Recurring Fevers

Updated on February 04, 2008
M.G. asks from Athens, GA
15 answers

Hi, my 2 1/2 year old boy has been having recurring fevers since he was 6 months old. When he was around 9 months, the fever lasted 8 days. We took him to the hospital, they did tons of tests and they didn't find anything wrong, so they finally dismissed it as a virus. Since then, he gets a fever every 2 months. These are high fevers, sometimes 104F, and last about 3 to 4 days. He doesn't show any other symptoms, just the fever. Everytime I take him to the doctor, they don't say anything, just keep watching him. Has anybody else gone through this? Is this something I need to be concerned about?

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So What Happened?

Thank you all very much for your responses. I took my son to the doctor yesterday, and since he did not had a fever anymore and looked fine, she dismissed it again as a virus. She told me that the same thing used to happen to her own son, so she's not too worried about it. She also told me that if it happened again, I should bring him in on the fourth day of fever so she could examine him. I am just going to keep praying for him, and hope he will outgrow them at some point. Again, thank you very much for your advice and experiences.

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D.H.

answers from Athens on

Hi M.,
My son, who is now 12 went through the same high fevers between the age of 1 and 3. The fever used to be really high too...around 104 to 105 degrees, and used to terrify me. We took him to the hospital too for all kinds of tests but found nothing. After 3 and a 1/2 the fevers didn't come back. Now he doesn't fall sick much at all. So don't worry, it'll go away as his immune system builds up.
D.

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K.B.

answers from Albany on

Have they checked his blood and spinal fluid? I do NOT mean to worry you, but I would ask the dr. to test both. Hope it is nothing serious.

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M.F.

answers from Atlanta on

I would go to a different ped. I have had my kids with those scary high fevers and wow is it ever scary. They usually had ear infections. If it was my child I would go else where maybe even a nuro for peds you know when the fevers have came up and how long they last. I would be concerned I don't think a child should be getting a fever every month or even 2 months it sounds like it really needs looking into. Best of luck.

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T.G.

answers from Sumter on

The Dr's don't say anything but keep an eye on him? That's kind of scary! Does he still have teeth coming in? Sometimes my little ones spiked fevers while getting teeth and after giving a little tylenol they were fine. If you don't feel at ease with your Dr I would consider getting a second opinion. Good luck!

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J.L.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi M., fevers are completely natural. It is the body's way of fighting off infection. Even when they get high, that just means the body is working overtime. I would seek out something natural instead, since the other stuff hasn't worked anyway. It is kind of like vomiting and diarrea they are unpleasant but it is the body's way of getting rid of something it doesn't like. So don't stop it with medication it will only make the fevers spike up and down really fast and can cause seizures! Just make your child as comfy as possible. I know of a great natural market near by if you want the info, just let me know. I also work for a Chiropractor and my child has NEVER been sick in his entire 15 months of life. Hope this helps!
Johna

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H.W.

answers from Atlanta on

Watch and see if the fevers correlate with the childs vaccines, it could be a vaccine reaction or the fact that the fevers keep reoccuring might mean that the child has a weak immune system usually caused by vaccines and a unhealthy gut, I would try probotic's esp if you have had them on antibiotics they wreck havoc on a childs immune system and over all health, and start reading about vaccine side effects and see if you notice a link, most traditional doctors will never blame a vaccine and will keep looking the other way because they make too much money off of the Vaccines.
This is a good place to start reading up on vaccines and their side effects.

http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm

Hope this helps.
H.

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J.H.

answers from Atlanta on

my 3 year old son was doing the same thing. They kept watching him and finally his pediatric doctor sent him to a lung doctor to see if it was asthma, and come to find out he has asthma. HE is on meds and the fevers are gone.

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L.S.

answers from Atlanta on

My daughter who is now 9 years old, went thru the same episodes. My husband is a doctor and he can not tell me why she had these fevers nor could her pediatrician for no reason. She did eventually outgrow these and she is fine now. I was told there is nothing to be concerned about. Just a strange thing that I hear is "that this is happening more frequently with more babies and children".
I xan refer you to a holistic doctor that cured my daughter of her asthma. Please email me at ____@____.com and I will give you the information for him.

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C.Y.

answers from Charleston on

Sounds maybe like teething. Often children will get rather high fevers when teething. I would suggest to maybe relax a bit since he does not have any other symptoms other than the fever. A fever alone does not signal an illness; it's just reassuring you that the body is regulating itself properly. Have you read Dr. Robert Mendholson's book "How to Raise a Healthy Child In spite of His Doctor"? I highly recommend it. It goes into detail about fevers etc. We have never used fever reducers in our children (or selves) they are very dangerous and 'confusing' to the body.

