[tinaedmond]

On Friday, our daughter started with a cough and fever of about 101.7. Both yesterday and today she continues with the congested cough and fever (worse at night) and barely drank anything yesterday and that is continuing today. This, from a child who drinks tons during the day. Yesterday, for example, I think she had two sippy cups of juice, she did have some chicken noodle soup for lunch and when she woke up during the night a few times, did sip some water each time. I am taking her to the dr. tomorrow, but how much liquid does a child have to take in to avoid dehydration? I"m really worried about the lack of fluid she's taking in. She is not herself, but isn't completely out of it, is still playing a bit and laughing well. Any advice or input is appreciated,

Tina

[moelladeville]

No matter what you hear here, call your pediatrician! That's what I do at the first sign of something I don't know how to deal with. My ped's office has a nurse that triages calls and can tell you what to do. An MD is on call 24-7 for emergencies (and there have been those). Your ped may have this service. If not, you may want to choose one that does. Hope your little one is feeling better.
Marjorie

PS Dehydration is very, very serious, so you're doing the right thing by asking for help. I'd call your ped right away.

[astra]

I agree with Moe! Call the dr!

My son has had a fever this weekend. (First time for us ever so we called the dr probably sooner than most people would)

We were told to bring him in if his fever got higher than 103, or if it lasted for 72 hours.

I was worried about his fluid intake, but our Dr said to bring him in if he went 8 to 10 hours with out a wet diaper! (To me this seems like so LONG)

But luckily, he's eating fine!

Hope your little one is feeling better soon. I know it's not fun at all!

[Bassette]

When Kiran becomes ill I always call the doctor, even if it is the weekend and I have to use his answering service to get a msg for him to call. He knows what is going around at the time, can fill me in and if it is something serious I don't want to wait until his office opens. I would prefer to take Kiran to an immediate care center if he is expected to get worse, so that I can get a prescription and start on meds right away. If I discover that that the latest thing is something that just needs to work its way through his system, no prescription(s), then I will watch his symptoms and wait it out.

I don't know what to advise in respect to the amount of fluids your child is taking. As long as she didn't have a runny nose, diarrhea or any other symptom that is draining her body fluids I may not be too concerned in the same situation (seeing doc next day), however I encourage you to phone her pediatrician and see what he advises.

I hope she is on the mend soon!

[JohnnaMJH]

I agree about the signs of dehydration. Our son was just sick 2 weeks ago w/a cough, sore throat and fever. The Dr. said to make sure he had regular wet diapers and cried tears. My thing is usually the fever. If my kids have other symptoms and have a fever, I will take them in to make sure it's not their ears or strep throat (or something else). The antibiotics work so fast on those things that it is great to get it started asap.

I hope she is feeling better soon!

Originally Posted by FH-Bassette

When Kiran becomes ill I always call the doctor, even if it is the weekend and I have to use his answering service to get a msg for him to call. He knows what is going around at the time, can fill me in and if it is something serious I don't want to wait until his office opens. I would prefer to take Kiran to an immediate care center if he is expected to get worse, so that I can get a prescription and start on meds right away. If I discover that that the latest thing is something that just needs to work its way through his system, no prescription(s), then I will watch his symptoms and wait it out.

I don't know what to advise in respect to the amount of fluids your child is taking. As long as she didn't have a runny nose, diarrhea or any other symptom that is draining her body fluids I may not be too concerned in the same situation (seeing doc next day), however I encourage you to phone her pediatrician and see what he advises.

I hope she is on the mend soon!

[churchvillemom]

I agree with all the other posts. Our little guy was sick this week and I took him to the doctor who said he only had a cold. When I said, "Sorry, I'm just a first time mom who tends to worry" the doc told me to never hesitate to call or come in if I have any questions.

So, don't hesitate to call. Even if the doctor says "it's only a cold" at least you'll have learned a little more what to expect next time!
He's your baby is feeling better soon!

[kelleymac]

Call your doc, but I'll share what we just went through. Jonah had the same symptoms, except his fever was MUCH higher and he, too went off fluids. He was diagnosed with influenza A. It's nasty stuff for about four days (fever, cough, exhausted etc.) now he just has a nagging cough at night.

Our ped said as long as there is one wet diaper in 12-hours no need to worry, but call your ped for sure.

Best,
Kelley

[ourdreamcametru]

CALL YOUR DOCTOR! Castle just spent the week in the hospital dehydrated and still may have to go back. There were 5 children on her floor with pnumonia and my niece just got over it.

[linda512]

If she is making a normal amount of urine, she is probably okay, but I would call the doctor. I would try to get small amounts into her frequently, just small sips every few minutes to keep her hydrated. Don't worry about food, just liquids. Good luck.

[Maggie Beth]

I hope your Alexandra is feeling better ASAP. Thomas likes those Pedialyte ice pops whe he is not feeling well... anything to get some liquid into a sick baby...

[bizzee]

Definitely give the baby Pedialyte, and go to the doc.

Hope she is feeling better soon.

[Bexter]

Call the doctor. In the meantime, don't give any milk (it increases congestion) and push the Pedialyte. Eric just had a bad round of RSV, and spent 4 days in the hospital. He was dehydrated after not drinking much for one day. I learned a baby can be dehydrated and still have wet diapers. His doctor checked his fontanel (the soft spot on his head). If it's sunk in, the baby is dehydrated.

[mary594]

Call your pediatrician and insist she be seen, don't take no for an answer. A couple weeks ago my daughter got sick, she had a fever of 103 for 4 days. I called the dr. the first day and of course got the nurse. She dismissed it as things are going around, after 2 more days I called again and said she was really sick, very congested and I wanted her seen. Very condiscendingly she said, "fevers are a good thing, it lets us know she is fighting whatever she has" It is just a virus and she will be fine. I said I want her seen, I want her ears and lungs check. Still she wasn't budging. Finally I had to say, my husband is a Dr. do I need him to bring his stethescope home and examine her himself. Well after I said that she very rudely gave me an appointment for the next day. Well when I brought her in, the Dr. said this is one sick little girl, good thing you brought her in. She had pnuemonia and a horrible ear infection. Infact he said she was so bad he wanted her back in 2 days to check her again. Moral of the story. If your child is sick bring them to the dr. don't wait if you are that concerned and don't take no for an answer.

Mary

[brandydawn]

I agree...I took my daughter in Friday thinking it was yet another ear infection and ended up spending the entire weekend in the hospital because her oxygen levels were low.

It was a yucky cough she had but it wasn't out of the oridinary for her when she has a cold and it was the fever and pulling at her ears that caused me to go.

I am glad I did because she spent Friday night hooked up to oxygen and had breathing treatments every 4 hours the entire weekend.


Regards,
Brandy

[tinaedmond]

Thanks, everyone, for your posts.

I took Alie to the dr this morning and found out she has pneumonia.

They prescribed her augmentin which of course tastes nasty and made her gag. Ten minutes later she threw it back up. When I called the dr. they just told me to give it to her again as long as it had been an hour since the last dose. So I had to hold the poor thing down and force her to take the medicine. Not fun.

She's drinking a little more, but not much.

Tina