tricia Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Hubby came home from work and said that a co-worker was sent home and was officially diagnosed with the H1N1 or swine flu. Whichever. Anyway, we have a large family with lots of kids and this really concerns me. Should I be? I really don't want to fly red flags if I don't have to. I normally am very laid back about this kind of thing. But now I suppose it's closer to home.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Obviously there is no way to know how any kiddo is going to react to illness, but try not to be overly concerned. The SF has been in our area BIG TIME for the last month, and we have been exposed directly multiple times but so far we are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I have a friend whose 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with swine flu yesterday (test confirmed it). Two days ago she woke with a slight fever, got a headache.....mom dosed with motrin and she was great for a while. Later on fever rose to 102.5 and headache returned. Mom gave more Motrin in the evening and girl went to bed. Yesterday the girl was tired, running low fever, threw up a tiny bit only once, sneezing some, coughing some. There was a confirmed case of H1N1 at the girl's school so the mom took her to the doctor. Test confirmed swine flu. Today (only two days after onset of fairly mild symptoms) the girl is not running any fever, has had no Motrin since 4 AM, mom has not touched the Tamiflu yet. Her color is a little off, has a little sneezing, but was up painting and stuff. So, all that to say, looks like this flu can be fairly mild or more flu-like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I'm not trying to hijack the topic, but I have a question. As a Mom of children that rarely get sick, I'm wondering, for future reference, what, if any, is the benefit of using Motrin rather than Tylenol? I figured I should ask now while we are healthy rather than after the kids are already sick. I'm working on stocking up on cold and flu supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Tylenol is a good fever reducer. If a very high fever won't come down you can give both ibuprofen and tylenol. Be sure and read the package and don't overdose. I think ibuprofen helps more with the aches but our MD prefers tylenol for the kids. Also check cold meds to be sure they don't already have one of these meds in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I've found that ibuprofen (motrin) works better and longer then acetamenophine (Tylenol). It usually takes longer to actually start working though. For example, if I have a bad headache, Tylenol will not usually take it all the way away. It may lessen it....or it may come back within just a few hours. But it does start working within about 30 minutes for me. If I take Motrin, it takes an hour to an hour and a half to kick in and take the headache completely away (quicker for a fever though...usually within about 30 minutes for that). And it keeps the headache away too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Like the pp said, we do rotate motrin/tylenol for a stubborn, high fever. We give alternate them every three hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I have a friend whose 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with swine flu yesterday (test confirmed it). Two days ago she woke with a slight fever, got a headache.....mom dosed with motrin and she was great for a while. Later on fever rose to 102.5 and headache returned. Mom gave more Motrin in the evening and girl went to bed. Yesterday the girl was tired, running low fever, threw up a tiny bit only once, sneezing some, coughing some. There was a confirmed case of H1N1 at the girl's school so the mom took her to the doctor. Test confirmed swine flu. Today (only two days after onset of fairly mild symptoms) the girl is not running any fever, has had no Motrin since 4 AM, mom has not touched the Tamiflu yet. Her color is a little off, has a little sneezing, but was up painting and stuff. So, all that to say, looks like this flu can be fairly mild or more flu-like. Sounds a lot like what we had recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I'm not trying to hijack the topic, but I have a question. As a Mom of children that rarely get sick, I'm wondering, for future reference, what, if any, is the benefit of using Motrin rather than Tylenol? I figured I should ask now while we are healthy rather than after the kids are already sick. I'm working on stocking up on cold and flu supplies. I think it just depends on your preference and what works for your kids. My kids respond faster and better to motrin. (I respond the best to Aleve, personally). However, tylenol carries less risk of stomach bleed and such, so I tend to give tylenol for minor things (or low fevers) and break out the motrin for tougher stuff or aches and pains. I have also been known to rotate the two every three hours. However, my son's doctor has suddenly started telling me NOT to do it. I have no idea why...and he really doesn't elaborate other than the tell me that "studies show it is not helpful and can cause damage to the child's body." Blah. I will continue to do it if I feel the situation warrants it...but I do try to limit my use of it in that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Like the pp said, we do rotate motrin/tylenol for a stubborn, high fever. We give alternate them every three hours. We've been doing this since our 27-year-old was a baby. It's the way our pediatrician told us to do it, and it's still the way our current pediatrician recommends it. We alternate, starting with Tylenol which works faster. If you're treating muscular aches and pains you're better off with Motrin which will also deal with the swelling and inflammation. Tylenol only works on fevers and pain. For backaches I