5-year-old with fever 4 days, no other symptoms
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Anonymous
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My 5 year old has had a fever ranging from 100-102 F since Sunday night (today is the 4th day). She has no other symptoms and seems fine otherwise--normal energy level, normal eating (for her, a picky eater). I kept her home from camp Monday but sent her the last two days because I can't work from home all week.
What could it be? Should we just wait and see, or go to the doctor? I figure it's a virus and they won't be able to do anything, but I also worry that she's had the fever for so long. |
Anonymous
So long as food and drink intake and energy are good, I'd wait it out. Maybe take her in on Friday if she still has the fever, since things always take a turn for the worse on the weekends 
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Anonymous
| We had it from Saturday till yesterday. |
Anonymous
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Call your ped first. Have you checked her throat with a flashlight (or light on your phone)? DD had a fever and no symptoms for 5 days when she was 6. We finally took her to the ped on the fifth day and within seconds of shining a light in her throat, we could see the white puss and red from an infection. For whatever reason, dd was not complaining about swallowing.
If there are no other symptoms, it's likely a virus. NO CAMP. You knew better than to do that. Don't do it again. |
Anonymous
| My son, then four, ran a fever for a few days... Ear infection. Antibiotics. Fever never stopped... Went back to ode three days later, antibiotic resistant strep. The LEDs were flummoxed. No other symptoms (ear pulling, pain swallowing, discharge etc). All he had was fever, inflamed ear, and strep positive |
Anonymous
Strep has gotten weird lately. My son had it six times last year. Sometimes with no fever, often with no throat pain, once with only a headache, and once he was just more tired than normal. Shame on OP for being so selfish and immature. |
Anonymous
OP, the asshole, here. I have taken into account these outraged responses and she is home today (although fever is down some--will probably rise in pm and we'll go to the doctor). However, I'd like to know whether any of these comments came from medical professionals who know what they're talking about. Here is why I sent her to camp with a fever: --The medical sites all say you should keep your kid home if their fever is over 101. In other words, it's okay to send them if they have a low grade fever. My kid's temperature has been below 101 in the morning. --With colds and flu and probably many other viral infections, my understanding is that the most infectious stage is the very beginning when they're coughing and sneezing and transmitting virus (or even before symptoms appear). Mine had no other symptoms and had had fever at least a couple of days. Of course, keeping my job and the burden on my coworkers if I stayed home is also a consideration. We just got back from 2 weeks vacation and asking for a week of sick leave on top of that at a time when many in the office are away for vacation did not seem like a good idea. For those above who have had this situation (unexplained, relatively low fever for several days) can you tell me how many days you stayed home from work with an otherwise normal-acting child? How many days could you get away with this in your job? |
Anonymous
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Roseola or Fifth's disease? Your DD is a little old for Roseola but it's not out of the question. My DD had Roseola last summer with no symptoms except the fever for NINE days, and I kept her home with me the entire time. It was very stressful bc I had to use a ton of PTO but was able to do about 2-3 hours of work a day while she napped and another hour or two at night after she went to bed. Toward the end my DH took a few mornings off while I went into the office to get some work done (he can't work remotely for his job).
DD's fever broke the evening before we left for our week long vacation. In total I essentially took three weeks off from work. My bosses have kids and were pretty understanding, and it helped that I could do some work from home. I was still stressed about it though. |
Anonymous
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OP,
When you had kids, you signed up for a life of having to put their health before your job. Yes, we all call out when our kids are sick. And honestly, if my boss gets cranky about it, it doesn't bother me. My kids are more important than my boss, and more important than my job. I'm a teacher, so if I'm out they have to find a replacement for the day. It isn't easy for anyone, but it's the right thing to do. I often have parents send sick kids to school, and I usually have them sent home. I have seen many things circulate through the class because of mindless parents, and I have gotten sick myself many times because of it. The normal course of action would be to keep the feverish kid home for the day. If the fever persists or if you need to know if it's treatable or if you need to let it run it's course, take the kid to the doctor. At that point, you follow the doctors advice for treatment and return to school/camp. |
Anonymous
| She is still contagious as long as the virus is running it's course if it is a virus. It could be strep. You should take her for a strep test. |
Anonymous
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Which "sites" are these? Why wouldn't you check with your kid's ped or the camp itself? I'm sure they have their own policies.
All of the schools that my children have attended have said "fever free for 24 hours". One said that fever is 100+. Another school said "elevated temperature" to avoid confusion. Can you look into emergency childcare if you truly cannot take off of work? Thank you for keeping her home today. Please keep her home until she's been fever-free for 24 hours. Or whatever the policy is at the camp - call them! |
Anonymous
| Strep can present without fever. If they rule out strep, ear infection, etc it is probably a fever virus that will run its course. Consider her contagious and don't send her back to camp until she is fever-free. My kids' elementary school requires fever-free for 24 hours. It WAS an a-hole move but thank you for keeping her home today. Your ped will echo these sentiments, I guarantee it. |
Anonymous
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I was out for almost a whole week due to the ear infection / strep combo.
Day 1 - call from daycare re fever Day 2 - home Day 3 - pediatrician and antibiotics for ear infection Day 4 - home morning, daycare afternoon Day 5 - daycare morning, got called because of fever again. Went to pediatrician. Strep. Weekend.... It's not really a matter of what I can get away with... It's whether my child is sick and whether sending him puts others at risk. I wouldn't wish a sick child of anyone |
Anonymous
| Mono can cause a ruptured spleen, strep can evolve into scarlett fever. Why is your job this important? FWIW, my son had strep with no other symptoms than a persistent diaper rash. DCUM and my deepest google-thoughts didn't figure that out but my doctor did. |
Anonymous
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So, you just took two weeks off for leisure, but you can't take a week off to make sure your kid is well?
Agree with PP who said that, when you became a parent, you became obligated to care for your child FIRST, even before your job. Now would be a good time for you to get your life in order and either take shorter vacations (ensuring you have adequate PTO when/if your child is ill) or to line up emergency back-up care. Claiming you can't take time off because you'd be dropping the ball at work is NO EXCUSE for sending a sick kid to camp, school, etc. If you're that important, you can either work from home or you should have emergency care set up. Shame on you. |