2 1/2 Year Daughter Sick w/ 106 Temperature

My daughter seems to be conquering a bad virus that started 5 days ago and
I'm wondering how this may affect her immunity to other infections this
winter, especially the flu. She's been out of pre-school all week.

Her temperature peaked to 105 degrees (taken under the arm) in the morning
after the previous day of showing symptoms of illness (inactive, tired, not
eating, etc.). I've been told that I should add a degree to this reading,
making it 106.

I couldn't believe when I took the reading, so I took it twice. The same
thermometer that read 102 degrees the night before started jumping a degree
at a time until it reached 103 degrees, then gently crept upward to 105,
less than a minute after inserting it under her arm.

I cooled her down in a lukewarm bath and her temp dropped a degree, then
rushed her to the pediatrician that found no strep, no ear infection, lungs
clear - only a mild redness in the throat. Her temp read 103.8 at the
office. She also said to take a rectal reading next time this high temp
displays from an underarm for more accuracy.

Later that evening her temp was much lower in the 101 - 102 range. The
following day, it was nearing normal.

My otherwise healthy daughter has looked like she's been frightened by
Marilyn Manson ever since (past several days). She began to have a runny
nose and loose/broken cough following the fever event and has been very pale
and sleeping much more than usual. She's been drinking regularly through
this entire illness with no diarrhea or vomiting. She appears to be
recouping very slowly now.

Has anyone had similar experiences? What was the illness? Did the child
fully recover in a reasonable time? How did this affect the child's immunity
from other diseases? Would you recommend the flu shot as an added precaution
if we can find it here in NJ?

Billy wrote:

My daughter seems to be conquering a bad virus that started 5 days ago and
I'm wondering how this may affect her immunity to other infections this
winter, especially the flu. She's been out of pre-school all week.

Her temperature peaked to 105 degrees (taken under the arm) in the morning
after the previous day of showing symptoms of illness (inactive, tired, not
eating, etc.). I've been told that I should add a degree to this reading,
making it 106.


My otherwise healthy daughter has looked like she's been frightened by
Marilyn Manson ever since (past several days). She began to have a runny
nose and loose/broken cough following the fever event and has been very pale
and sleeping much more than usual. She's been drinking regularly through
this entire illness with no diarrhea or vomiting. She appears to be
recouping very slowly now.

Has anyone had similar experiences? What was the illness? Did the child
fully recover in a reasonable time? How did this affect the child's immunity
from other diseases? Would you recommend the flu shot as an added precaution
if we can find it here in NJ?

It seems that you are describing the flu itself: high fever, lethargy, followed
runny nose, upper respiratory symptoms. Flu isn't necessarily accompanied by
vomiting or diarrhea. Or else just a different viral infection that is clearing
up. Either way, sounds like you did the right things. My daughter went through
similar symptoms recently, only she did have some vomiting and GI issues along
with it. Took her about a week to get her appetite back, and then it came in
full force. Any illness will weaken the immune system such that she might be
more vulnerable to other illnesses during recovery. Flu shot might be a moot
point if it is indeed what she had, but either way, you should wait a week or
two until after she is fully recovered from this illness to introduce her body
to the flu shot.

cara

"Billy" wrote in message
news
My daughter seems to be conquering a bad virus that started 5 days ago and
I'm wondering how this may affect her immunity to other infections this
winter, especially the flu. She's been out of pre-school all week.

You might want to ask on misc.kids.health.

Getting one virus usually does not make one most susecptable to other
viruses. So, no, most likely your daughter won't be any more susceptable to
the flu or other viruses than if she did not get this virus.

Her temperature peaked to 105 degrees (taken under the arm) in the morning
after the previous day of showing symptoms of illness (inactive, tired,
not
eating, etc.). I've been told that I should add a degree to this reading,
making it 106.

I couldn't believe when I took the reading, so I took it twice. The same
thermometer that read 102 degrees the night before started jumping a
degree
at a time until it reached 103 degrees, then gently crept upward to 105,
less than a minute after inserting it under her arm.

