Updated: URGENT - Unknown Cause of Spiked Fever in 2 Year Old.

Hi there,

I know how scary it can be when a little one has high fever, however, high fever is usually far less indicative of a major illness than a low-grade fever. My pediatrician's website has a great summation of fevers and what to do an not do, http://clinicalpediatrics.com/index.php?action=website-vi.... Also, their website does stress that alternating Tylenol and Motrin is not known to be safe and should not be done.

I hope your little one feels better very soon and you all can breathe easy and get some much needed rest.

It is probably viral. The ER can not really do more than you are already doing and I doubt they will admit for a diagnosis only. They will repeat all the doctor did at the office with probably the same results. If the doctor thought she needed to be hospitalized, then he would have already done so. She also has to meet insurance criteria to be admitted. And she probably doesn't. A fever of unknown origin that is controlled with meds, and the baby still taking some fluids is not enough for admitting in most hospitals I know. I know that you are scared and concerned but as long as she is drinking fluids, keep alternating the tylenol and motrin. Sometimes you just have to ride these things out. The hospital will not be able to do more than you are doing. And it is awful expensive for a little support. With alot more sicker people all congregated in the same spot with bigger and badder bugs than she has!
Basically, the temperature is her bodies way of dealing with some type of infection and is not the cause of the problem. Somewhere there is a virus or bacteria, and her little body is doing exactly as God intended to get rid of the intruder. Let the body do it's job. Unless my kids temp is above 102, I don't medicate for temp. It stops the bodies natural processes for getting rid of bugs. You may never know what is causing it, even with a hospitalization. The sleep is not causing her fever, but conveniently the medicine wears off when she happens to be asleep. Just give fluids and alternate medicine. And hope for a fast recovery. You are doing great. No more than the hospital would be able to do.
Good luck,
L., RN

My son who is 15 months old just went through that. He was teething, was not eating and for several days had a fever of 103-104. Which is way for him because he doesn't hardley ever run a fever. Even with ear infections he never ran a fever. So I was freaking out he got a few bites on his legs and I thought maybe that could have been the problem. I called the on call nurse and she said if he wasn't vomitting then don't worry. Really not so easy when your child is burning up!!!. I took him in they couldn't find anything wrong with him all test neg. as well. I kept alternating Tylenol/Motrin for a couple of days (most doctors do not like you to do this for more than a day), but it was the only thing that would work. Finally after 3 days he had two new teeth pop in. All the doctors and nurses said it could not be teething, but what else was it? If it was a virus my 3 year old would have caught it and she didn't. When the fever was low he was fine. When the fever was high he just layed around. He would not eat at all or drink. It took about another 4-5 days for him to start eating again. He lost 2 pounds in a week. Rub on her gums to see if you can feel any teeth coming in. I hope she gets to feeling better soon I know how scary this is.

Have you checked into the back of her throat?? My daughter gets strep almost every year and her first pediatrician would give her strep tests and say that wasn't it. Actually it was. Think about it, those tests are not easy to give to anyone, yet alone young children who do not sit stll while having a swab stuck down their throat. I checked into her mouth and could actually see the infection there- what looks like two swabs of cotton in the back of her throat. Needless to say she has a new pediatrician now. If this isn't the case- have you checked into Roseala? I hope that your child's condition improves very soon.

Hi Trish, just wanted to tell you that I am praying for you and your family. So scary! Just wanted to give my opinion for what it's worth, I know people are scared of aspirin, but when a fever is up so high like that, it's possibly causing brain damage as well as ear damage. Aspirin will get that fever down in a hurry. I know someone that has ear loss because of a high fever and no one wants that. Tylenol is for the birds. But anyway, just wanted to share that, you are doing all you can, unfortunately we have to let the docs figure everything out. Keep us updated on her progress.

I will pray that your little girl is okay. If it were me and the fever kept spiking like that,I would head to the ER and demand additional test or overnight stay, so professional staff can check her at the height of the temp rise. Please let us know what you find out. We as mom never know when we may encounter something like this.

I will pray for her and I know everyone else will as well.
God Bless the little one

I would go to the ER at Children's Medical Center or Cook Children's and raise heck until they give some answers. Our daughter had Roseola and went undiagnosed the entire time she was in the hospital (3 days). The good thing is that we were at the hospital during that time and even though we were awaiting lab results during that time, she was also being constantly hydrated through an IV and I felt better just knowing dr.s were close by. a day after the fever broke the rash hit, her pediatrician automatically pinpointed Roseola; and then she was fine, although still contagious for a week. Better safe than sorry, I would at least call your dr./nurse on call and inquire again, that fever is worrisome. Best of luck.

It could be Roseola - which causes extremely high temps, but is quite common and is nothing to be concerned with. There are typically no other symptoms. My son had it a few months ago. I was freaking out over the temps over 104. It lasted several days and then the fever just disappeared over night. If it is that, it is very common to have a rash as soon as the fever breaks - so don't worry if that happens. I was actually very happy to see the rash since it basically confirmed it was indeed Roseola and nothing else. I will keep your little one and your family in my prayers. God Bless.

Call your doc and demand she be admitted for observation. Better to be safe than sorry. Just my opinion. Fever of unknow origin's need to be checked out. If she is not eating or drinking, she needs observation.

