# how fast should a high fever come down?



## 2xshy (Nov 27, 2007)

DD (almost 14 months)had a fever this morning that spiked quite fast. When i first checked her temp it was 101.2 and within 45 minutes it was 102.8. I gave her some tempra because i though it was climbing up there pretty quickly. about an hour after i took it again and it was 103.5 or so. I headed to the clinic with her then only because we had tried to treat it and i felt like it was still going up. I know fever in and of itself my not be alarming but if im not mistaken higher fevers of 104-105 that dont respond should have medical attention. in the end we left the clinic because the wait was over 3 hours and her fever had come down to normal 98.8. so we didnt see a doctor. From what i have read online it says that higher fevers should come down fast but how fast are we talking? a few hours? a day? And do fevers of 104 that dont respond NEED medical attention?

Oh and she was a bit crabby, nursing a lot, and very sleepy, she had a bit of a runny nose but thats not uncommon. She started part time day care last week so im thinking its just viral. i'm more concerned at what point do i need to do something about a fever.

Thanks.


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## momtob&t (Mar 29, 2007)

Dd had a fever similar that yesterday, we gave her motrin and she fell asleep. It took a couple of hours before she wasn't burning up and when she awoke she was better but was still pinked. I have had doctors say that fever in itself is no reason to go to the dr, even a high one. But it depends to me how they are acting, kwim? How old is your dd?


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## photochef (Aug 14, 2005)

From my recent experience with a high fever accompanying Hand foot and mouth, DD had a fever that hovered at 104 for days, but the nurse line said not to go in unless she had some other symptoms (this was before the blisters in her mouth) or it went over 104.5 and stayed there in spite of using both tylenol and advil (acetominophen and ibuprofen) in combination. If it was that high while on fever reducers, then it might go too high (105, 106+) and cause brain damage (their words). While I know that they are usually a little alarmist about things, it certainly was scary being up alone at 3am with a child whose fever stopped climbing finally at 104.3. It took cold air and alternating tylenol and advil to keep it there. She was lethargic and ever so unhappy. It was awful. Hope your LO is better soon.


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## EnchantedMamma (May 19, 2008)

Here is the guideline we used just recently:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t082100.asp

Basically, I didn't worry when the 104 fever started coming down after about 30 min following a fever reducer dose (assume 30 min before Motrin/Tylenol starts working, then you should see some change). We also used lukewarm wet washcloths and a shower when the fever got really stubborn. And we had to alternate the Mot/Tyl routine every 3 hours (per the Dr Sears recommendation).

Once I see 102/103 by armpit, we start taking rectal temperatures until it drops to 101/100.

Turns out we had roseola. Kinda scary, as the fevers were stubborn. It was good to know the fever only needs to come down to 100/101 and not be completely gone.


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