the posts and your probably in bed now anyway. But I would take away the meds and see what he is like. It's hard to judge if it's really bad when the medication suppresses the symptoms. Do you have a health care number you can call there? We have an health line we can call where you talk to triage nurses to decide if it is bad enough to take to the ER.



In my experience they probably won't do a great deal at the ER anyway so if it were me unless he was really really bad I would probably wait.



Hope he gets better soon.

Rosie - posted on 03/20/2011

i would wait. :)

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

I hear ya Laura. None of mine ever got an ear infection but i distinctly remember a bad toothache and a migraine keeping me and hubby up and pacing with a fretful child all night. And in the case of the toothache - wailing child, until exhaustion caused her to drop asleep and pain jerked her awake again - UGH.

My sympathies for you hun!

Laura Zoey - posted on 03/20/2011

Well Sharon we can be awake together tonight, Eric has a double ear infection. His first ever and he is two, but he is miserable! Antibiotics in the morning but for tonight we make do with motrin. I assume like last night I'll be holding him in the rocking chair all night cuz he cries when he lays down! Moms always get the least sleep I guess.
And yes, dads do overreact! My hubby does all the time! I tell him, the dr can't do anything more then I'm already doing so why go in! He just wants to be safe...

Dana - posted on 03/20/2011

Of course, that's what parents do. ♥

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

yeah - not much sleep for either of us. His fever has never gotten very high but we still worry.

Dana - posted on 03/20/2011

Well keep checking on him through out the night, if he seems delirious, of course take to the ER! Otherwise sleep would probably do him good and if the Tylenol is working to keep the fever down then I would think he's okay.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

He's sleeping again - the fever is really sucking the life out of him, it stinks! UGH you do realise that if his father is right, I'll never hear the end of it! But he's sleeping and there is no coughing.

Dana - posted on 03/20/2011

Yeah, I think he'll be fine to wait but, I would of course make an appointment first thing tomorrow morning. :)

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

Yeah - when he had pneumonia as a baby - he had a cough that wouldn't go away (over a week) and a persistent low grade fever that would spike periodically although tylenol could always bring it down. But it went on to long well over a week so we went to his ped.

Jenn - posted on 03/20/2011

My friend's 9 year old son died not long ago from pneumonia. He was a healthy, active kid, and it just hit fast. Just because of the way this affected me, I would take my child in if that was the case. But to be honest, before that happened, I'd be like you and wait it out. Chances are, everything will be just fine, but my personal experience now influences my decision.

Kate CP - posted on 03/20/2011

Ooo...a new thread: "ER trips". Yes? :D

Fiona - posted on 03/20/2011

If you've been giving him tylenol regularly for the past three days to manage his fever and his temp is continuing to be high, then I would get someone to see him asap. Maybe not necessarily a visit to ER but definitely get him to your doctor as soon as you can. The fact that he seems comfortable is reassuring, but that might just be because he is medicated. Regular tylenol and nyquil for three days is pushing it in my opinion. Even if it just occasional doses, but he doesn't seem to be getting better with the rest that the medications give his body, then I would err on the side of caution and get him checked out. This is both the nurse and the mother in me talking.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

Lets see, ER trips for us...

infant for temp at 105F
broken nose
broken arm
headache followed by screaming, moaning and then vomiting = migraine in a 6 yr old.
urgent care
blood in toddlers' eye = scratched cornea
persistent but low fever that wouldn't break = penumonia

I think thats it.

Teresa - posted on 03/20/2011

If it's been 3 days, his fever is controllable, and he's getting enough oxygen.... wait til morning. Of course, in 9 years of parenting I've only done the ER route twice. Once when my 11 month old needed stitches and once when my 8 year old had a concussion..... I've never been worried enough about an illness to utilize the ER.

Jodi - posted on 03/20/2011

I think I've taken a kid to the ER a handful of times in my life. Twice with my son when his eardrum burst, and we needed to get him on antibiotics ASAP. Once when my son split his head open and needed the cut glued. Once with my step-son when he developed a rash, fever, and was showing all the signs of meningitis, and it turned out to be meningitis, once with my daughter when her fever soared up to 40C and I couldn't get it down and another time when my daughter was vomiting and couldn't stop. I think that's about it.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

bah - I knew some too. if their kid so much as had a funny look on their face, they were off to the emergency room.

Stephanie - posted on 03/20/2011

That's good! I wouldn't worry then. It's normal to have a slight fever. A fever is a good thing as long as it isn't too high. I'm just not one to run my kids to the doctor about every little thing. Kids get colds, that's life. We know what to do. Right? I'm talking about a simple, regular cold of course. I just don't get it when some moms take their kids to the doc every 5 minutes for every little thing. Do you really, really need that much constant reassurance that your kid is ok? I feel like telling some people I know that their kids are always 'sick' bc they keep taking them to the filthy doc office and exposing them to the germs of sick kids every other day. And, they drill it in the poor kid's heads that they're 'sick' so the kids believe it. Sorry, I know some odd people lol.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

no coloured snot or phlegm. see? this is why I'm not worried.