I cooled her down in a lukewarm bath and her temp dropped a degree, then
rushed her to the pediatrician that found no strep, no ear infection,
lungs
clear - only a mild redness in the throat. Her temp read 103.8 at the
office. She also said to take a rectal reading next time this high temp
displays from an underarm for more accuracy.

Why? What are you going to do differently if she has a 103.8 or 104.8? Fever
itself is not a problem.

Later that evening her temp was much lower in the 101 - 102 range. The
following day, it was nearing normal.

My otherwise healthy daughter has looked like she's been frightened by
Marilyn Manson ever since (past several days). She began to have a runny
nose and loose/broken cough following the fever event and has been very
pale
and sleeping much more than usual. She's been drinking regularly through
this entire illness with no diarrhea or vomiting. She appears to be
recouping very slowly now.

Has anyone had similar experiences? What was the illness?

Sounds like a virus.

Did the child
fully recover in a reasonable time? How did this affect the child's
immunity
from other diseases?

It doesn't.

Would you recommend the flu shot as an added precaution
if we can find it here in NJ?

Wash your hands frequently. Get the flu shot.

Jeff

cara wrote in message ...

It seems that you are describing the flu itself: high fever, lethargy, followed
runny nose, upper respiratory symptoms. Flu isn't necessarily accompanied by
vomiting or diarrhea. Or else just a different viral infection that is clearing
up. Either way, sounds like you did the right things. My daughter went through
similar symptoms recently, only she did have some vomiting and GI issues along
with it. Took her about a week to get her appetite back, and then it came in
full force. Any illness will weaken the immune system such that she might be
more vulnerable to other illnesses during recovery. Flu shot might be a moot
point if it is indeed what she had, but either way, you should wait a week or
two until after she is fully recovered from this illness to introduce her body
to the flu shot.

It sounds like the flu to me too. Influenza (which is the real
'flu') can cause vomiting in children, but that's not the main
symptom; the main symptoms are high fever and respiratory stuff,
which is what she had.

I think there would still be *some* value in getting the flu
shot, because the shot immunizes against three different strains
and she's only had one. However, given that the vaccine is in
short supply and that she's presumably already had a strain
that's common in the community, I'm not sure there'd be all
that much to gain by it.

Beth

wrote:

Her temperature peaked to 105 degrees (taken under the arm) in the morning
after the previous day of showing symptoms of illness (inactive, tired, not
eating, etc.). I've been told that I should add a degree to this reading,
making it 106.

Try it on yourself a few times. I've discovered that the
add-a-degree-for-axillary is not very accurate at all. I've been known to get a
lower temp orally than under the arm.

I agree it sounds like the flu, similar symptoms to what my kids just went
through. Those high temps can be scary, but it is pretty common for toddlers to
spike like that. Usually you watch for their behavior being really off more
than the exact temp -- a kind of alarming lethargy that is more than the "tired
because she doesn't feel good" look. Or a fever that won't come down to a
reasonable level after treatment with Tylenol or ibuprofen.

My kids (five, nine, and nine) took about a week to be more or less functional
and the one who had it the worst took probably two weeks to really look like
herself again.

--Helen

Billy wrote:

Has anyone had similar experiences? What was the illness? Did the child
fully recover in a reasonable time? How did this affect the child's immunity
from other diseases?

DS had something similar, though 'only' up to 104F (40C) just after we
moved to the US. A week later his first tooth appeared, and ever since
we have noticed a high spiked fever just before another tooth, though
never as high as the first time.

Since we had no car, no phone and no ped at the time, we didn't have
him checked out at the very moment. He has suffered no adverse effects
from this, rather the contrary, he seems to have quite a robust
immune system. FWIW, he was 7m old at that time.

--
-- I
mommy to DS (17m)
mommy to a tiny angel (Oct 2003)
guardian of DH (33)
TTC #2.5
War doesn't decide who's right, only who's left