HELP! Can a cold cause a fever?

[expatinscotland]

FIL had a NASTY cold and exposed DD1 (2.5) to it. A lot. She started coughing and having a runny nose yesterday. Today she's been whimpering. She absolutely REFUSES to: eat anything or drink anything. She will not take Calpol, Nurofen, etc. She vomits if you force them on her. She won't even have chewables.

We laid her down for her nap and went to get her and she didn't want to come out. She just says, 'Night, night,' and asks for her blanket.

She has no rash, just VERY red cheeks and is sweating.

Could this all be from the cold??

She's had a flu vaccine.

Please help! This is only the second time she's been ill - the first was when she was 9 mos. and had gastroenteritis.

Glad your little one is perking up, tho. 11.15?! Wow! Now that's a lie-in! DD1 might do that if I can get the full dose of MediSed down her tonight. It has really helped her settle, which is what an ill child needs most of all.

keep going with small sips of water/juice every couple of hours thats what I did - couldn't get him to take anything for 1st 24 hrs.

let her sleep it off

try not to worry - easy to say! I was worrying when ds2 wouldn't eat for 5 days (apart from some dry bread)

My MIL just fobbed me off. Said 'Well, all the kids up the road have runny noses.'

Um, does DD1 SEE any of the kids up the road? NO! Does she have a runny nose? NO, she's got a f*cking hacking cough and tight chest and fever, thanks much.

She can go and get stuffed. I don't care if I p*ss them off, they deliberately exposed my kids, including a newborn, to a nasty ass virus.

I wouldn't be half a cheesed off if she caught it by accident. But there was FIL, playing around w/her and coughing all over her. She then coughed around DD2, naturally.

WTF do these people think? That that's in any way good?

'Well, she'll get stuff off other kids.' I'm sure she will. But right now she doesn't go to nursery and the playgroups she attends are full of other eldest children like her who aren't around a bunch of other kids. And when she goes to nursery in the Autumn, DD2 will be old enough to have Calpol, Nurofen, etc. and have all her jabs.

I'm not allowing her to go to playgroup tomorrow. B/c there are a lot of pregnant ladies there and now a lot of the kids there have younger, baby siblings and I wouldn't dream of exposing such people to this.

It's called consideration for others.

This is interesting... almost everyone in my family has recently had a cough that turned feverish. I've spoken to several other parents here (I'm in Calif. at the moment) who say their kids had the same thing -- bit of a cough with a fever. The fever was variable: 4yo barely had it at all, DH just felt achy & wiped out, 6yo had it a bit bad & the 18m old needed Motrin to prevent brain-fry. Whole thing blew over after about 3-5 days.

so a cough with fever seems to be the going bug in the USA. If it's the same one, btw, it's not very contagious; took ages to work thru my family & I never caught it at all.

She is still hacking away. Poor soul. A lot of it is that she absolutely refuses to take ANY medication at all. She is drinking again, thankfully. She's had an OJ ice lolly, a bit of ice cream. That's about it. I leave a cup for her in her bed so she can drink when she pleases.

She started coughing around 3AM and did not stop. It was awful. She's only just now getting some sleep.

Still holding our breath w/regards to DD2.

maZebra, I'm a US expat and my sister back in Texas said a cough w/fever is making the rounds at the school where she teaches 4th grade. Her kids have so far been spared, but they're older - 11 and 8 - and have had similar bugs like this in the past.

To those whose kids have had this, how long does it last?

She is STILL in her cot, unable to sleep. She no longer wants to drink.

No fever. Just that cough!

I go in and she says, 'Night night.' She wants to sleep!

But she will NOT take any medication, not even paracetamol. I got some Calpol down her last night and she threw it up b/c she didn't like it!

She seemed to rally a bit yesterday evening, now she's back to very poorly.

Wonder when I should take her to the doctor . . .

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Dh just took her to a doctor's for a 5.40 appointment. She's just not taking ANY meds - Calpol, Medised, Nurofen. Nada. She drank 2 oz. of water. That's it since 3AM. That's what freaks me out, that she won't take fluids.

She's just been whimpering in her bed all day and not wanted to get out, but not sleeping, either.

Still worried about Roisin. Took about 5 days for DD1 to fall ill, so if Roisin has it it will be at teh weekend.

NO more spending time w/the ILs this winter. They're always ill w/some crap b/c BIL has crap immune system. If it pisses them off, I don't care. Pisses me off that they made my daughter so ill and possibly my newborn baby.

This whole 'well, they'll get it anyhow' is a load of tosh. DD1's not been ill but one other time.

