Baby's first virus - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

Watersulli · 09-17-2006, 05:22 PM

My daughter is seven months old and has come down with her first illness. Her fever ran up to 104 and we took her to the doctor on Friday. Yesterday she vomited all day and we finally took her into the emergency room to get IV fluids and something to stop the vomiting. Today she is still running a 103 or so fever (it drops to 101 when she will take the tylenol). She is so listless, she has basically been asleep for three days now. Her eyes are glassy and dull, and she has really only woken up for like five fifteen minute periods all weekend. I'm just looking for some reassurance that this is all pretty normal. She is drinking today, and despite a couple diarrhea diapers, she seems to be keeping fluids down. None of my friends are mommies and I guess I just need someone to say "yep, that's normal" to calm my fears!

lovemybabyboys · 09-17-2006, 07:06 PM

i would not say that this is completely normal. what did the dr. say on friday? did they do a CBC? strep test? etc? my son was about 8 months when he was the same way, fever even got up to 104.8. i nearly had a heart attack. it is so scary to have them act like that.
both of my children had it, my other son was 3.5, i took them to the dr. and he said it was just a virus. no antibotics or any other medicine that would help, too just treat the symptoms. he said that the problem is not the fever, but what is causing the fever that can be a problem. he said that is long as i could get the fever down, then it would be ok. tylenol/motrin worked at first but the fever would come back up before i could give him the next dose of motrin/tylenol. so they had so many baths that weekend i cann't even tell you. i would just put them in a luke warm bath for about 20 min. so just try to keep her fever down, that's the key. but if you can't get it down, then i would take her back to the dr. or er immediately. also the thing that concerns me is her listlesness. how does she act when her fever is down? usually the fever is what causes them to act that way, so if her fever is down and she is still acting that way, then i would take her in. how long has it been going on for? i know you said that you took her to the dr. on friday. how long before that? if her fever continues to be that high, i would probably take her back on monday or at least call and see what they say. for my boys, it lasted about 5 or 6 days and then it was over. nothing an antibotic will help. so like i said the key is too keep the fever down and of course keep her drinking. i hope she gets better soon. just remember mommy knows best, if you feel you should take her in or call, then you should.

sdjansen · 09-17-2006, 07:40 PM

My DS was 9 months old when he got his first virus, it was called the rotavirus and it was terrible, lasted about a week, he was throwing up and had terrible foul smelling diahrea(dont know how to spell) The worst part was he threw up right in my mouth and the next day I came down with it and I think he was handling it better then me! I took him to the doctor and they told me to keep him hydrated with watered down pedialyte and that there wasnt much they could do. He was also very sedated, slept a whole lot-which is weird for him because he is usaully such a busy body. I felt so bad for the poor little guy, it really hurt. He actually lost about 2 pounds which is a whole lot when you only weigh like 17 pounds. Anyways the fever and vomiting cleared up after about a week and the diareah took longer. I would just say moniter the fever and try and make your baby as comfy as possible and try and ride it out. If its just a virus you have to wait for it to clear the system first. Good luck and I hope you dont catch it!

myloathe · 09-17-2006, 09:00 PM

One of my nephews also had that rotavirus when he was around 8 months old. He had been vomiting and diarrhea for a couple of days, wouldn't eat, and kept a fever. After 3 days and nothing changed, his pediatrician had him admitted into the hospital. They kept him for about 4 days and he ended up being ok. My sister, who stayed with him in the hospital, ended up sick too, but his twin brother who stayed with me ended up ok.

If your baby is still vomiting/diarrhea after a couple of days, the doc should admit them, just to prevent dehydration.

Watersulli · 09-19-2006, 05:38 PM

Hey there, thanks for all the info. Just wanted to give an update for everyone. We took her to the ER Saturday night because she vomited all day and she was so listless. They gave her IV fluids and something to stop the vomiting, and it really helped a lot. She perked up quite a bit after that. Her fever stayed up for most of Sunday and part of yesterday, but then it just stopped. Her listlessness stopped Sunday afternoon, it was like someone flipped a switch. Now she has broken out in a full body rash, and is pretty fussy still. She is doing this cry like she is in pain out of nowhere. Her fever is totally gone now, and hopefully this rash will disappear soon! Thanks again everyone!