Well, this has truly been an epic period of illness. I think we are now battling the third virus in as many weeks. It all started New Year's Day, when Joseph first started showing signs of pink eye. I already blogged about the sickness that we had following that, and on Monday morning Joseph, Noah and Sam awoke with fevers. Noah ran a fever of 101 Monday and Tuesday, but is fine today. Joseph's fever has stayed steadily over 102, is currently sitting at 103, though his came down significantly with tylenol last night. If it remains at 103 much longer, I will dose him again. I generally do not medicate my children for fevers unless they are a)over 102 for an extended period of time b)over 104 or c)causing significant discomfort. It's not that I'm antimedication. To the contrary, I love the pharmaceutical gifts God has supplied us with, and I use them regularly. No, I'm not so much anti meds as I am pro-fever, meaning that I believe that fevers are the tools that God equipped our body with to fight illnesses, and as much as possible I try to work with the fever, not against it. I find fevers do two positive things for my kids: a) fight the illness and b)keep them calm. When I medicate the kids, they feel better, and thus are more active, and tend not to get the rest they need to recover. When they are allowed to run a fever, they tend to sleep and rest more. I also like to medicate sparingly when the kids have fevers, especially when they have been vomiting (like last week), because I get concerned about the effect that the medication can have on their kidneys when they are already struggling to stay properly hydrated.
Enough rambling. All this to say, I did medicate Sam today when his fever reached 104.5. Now, I know that sounds scary high to some of you, but please don't panic. Sam has always been our "high fever king", followed by Joseph. Sam's normal runs higher than the other kids, and he has always run the highest temps when sick. There have been times when his fever reached 106 (yes I did talk to the doctor on those occasions:) ). If Ethan or Sydney's fever goes over 104, I am much more concerned than when Sam or Joseph hit that level. Sydney's temp today, for example, has consistently stayed at 102.3.
It's quite a little bugger, this virus. But I know it could be much worse. After all, no one is puking!! I can tolerate just about anything better than having a bunch of the kids puking all at once. Praise God for the "little things" that make a big difference!
Posted by willa at Enero 17, 2007 03:25 PM | TrackBackWe'll pray for you guys. We went through a long period of kid-sickness this Fall and it was the pits.
Posted by: Karen at Enero 17, 2007 10:45 PMPhin's been throwing up and is on his third day of 103 fever. Ike's on his second. Gid threw up but has somehow missed the fever (though he looks like the pink eye we left your place w/late December is returning). I don't mind the throwing up so much as the complete lack of sleep. When will Starbucks start delivering?
Posted by: lynnp at Enero 18, 2007 11:38 AMThanks, Karen.
Lynn: I think it's so weird for your kids to be sick at the same time/way as all of us here, when you're so far away. I guess it's the time of year. Or maybe your boys are just so "one" with us. :)
Hang in, there. Karen, I hope everyone in your clan is better, now! Syd's the only one with a fever of over 102 right now. Maybe we're almost to the light at the end of tunnel.
Posted by: willa at Enero 18, 2007 11:56 AM