And as for her getting it in nursery, well, that's months away, when Roisin will be an older baby who can have Calpol at least.

Why make a rod for your own back when you don't have to?

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Poor little love, hope the apt. was helpful. I hate seeing DD feeling that rough. Half my family are French, and they would probably hang draw and quarter your FIL: major bad behaviour, visiting whilst germy, in their book. They do have a point.

1 hand type here - feeding dd2.

the cold's settled in her chest and she's got an upper respiratory infection. hope these ab's work! she is to go back on sat. if no improvement b/c apparently pneumonia is going about just now.

had to force the ab's down and then she wanted to go back to bed after a small drink of water.

Oh expat...sorry to hear the infection bit. Glad you got her seen, fingers crossed on the ABs working fast. Did she take any expressed milk, in the end?

It's dd1 who's ill. She's 2.5, so she's been drinking water and juice. DD2 is just 3 weeks and I'm hoping she's spared. I feel rundown myself, but I think it's just worry and lack of sleep and weather that keeps chopping and changing.

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I know its DD1, just thought I remembered a post lower in thread about giving her expressed milk for antibodies or something? Might have got it wrong, sorry - frequently on MN when bleary eyed. Anyway, am glad she's taking fluids again of any sort - and not surprised you're feeling weary: BF'ing and looking after/worrying about ill toddler, yikes. Hope you get some rest tonight.

Expat, I've been keeping an eye on this thread and I hope the abs work quickly and that she rallies soon.

she's coughing so badly she's throwing up.

just had to put her in the bath.

got 5ml of medised in her whilst she was in there. so that way when she boaked it i just sponged her off.

she's still coughing in her cot, however. she's skinny as a rail as it is. the LAST thing she needed was to lose more weight.

we were just getting on track w/potty training, ext. it's so awful not to hear her twee voice or see her playing w/her toys

if she's not better by tomorrow evening i'm ringing NHS direct and getting an after hours appointment at Sick Kids.

((expat's dd)) I would do the same, re sick kids tomorrow. Really hope she's better in the morning.

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i wish i could say she was improving.

she's actually worse. her temp is back up to 38, she's not slept, Robutussin has done NOTHING for the cough, and she's raspy.

Needless to say, she's back to the surgery in a few minutes here. GP says he'll refer her onto hospital in advance, basically.

i think she's got pnuemonia, tbh.

the f*cking cold she needed like a hole in her head has really knocked her for six.

D*amn and blast, Expat - I was hoping for you. I hope you're wrong, but as I believe in mothers' instincts hospital is probably the best bet. At least they can sort out the right antibiotics there, plus hydrate her if necessary
Hugs to you, let us know when you can.

I'm beyond p*ssed now.

That little girl should be playing with her Christmas toys and enjoying her new baby sister - not whimpering and coughing for Scotland.

Her toys are sitting here in the living room - unplayed with. It's not the same w/o her little voice.

Was SO enjoying my maternity leave w/the family - I had to go back to work when she was just 8 weeks old. We were working on potty trianing, she was getting all interested in washing her hands, brushing her teeth herself, etc.

Now she's so weak she couldn't even stand up in the bath on her own.

All b/c of someone's complete lack of consideration.

They havent even PHONED to see how she is! I phoned them on Wednesday.

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Thanks, all! I was at the end of my tether last night b/c it was truly breaking my heart to hear her cough and moan all night. I was so angry! It's my JOB to protect her and I didn't b/c I didn't want to appear rude. Now she's paying the price. Well the hell w/that next time!

I was crying in the bathroom. It's been since Monday she's had a good night's sleep. So I got firm w/her and told her, in a raised voice, 'You're taking these meds, dammit!' That got her attention.

The doctor had given her a new antiobiotic for the URT, and I got that down her. She boaked a lot of the Tixylix, but apparently not all of it b/c she finally fell asleep around 4AM and slept till 10 w/only minor coughing bouts and moans.

Just gave her a bath - with more Tixylix - and she wanted to eat an OJ ice lolly. She took her morning dose of ab w/some major coaxing from DH.

She's tucked up in her room now w/CBeebies on and some toys in bed and DH has dd2 out walkies for some fresh air between feeds.

She's still got that AWFUL cough and not eating or drinking much, but she is at least a bit more settled.

She's SKINNY like her dad - only about 26lbs. and 3ft., 2.5 inches tall - so I hate to see her lose so much weight. Especially after I had dd2 and am at home and have been cooking lots of good food and she was eating well and putting on weight.

She's had a flu jab, thankfully.

Going to keep her away from dd2 till the cough improves, however.