He's drinking loads. Mostly water, some juice. Eats well too, prefers chicken noodle soup but he was happy to eat funnel cake fries from burger king earlier today.

Kate CP - posted on 03/20/2011

Take him to the doctor tomorrow. Unless he's turning blue or running a dangerously high fever then I don't think this is really an emergency.

Jodi - posted on 03/20/2011

My hubby worries more than I do too Sharon. But I know when it is time to take my kids to a doctor, I can't put my finger on HOW I know, I just do :)

Stephanie - posted on 03/20/2011

Things like that usually just have to run it's course. The only thing that can be done really is a stronger cough med to help him rest, like a codeine cough syrup. Unless it's turned into an infection that went deep in his lungs, just ride it out. Is his snot green? That's a sure sign of infection. If it's clear don't worry.

Rebekka - posted on 03/20/2011

Oh ok either way if it one of your children i would still have them checked. I hope that they feel better soon.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

heeheehee!!! He's my baby boy but Jodi is right, he's no infant, he's 11!! and yeah his dad does this stuff everytime they get sick. He was worse when they were infants.

Jodi - posted on 03/20/2011

LOL, Rebekka. He isn't a baby :D

Rebekka - posted on 03/20/2011

Hello, Sharon i just wanted 2give my opinion and a lil info some people don't know.I am in the nursing field i am an LVN, If it were my baby i would take him/her to the ER because the cough that you describe sounds like it could be Pneumonia again or Bronchitis and if this issues keep coming back that is because it was lying dormate which means that the cough and fever is gone but the infection is still in the system. so you have to make sure that if antibiotics are given use them as directed. I know that some doctors don't like giving antibiotics but sometimes you have to tell them you want one to help fight the infection.And w/using Tylenol frequently for fever is not good because overtime it has an effect on the liver so be carefull and Nyquil is a Big NO NO for infants or children under age,And to help relive some of the congestion steam up the bathroom and sit in there w/the child and pat their back because w/the congestion cough its a lil harder for them 2breath the steam will loosen up the congestion.And if the child had a fever for three days or more untreated could cause brain damage.I would just have them check the baby so that the issues don't get worse.

Jodi - posted on 03/20/2011

Sharon, not being there and knowing how he is, at his age, I just don't think it is a big deal at this point. Not such a big deal that it can't wait until tomorrow. Even tomorrow, I'd just be taking him to the doctor to have his chest checked for potential infection, and even just throat and ears (all connected) in case there is some underlying infection, but because he is older, it will be pretty obvious if he goes downhill.

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

I know he can't sleep at night because of the coughing. I let him hang tough during the day and then at dinner time he gets some meds so he can sleep.

I'm waiting. LOL I just wanted to hear from some mom people that this isn't that big a deal.

Hubby is just not used anything lasting more than a day or two at the most. Usually they get fevers and it lasts 24 hours (2 days to his thinking) and then its just a matter of getting over it. Anything that lasts longer than that is something to worry about, at least it is according to him.

Toni - posted on 03/20/2011

I would guess that you know what is the best thing to be done, you're his mom and know if your child is really sick or not, dads tend to be a little bit over zealous because they don't deal with it as much - I say go with your gut and I hope your little man gets better soon :-)

Isobel - posted on 03/20/2011

I would wait.

JuLeah - posted on 03/20/2011

Getting rid of the symptoms does not mean he is getting better. It means he is on drugs. I'd not give nyquil to a kid, MHO. His body is using the fever to fight the infection. If you take away the fever you have taken away his body's ability to fight. It's a blance, right? A low grade fever ought to be left to run it's course. A fever of 104 or better for more then a day needs to be seen by a doctor. You can't know what his fever is if you keep giving him drugs, so you can't know how sick he really is.
If the kid is up, eating, drinking, and old enough to tell you how sick he is then wait til tomorrow. If he is a small child, not eating well, or not drinking, take him in.

Jodi - posted on 03/20/2011

I think as long as he is keeping hydrated, and he doesn't seem lethargic or listless, it could wait until tomorrow. Have you had a listen to his chest?

Sharon - posted on 03/20/2011

bah - I told hubby to go play with his friends and to leave me and the kids alone. We're fine.

I couldn't tell you his actual temp. I can't find our digital therm and I used our glass therm on the dog last year. I always meant to replace it but never did.

I only worry about a fever if a child is really uncomfortable and although he doesn't feel "good" he isn't horribly uncomfortable.

Cassie - posted on 03/20/2011

What's his actual temperature?

I tend to side with you. I don't think I'd bother with the ER. If anything I would tell my hubby I would call the ped in the morning.