Pneumonia

[Sirrahsim]

My youngest and I were up most of the night again and despite giving him fever meds he still had a 105.5 fever this morning before it was time for his next dose. Right before I threw us all in the car to head to the ER, his doctor called She said that the radiologist looked at the x-ray again and saw some "early pneumonia" and that she prescribed some antibiotics. I asked her about his fever and she told me that he would be ok as long as he wasn't lethargic or started to seize and that I just needed to keep alternating tylenol/motrin. How on earth am I supposed to be ok with a fever of OVER 105 degrees??? My baby is so sick I'm heading out to the pharmacy to get his antibiotics in a few minutes. I hope they work fast

[Laura's Babies]

WOW! 105.5? I would be giving him cold bathes... Hope those meds work QUICK!

[sasvermont]

I agree about the cold bathes. Did the doctor mention it? Even a cool bath sounds reasonable.

I hope the medications work quickly. Hugs to your boys. They are so young and so dependent on your services and affections.

Keep us posted.

Sas

[sparks19]

Oh my goodness how frightening. The antibiotics should kick and help quickly. I agree with the cool bath and cool compresses between times.

I hope he starts to improve quickly

[wolfsoul]

DON'T give a cold bath! Cold will only chill the skin, not the body temperature, and it will force the body to overcompensate and become stressed by trying to fight off the infection and stay warm at the same time. If he shivers his body temperature will actually rise. A cold bath is very dangerous for this reason! You can give a lukewarm bath if you must, but it's best just to keep him at whatever temperature is comfortable for him, and give him Tylenol or another fever-reducer. Normally I'd say try to break it with heat, but not in a fever that high or in a young child.
Good luck and I hope the antibiotics work quickly!

[caseysmom]

DON'T give a cold bath! Cold will only chill the skin, not the body temperature, and it will force the body to overcompensate and become stressed by trying to fight off the infection and stay warm at the same time. If he shivers his body temperature will actually rise. A cold bath is very dangerous for this reason! You can give a lukewarm bath if you must, but it's best just to keep him at whatever temperature is comfortable for him, and give him Tylenol or another fever-reducer. Normally I'd say try to break it with heat, but not in a fever that high or in a young child.
Good luck and I hope the antibiotics work quickly!

This is correct, you can take some clothing off and keep the house cool though and god forbid if he has a seizure keep him cool.

My daughter use to run those high temps and it scared me to death, it can actually do damage to their teeth so its good to try to keep it down.

You should see it come down right away with the antibiotics if he is getting pneumonia, your little guy will be in my prayers...and you I know its hard on you too.