Love,
C.

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C.H.

answers from Spartanburg on

M.,

Have you taken your son to a different pediatrician? Unfortunately you are the only advocate that your son has. I would make a journal, if you have not already, of your son's fevers. Such as, mood, affect, energy level a couple of days before the fever has begun, during the fever and two days after fever. Keep a record of what he is eating, drinking, exposures, etc. Another option is a pediatric allergist or oncologist/hematologist. Have the physicians done any blood work? It is not unusual in the first year of life, especially if the child is in daycare, to stay sick but typically this allows the child to build up his/her immune system and goes away after the first year. This does not sound like the case with your child. I highly encourage to keep seeking treatment until you have an answer. Please keep us informed of the outcome. C.

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V.C.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi M.,

I had a very similar situation with my son. He is now 8 years old but when he was about 6mos old until he was about 5years old he would spike extremely high fevers with no other symptoms at all. No ear infections, no nausea, nothing! Finally when he spiked a fever of 107 and vomitted all over his bed in the middle of the night, his doctor checked his ANA level and found that he had an auto-immune disorder. We never did determine WHICH disorder it was, and by the time he was 5-6years old, he out-grew the fevers. Have they checked your sons ANA? I wish you the best, I KNOW how scary that can be and how helpless we moms feel when we can't help our little guys! And DO keep a journal! We found that our son's fevers spiked worse when he had been outside playing alot during the day (we lived in Phoenix, AZ at the time) His dis-order was effecting his body's ability to regulate his temperature. Hope this helps! God Bless!

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S.B.

answers from Atlanta on

Many years ago, my youngest son went through 18 courses of antibiotics in 13 months, for just the same problem--endless high fevers. The doctor never did figure it out and even stated that I should be glad that the antibiotics could keep the unknown fevers in check, or the baby might have had even worse problems!
We bumbled into the cause of the fevers when changing milkmen. We changed from the bluish milk from the Army commissary to the local real-cow dairy. The baby's fevers immediately spiked. We changed to a milk-fat free diet (not milk free) and that seemed to fix those endless and scary fevers.
He has had animal fat problems, otherwise, as he grew--but we knew where to look.
S. B.

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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi M.,

Fever is to burn off infection or a foreign object. Every fever is caused by something. The doctors just haven't looked deep enough. Have you thought about taking him to a Naturopathic Doctor instead of a medical doctor. There are several good ones in the Atlanta area.

I have a friend in Winder that is suffering from Lyme's Disease. She's had it almost 20 years and the medical doctors didn't discover it. The Naturopath did. She was on her death bed and scared to go to sleep for fear her kids would find her body...She has now begun to improve and she's not scared she will die in her sleep anymore. They expect a full recovery but it will take time.

If the medical doctors aren't concerned after 2 years, I'd start looking elsewhere.

God bless and let me know if you need names and numbers.

M.

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C.B.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi, my daughter that is 4 now, got recurring fevers last year. They started before christmas {of '06} and would last for 3 to 4 days then go away, they would get as high as 106. Then in 2 to 3 weeks get anotherone. This continued through feb. so I took her to the Dr. they checked her urine for an infection, but nothing. So we went on. They came and went though march. In april I took her back to the Dr. one day because she had another high fever and looked really bad. They did blood work and that came back not good. her white count was over 25,000 and her sedrate was really high. DR. sent her to the hospital for an antibiotic infusion over a 3 day period. They never found out what the cause was. Then she Got fevers again, one more in April and one in May. During this whole time she always complained of her left hip hurting, but couldn't determinany thing wrong with it. Though when I asked her to point to where it hurt she always pointed to her lower back, and still does. So, in May they did a CT scan and an MRI with no findings. Since then she hasn't had but one fever. This is still a mystery....

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R.L.

answers from Charleston on

My son did the very same thing when he was about the same age. We would take him to the Dr. and they would check everything and conclude it must be a virus. A friend of mine who was a nurse thought our doctor must be missing something and kept encouraging us to go to another Dr. to get a second opinion. She said that sometimes a fever is the only sign of something more serious, like leukemia. So we took our son to the Dr. she recommended and after examining him and running several test on him, that Dr. concluded the same thing--that he must have been picking up viruses, because they couldn't find anything else wrong with him. Not too long after that the spells just stopped. I hope and pray that they will stop soon for your son as well. Our son is now 6'4" tall and getting a 4.0 in university. We wish your son well.

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