only take Motrin because instead of just masking the pain temporarily, it works to relieve the swelling in aching muscles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 My niece had swine flu (confirmed with tests) and no one else in the family got sick. Maybe you will all be lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Bear Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory med, acetominophen is not. When dosing for fever, alternating the two can work better than one alone, depending on the cause of the fever. They work on different receptors. Acetaminophen will not reduce inflammation, which is often the cause of a fever. Interestingly, girls' pain is most often linked to inflammation, while boys' is not. If you have kidney issues you should not take ibuprofen; liver issues nix acetaminophen. (YMMV, not a doc, yadda yadda) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organichomemaking Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 It's good to keep in mind that a fever is the bodys natural way of fighting infection. It can signal to us when there is an infection of some sort when there are no other symptoms. Every person is different so some can handle a certain temperature better more than others (be it high or low) and others can't. What we do when we don't want a fever to spike is we give ginger-cinnamon tea (warm), broth, use a wet cloth on forehead, or use damp socks and put dry socks over them. For the most part, though, we don't ever have to treat them. Encouraging a lot of rest (less stress on the body) and fluids (chicken broth is awesome), really does help the fever do its job quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 It's good to keep in mind that a fever is the bodys natural way of fighting infection. It can signal to us when there is an infection of some sort when there are no other symptoms. Every person is different so some can handle a certain temperature better more than others (be it high or low) and others can't. What we do when we don't want a fever to spike is we give ginger-cinnamon tea (warm), broth, use a wet cloth on forehead, or use damp socks and put dry socks over them. For the most part, though, we don't ever have to treat them. Encouraging a lot of rest (less stress on the body) and fluids (chicken broth is awesome), really does help the fever do its job quicker. :iagree: I just learned of this a year or so ago and the last time kiddos had a fever i did not use medication and sickness seemed to go quicker. I would have to look it up but there was a chart to go by if under a certain age a fever up to... is ok. Anyway we are getting over the flu, not swine there was no fever over 101 and no vomitting and it is as bad as I remember. Just lots of fluids and rest and honey for the cough (thanks to TWTM ladies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Because of this information, I've stopped giving ibuprofen. DS is recovering from swine flu right now. Tylenol was plenty for him. Anti-inflammatory and flu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 It's good to keep in mind that a fever is the bodys natural way of fighting infection. It can signal to us when there is an infection of some sort when there are no other symptoms Very true. We usually wouldn't treat a low grade fever with anything but cold drinks and cold wraps/cloths. This time, however, we had to use Tylenol because both dc were so hot (temp hovering around 104) and nothing was cooling them off - way too scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Because of this information, I've stopped giving ibuprofen. DS is recovering from swine flu right now. Tylenol was plenty for him. Anti-inflammatory and flu Can't read the whole article unless you pay for it... have you seen it anywhere else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organichomemaking Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 (edited) :iagree: I just learned of this a year or so ago and the last time kiddos had a fever i did not use medication and sickness seemed to go quicker. I would have to look it up but there was a chart to go by if under a certain age a fever up to... is ok. Anyway we are getting over the flu, not swine there was no fever over 101 and no vomitting and it is as bad as I remember. Just lots of fluids and rest and honey for the cough (thanks to TWTM ladies). I'm glad you and your family are getting better. Raw local honey is what we use. That stuff is amazing. I've never seen a chart but was advised by our homeopath to judge by the external behavior and not the number because we all react so differently to fevers. So if the fever was 103 or higher but my child is acting as if it were a low grade fever, then it is really nothing to worry about, God willing. There are some children who may not even be able to tolerate a low grade fever. They may be very lethargic, almost not awake, etc... Edited October 12, 2009 by organichomemaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organichomemaking Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Very true. We usually wouldn't treat a low grade fever with anything but cold drinks and cold wraps/cloths. This time, however, we had to use Tylenol because both dc were so hot (temp hovering around 104) and nothing was cooling them off - way too scary. It is scary but we've also been made to fear fevers quite a bit, so a lot of that is because of that, unfortunately. There are a number of doctors (homeopaths/naturopaths) that cautioned me against Tylenol. They recommended that if I did keep it around, however, to avoid the red dye due to it causing allergies, etc. How were your children behaving while they had that high of a temperature? And what sort of methods did you try to bring it down/keep it from spiking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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