Well, fever = infection. The bloodwork should determine which leukocytes are high, and help determine the source. But, anytime fever is that high a child should be at/in the ER. I'd say at that age at 103.+ especially if Motrin is not alleviating it. I would have first thought ears, but you said clear, my next thought-throat with the symptoms of fever, and not wanting to eat or drink that is very common, I know the strep was neg. but they might try it again. The rash could be associated with fever, did she have it prior to the rash that you know of? It also could be a symptom of many other things. At home, I put my kids in a tub in addition to the Ibuprofen when they run fever, but your daughter's temperature is extremely high. If she is dehydrated, she will need an IV drip anyway, and I'd definately have her in the ER at 106 fever, that is extremely dangerous. Keep us informed. Hope she gets well!

i know it's scary, i have a child that spikes fevers on occassion, he usually has pneumonia with NO symptoms of it though - no cough, etc. i would be VERY hesitant about demanding hospitalization or going back to the ER, hospitals are notorious for antibiotic resistant infections, and your child is going to rest/recover better at home. i would rotate tylenol and motrin(you can give them together too, but the motrin is every 6 hours, not 4 like tylenol), as long as the fever is responding to the fever reducing meds, you are ok for the time being. wait on the bloodwork and get a second opinion from another doctor if you want. good luck and hope your little one is feeling better soon!

Hi Trish, I will be praying for your little girl. I hope everything goes well. That is so scary. Keep us posted.

Has she had the measles vaccine? Most dostors today don't recognize a case of measles because most children have had the vaccine.
You and she are in my prayers.
D.

My son had roseola that gave him high (104.7) temps for about 4 days that didn't respond much to tylenol (we could get him down a few degrees, but not under 100). But the rash didn't appear until the fever broke.

A friend's daughter had mono that had these horrible fever spikes as well. They're likely testing for that with the blood tests. Mono is actually quite common in preschoolers. Some react worse than others. Your main concern is dehydration. If she's listless, you'll want her admitted if only for fluids.

It does sound scary. Let us know what you find out!

Make sure they test for viral meningitis, that presents with a fever and a rash.

I agree about avoiding the ER, if possible, because of the stuff that goes around there, but if I were you I would call the pedi and ask if she can get some iv fluids there, at least. If she gets dehydrated, she will be listless and it will be very difficult to get her fever down. She needs fluids desperately. If she doesn't eat, I wouldn't worry. My son has gone days without eating and then when he's better he makes up for it.

Remember, the ear temp is going to be different than the others- there should be a chart or something inside the ear therm that says what is "normal" and it's a degree or two above what a different therm would read, I believe. We bought the temporal therm (like they use at the docs) and I believe it works best (though we usually take the average out of three tries). They're under $40 at Walgreens, if I remember correctly. I have the ear one too, but it doesn't seem to coincide with the Dr's office (ear is always higher). I mean, why would the dr's office say 103.6, then at home it's 106.1? The therm may be off and you're getting scared for nothing, you know? I would be real scared with a 106 temp, too.

Unfortunately the temperature almost always rises when they sleep- same thing happened with my son. It should go down within an hour or so of waking, though.

I would guess that she probably picked up a virus at the party and there's nothing much to be done about it, unfortunately. I feel for you- been there. It's the worst, seein' your little one go through all that.

Couple thing to remember on fevers- she'll want to be naked, but don't let her, cuz then she'll start to shiver and that can make the fever worse. Keep one layer on her (a sheet or t-shirt, shorts, whatever). She'll get hot and want it off, but it's not good. At least that's what I read.

Be prepared that you may not get a diagnosis. They'll probably conclude that it's a virus, as it usually is.

Sorry if I couldn't be more positive.

Trish,

I completely understand your fears! We went through this when my baby girl was only about 4 months old! She didn't have the rash, but was listless, irritable, and not nursing very well. She spiked an extremely high fever (in the 105-106) range and it would go down some with the help of Tylenol (I couldn't use Motrin b/c she was so young). Her ped. originally thought it was a kidney infection - blood work, catheter (twice), and urinalysis - all negative. WBC was high. He sent me over to Cook's immediately - he thought menigitis. Scared me to death!!! We got right into Cook's. They ran blood work, another urinalysis, chest x-rays - all negative (with the exception of the high WBC). They finally decided to do a spinal tap. I was devastated, scared to death, and felt so horrible! Our pastor even came to the ER to be with us and pray over our sweet baby! It was awful watching the spinal tap! They ended up giving her an antibiotic shot and observed her for a few more hours. After 10 hours in the ER, we were sent home with instructions to give her Tylenol every 4 hours and see the ped. the next day for another antibiotic shot and re-check. The fever was still up and down and she was still out of it, but within a few days, she was fine. We never knew what it was - which, to me, is still scary. But, she is fine and the doctors think whatever it was, they caught and treated it so early that it didn't have time to present in any test that was run. I hope all is well with your baby. I know it is frightening! Trust your instincts and know that your baby is in God's hands:)

U need to follow ur mommastincts.
IF u feel that is what u need to do then do it.
Her little body is fighting something. But with her drinking and eating so little...
How long is it going to take to get the results from the DR?
U are doing all you can to fight the fever.
I hope she feels better soon.

I had something similar happen to my son when he was about 25 months old. Scary high spikey fevers (103-105 degree range) randomly over about a 3 week period, with no other obvious symptoms. After multiple doctor's visits they finally concluded it was viral and would run its course. Our ped recommended we rotate Tylenol and Motrin every 4 hours which we did, and that controlled the fever (until it came back again and again). No clue what the virus was, but if it was that it apparently affects kids in very different ways as my daughter never got it and was around him constantly. Good luck, obviously go to the ER if you think you need to.