3Rd Day of High Fever 104 - Washington,DC

I'm not sure how to answer as not sure what you are asking either :)

Do you tend to get upset about your son's health? I noticed a lot of health related questions. No judgement - I get your concern as they are our little ones, but you've called the doctor, their advice worked, and you're going in tomorrow. Breathe :) I'm sure he will be fine.

Your child may not have been able to tell you his head hurt before with a fever because he didn't have the words to tell you - but that's not that uncommon. Mine get headaches with bad fevers. Some of it's from being dehydrated (good you're doing the water) but it could be he's got an ear infection coming, etc. Sounds like he's fighting something off.

Or he may have just banged his head on another kid's head yesterday and you may have missed it. Either way - if it were serious, there's be blurred vision, nausea, all kinds of stuff that you're not mentioning. Certainly not eating or playing.

When my kids get fevers - I automatically give them ibuprofen - and that stops the headaches from happening in the first place. Just check with the doctor tomorrow about that - but I know if I don't myself take meds when I get a fever, I get a headache. May as well be proactive - if they agree.

Just a side note - I would just the supplements you give him past your pediatrician if you haven't already. Mine is not a fan of added supplements unless there is a clear need for them (usually only after a problem with blood work). Supplements are most often not FDA approved. I just know ours has me bring in the bottles so they can check them out.

Relax and just take it easy along with your son :) Hope he's better soon

ETA: Thanks Diane for clarifying :)

Start Tylenol (or what ever you use for fever) a bit sooner - you don't have to wait till he's miserable before you give it to him.
Managing a fever will not prolong how long it takes him to get over it.
No ER for this - glad you didn't go.
I wouldn't be doing a run to pediatrician for this myself but it's ok if you want him checked out and look for ear infections, tonsils, etc.
Keep him well hydrated (he can drink what ever he wants when ever he wants - water, chamomile tea, ginger ale, chicken soup, etc).
And if he's feverish - no jumping around or birthday parties (though I understand the fever came AFTER the party) - he stays in bed or on the couch watching tv or sleeping - for several days at least until fever is gone without any medication.
His body is fighting something so it needs rest to help him fight it.

So glad you didn't waste your time and money going to the ER. People get headaches. We've found that most of the time it's because we haven't had enough to drink. When our boys are sick, we encourage them to drink. That's the advice I've heard from doctors time and time again, push the fluids. They say not to worry about how much our child eats but to make sure they do drink plenty of fluids.

I'm so glad to hear you called the doctor's office. That is really the best thing to do when you are worried. The nurse on-call will ask you all the right questions to decide what needs to happen.

Everyone is different, but I often get headaches when I'm sick. It just goes with the territory and would not cause me to worry.

Strep maybe?
....Doesn't always start w/ a sore throat but....definitely take him in

hope he feels better

When that happened to my kid (fever never went away, 101.3 is still a fever) it was diagnosed as walking pneumonia (need a chest xray to determine).

Kudos to your pediatrician for sending you back home. You really didn't need to put a sick kid in an ER full of other sick kids and have thousands of dollars worth of tests.

Being drowsy and lethargic is perfectly normal when someone has a fever, infection, or headache. Your child was coherent and the pain wasn't excruciating or giving other signs of an emergency. I know you don't like the headache idea, but it's just so very common. You'll see more of this as your child gets older and you'll have to find a way to get used to it.

Since you're not giving your child comprehensive supplementation, I'd really run those items past the pediatrician (not that doctors always know a lot about nutrition). Multivitamins have very little of value in them, but adding a vitamin D on top of it makes no sense to me. Kids (and adults) need so much more, since our fruits/veggies today have up to 40% less nutritive value than they did a generation ago. But doing a little of this one vitamin and some of those 4 vitamins makes no sense - that's not how the body uses those elements. So throwing elderberry into a kid or giving a stray vitamin is not a good idea. You want comprehensive and balanced nutrition in a form that is easily and thorough absorbed, which prevents an overload of a particular component that can be dangerous in isolation. And FYI gummy products are very poorly absorbed, and also usually bad for the teeth.

I disagree with Margie below about what the FDA covers - there are 2 categories: food-based supplements (which are regulated by the FDA just like spinach, cereal, bread, cheese, and all other foods), and medicines (prescription and over-the-counter) which are approved by the FDA and which almost always carry warning labels about not overdosing. But the fact that a supplement isn't "approved' doesn't mean it's not inspected or safe. It means it's food based and not considered a drug. The trick is to be sure it's actually manufactured in the US, not just made in another country and then distributed here. If it's patented, that means there's been another layer of scrutiny which the company invited and paid for - that's a good thing. If the company has the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices designation, that means they are a clean, precise, well-run operation that ha fared well in surprise inspections. It's true that there have been a few supplements and "all natural" products that are rip-offs and deceptive - but the same can be said of "FDA-approved" drugs and vitamins that have been recalled.

I hope your little guy is doing well.

I know you have posted a ton of medical questions so this seems to be an area of anxiety for you - so I hope you also get reassured so that you don't panic or worry quite so much.

Have you had a fever recently? It has been years since I had a fever so I forgot how miserable they can be...my only symptom was a killer headache and a fever. Fevers often cause headaches. I don't see that as worthy of an ER visit.

FYI...my 13 yo daughter was sent home from school a few weeks ago. She had the "worst headache of her life". 7 hours later she had a 102.9 temperature with Motrin in her. 2 days later she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and given antibiotic.

Edit - Motrin can be given every 4-6 hours. With a fever that high, I personally would give it to my kids at between 4 - 5 hours. I definitely would not wait the full 6 hours. Also, when my kids have had high fevers like that I also have alternated Motrin and Tylenol. The nurses line can instruct you dosing information if that would be appropriate for your child.

I must say that when my kids have had temperatures that high it has always been an infection that required an antibiotic and not a virus that resolves itself on its own. I think it is smart to see your doctor tomorrow. Hope your son feels better.