(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

[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.