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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is nothing wrong with a fever. I read that it can’t cause brain damage (unless it’s a fever from being in a boiling car). I absolutely wouldn’t have taken my kid to the er for a fever. In my moms group I’m shocked at what people go to the ER for. I’m with kaiser and do go to kaiser urgent care after hours or on weekends. [/quote]

Yes. Your own body won't raise its own temperature high enough to harm you. The only time you can get hot enough to harm yourself is if there are external circumstances, like being in an overheated car.

I would want to examine spiking fevers after a diagnosis of influenza, particularly if this was a change in fever pattern and/or didn't respond to over-the-counter medication like Ibuprofen. There's a real risk of developing secondary infection, as noted  But if they were pretty much back to their normal (albeit ill) self after Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen, it could wait until morning.

Toddlers usually get much higher fevers than adults. It's not uncommon to get up to 104.5 with roseola, and that's just a response to the virus. But it's all about the full context.

I'm sorry you got the impression you shouldn't have come in. I've made that judgement of a parent exactly once in about 20 years -- that was when I walked in the room to see the eight-year old with a sore throat, no fever, no problems swallowing or breathing, brought in by ambulance three minutes before. He was halfway through a bag of Doritos and munching still as I entered.

I was very mild but suggested that if his throat was not so sore that he couldn't eat Doritos, and there was nothing else going on, they probably didn't need an ambulance.[/quote]

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