Follow-up to the previous post, that being the one about the fever.
April 3, 2009So I thought I should provide a little more information, because I seem to have terrified the pants off of some of you. And then you mailed me your pants, just to prove how literal you were. You are a bunch of odd ducks, aren't you?
Anyway, Henry has long been prone to high fevers, and 104-105 has become more or less standard for when he's really, truly sick. Which is why I did not rush him to the ER when his fever reached that number. Also, once he gets a little ibuprofen or acetaminophen in him, his temperature lowers within minutes, so even though his fever was 106 in the middle of the night, I knew it wouldn't last.
The other reason his sickness was not more worrying is that he was chipper and well-tempered. Prone to falling asleep on tables, sure, but otherwise relatively normal. This was in stark contrast to the last time his fever reached elevated levels, when he insisted that my face was covered in sparkly stickers and then tried to remove my chin with his pointy little fingernails.
And finally, I do not think his temperature was actually 111. Our last ear thermometer was so inaccurate that we purchased a high-end swiping-across-the-forehead model that promised stunning accuracy ; so far it's been as flighty and inconsistent as the last one. The advantage to this kind is that it takes a temperature within two seconds, and I don't have to wake him. The disadvantage is that it's all over the place and scares the crap out of me. So his temperature was probably a few degrees lower than 111, but still, I think we can all agree that that's awfully high.
The ER staff instructed me to buy an oral thermometer, which I did, and it read his temperature as 97.3 when he clearly still had a high fever, so I'm at a loss. Anyone have a foolproof thermometer to recommend?
Reader Comments (80)
For my kid, I usually start with the lips-to-forehead method and, if I need a number for the dr., I end up with a really slow digital thermometer under arm because my kid is terrified of the idea of putting it in her mouth (which actually creeps me out a bit too on the rare occasion I feel bad enough to even check). Because a fever is really almost always a good thing, I rarely resort to the thermometer because it just p*sses my daughter off these days.
If she feels abnormally hot and sort of sharp when I feel or kiss her forehead, that's a fever. If she is ALSO acting drowsy and lethargic, it's enough that she needs Tylenol or Ibuprofen.
Maybe if a child has a specific medical condition that requires careful and exact monitoring of the temperature, that's one thing, but in most cases of typical kids, it's more for the parents to know how much to freak out. I find that it's much more practical (not to mention COMFORTABLE for everyone) if we use the forehead kiss/monitor behavior method I outlined above.
I actually think that kissing, as a behavior, probably originated with mothers monitoring their kids' fevers. I think the romantic notion of kissing proceeded from there, as a way of demonstrating feelings of mutual responsibility ("I'll take care of you," as well as assessing a potential mate's health, "Are you going to survive to raise our offspring?") but that may be going a bit too far with things.
The only time the kiss & feel method has failed us was when I was sick too, and couldn't tell she was hot because I was matching her fever. In cases when I'm not sure, or not trusting myself, I double check with an axillary (arm pit) reading on a digital thermometer (add one degree to normalize it to oral temperature, so 97.6 axillary is normal).
My two daughters (3.5 and 2) have had exactly ONE rectal temperature taken (in the hospital for Rotavirus) and not without a lot of, "Is that STRICTLY necessary?" and eye rolling on my part. Yuck.
The ER nurses refused to believe her temperature could have been so high. I was adamant I had read the thing right and that it was the Tylenol that had brought it down to the low 100's. Also, I was pretty peeved that they were treating me like a dramatic, hysterical parent.
But, now I think those things are flaky. I was looking forward to the comments to see which is a better method. And, as far as I can tell, tried and true "lips to the forehead" wins.
But I am a freak whose normal, average, day-to-day temperature clocks in at 97.5, which makes it pretty much impossible to convince people I actually have a fever. I had strep throat last year worse than I have ever, ever been sick and after the first round of antibiotics I was still getting a 99.6 on my thermometer. I went into urgent care and they were like, "Pffft, you have not even hit 100, that is not a fever, go home."
Boy, did I laugh when it turned out I had strep again and had to get another round of antibiotics. Take THAT, skeptical urgent care nurses! I WAS STILL SICK WITH A HORRIBLE ILLNESS THAT KEPT ME FROM WORK FOR TWO WEEKS.
...........wait.
Thinking I may just try the lips-on-the-forehead method next time...
But, I swear that I can pretty accurately tell when my kids have crossed into 'super hot' territory---it's when the fever has gotten into their feet and hands. At that point, they are always above 103. But below 103, their hands are not burning up.
So don't eat it AND don't use it in a boat.
We accidentally broke a mercury thermometer when our daughter was a baby. The friendly folks at Poison Control recommended a de-con process that included leaving all the windows open and vacating the house for more than 24 hours to be sure it had all evaporated. Oh and by the way, you can throw away that vaccuum cleaner you mistakenly used to clean up the big drops before you called.
When I was a kid, breaking a thermometer was cause for much rejoicing because then we would get to play with the mercury. In our hands. In the third row of the station wagon, which of course had no seat belts.Good times.
My experience with thermometers: I used to swear by my Exergen temporal thermometer, until my daughter put her finger on the heat-sensing part and it was never accurate again. I learned that it was important to swipe it exactly the same way, every time, and we practiced a lot when everyone was healthy (ie, at a normal, predictable temperature).
I've also purchased a number of ear thermometers over the years, and I DO NOT TRUST them. I think that it involves a perfect positioning, and I just don't have the training to do that.
Our current solution: a cheap-o digital oral thermometer, tucked into my daughter's armpit. The readings are consistent, the process isn't ridiculous, unlike the perfect positioning of an oral thermometer or the inconvenience of rectal temp readings.
Good luck!
To tell the truth, I usually just kiss their forehead - have become pretty good at telling whether or not it's a fever. As you said, the number doesn't matter as much as how they're behaving/feeling.
Hope he's on the upswing!