(no subject)

[rivka]

I don't think that I would be able to tell the difference between a 30-degree day and a 32-degree day, or food served at 140 degrees (as food-safety recommended) versus 138 degrees. So it amazes me that I can detect the difference between 98.6 degrees and 100.6 degrees just by brushing my hand against Colin's neck. It's screamingly obvious.

I think this is the boy's first fever. He hasn't gotten up above 102, but he seems awfully sick. And hot. Yesterday evening he was semi-asleep in our bed, and I went up because he started to whimper. He was tossing and turning, hair damp and plastered to his face, skin flushed pink. I slid an arm beneath him and felt heat radiating from the bed and from his sleep sack. "I can't believe Michael turned on the electric mattress pad when Colin is already running hot," I thought resentfully. But he hadn't. It was just Colin, burning up.

Tylenol doesn't bring the fever down. I took him to the ped office yesterday wanting to rule out an ear infection, because he'd been under the weather for several days before getting a fever and that tips my bacterial-infection meter. No; his ears and throat and lungs are clear. ("This is his first ever sick visit?" the nurse practitioner said. "Well, whatever's in your breastmilk, you should bottle that and sell it.") But the visit was worth the trip anyway, because they told me that he's old enough for ibuprofen now, and that is bringing the fever down to normal.

Hopefully today he'll be willing to do something other than (a) be held, and (b) nurse. I nursed him all damn night. And Alex wet the bed (!) at 2:30am.

You know what? I'm tired.

Comments

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

Sick kids are SO much fun. Poor little guy.

Our thermometer has been broken for a while, leaving us only with the metric one we picked up when I was sick in England. But I don't really need it, the forehead kiss works just fine.

[laurarey.livejournal.com]

Yeah, when Rachel was sick around Christmas, all she wanted to do was be held and nurse. Fevers suck. I was pleased too that Rachel made it to 9 months without being ill. Cheers for Colin and Rachel (and breastmilk)! Hope Colin feels better soon and you get some sleep.

[kate_nepveu]

Does Tylenol bring *any* kids' fever down? It never did a thing for SteelyKid, and ibuprofen was a flippin' _miracle_ after that.

[ailbhe]

Rectal paracetamol definitely helped my youngest. I have no clear memories of what oral paracetamol did for my eldest.

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

Oral paracetamol/acetaminophen works well for my son. Ibuprofen does next to nothing.

[ailbhe]

Oh, poor Colin. And poor Alex. And poor Rivka. It *is* strange how you can tell a slight fever so easily, isn't it? I never thought about it before.

I hope it burns out soon and everyone can get some rest.

[matthewwdaly.livejournal.com]

My quick research says that the normal temperature of bare skin is 91 degrees. Interestingly, Google-fu isn't helping me on how closely skin temperature matches core temperature when you have a fever, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was far closer, so you might be dealing with sensing a variation of nearly ten degrees. (Of course, you are well-prepared to collect data on this, FOR SCIENCE!)

[kateyule.livejournal.com]

Another possible factor: skin temp usually quite consistent, much more so than the other examples. I should think a 2° shift in a normally steady room temp would be noticeable.

[tchemgrrl.livejournal.com]

I wonder if there's some vasodilation that occurs on a feverish person, as the body tries to get dump all that excess heat. That'd certainly make skin warmer to the touch.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Poor little guy. I hope he's feeling a little bit better now.