Would you give your child the meds, or no?

[ChristusG]

DD3 has been running a fever since Saturday evening. Most days, it has hovered around 103 and 104 and I've had trouble keeping it down. I've given Tylenol, Motrin, and lukewarm baths.

 

I took DD to the doctor on Monday. They checked her ears, etc and didn't see any infection so they said to let it run its course, or to come back on Thursday if she was still running fever.

 

On Thurs she was still running fever so I brought her back. However, on Thursday her fever dipped really low. Most of the day she was not running a fever at all, but it did come back that evening, however it only got up to 101. This is MUCH lower than it has been running.

 

Yesterday the pediatrician checked her urine for UTI. She said that the results were iffy. There were a few leukocytes (white blood cells) present in the urine, but not many. So she is sending it off for to be cultured.

 

In the meantime, she wants us to start DD on antibiotics - sulfameth-trimeth.

 

I'm already leery of sulfa drugs, just because I've heard of bad reactions to it. But I also do not like giving meds "just in case." But then again, if it is a UTI, I don't want for it to get worse while I wait for the results. It could turn into a kidney infection, which is more serious.

 

DD has NO symptoms except for the fever....which is now lowering.

 

Would you go ahead and give the meds or wait till Monday or Tuesday when the culture comes back? If the fever is going away, does that mean there really is no infection (or that the infection is going away). Or can you be feverless and still have an infection?

[ChristusG]

bump

[Starr]

I'm inclined to think I would encourage fluids and wait for the culture.

[Wyndie]

I would not give the meds either. I would give unsweetened cranberry juice and lots of water. Sounds like her body is already fighting whatever is going on.

[ChristusG]

Thanks for the replies! That was my original thought as well.

[littlebug42]

You can be feverless and still have a UTI. Those infections can go on for quite some time symptomless and can cause urinary tract damage. Personally, I would give the drugs and then potentially discontinue if there is no infection. My sister almost died from a terrible kidney infection when she was little so I don't mess around with those issues.

[MelanieM]

No, I wouldn't give drugs unless there was something going on to indicate the need. While we often think of fever as a negative thing, it's actually a very good thing... it's the body's way of fighting off whatever is going on. Trying to mess with a fever is not really a good idea unless it is obviously bordering on the harmful side of things, i.e. non-responsive, lethargic child.

 

So, no, I don't think a fever without any other symptoms indicates a need for treatment of any sort.

[eternalknot]

I've only had one UTI, and it ended up in a pretty bad kidney infection. I had always been told by other women that I would *know* when I had a UTI because of the pain; I felt nothing out of the ordinary until it had progressed to my kidney - no pain, no fever, nothing.

 

To give some background - my oldest is 9 and has never had abx. He had OTC meds (one dose of benedryl given my my MIL) once for an overseas flight as a toddler, but never any since. My preschooler has never had OTC meds but has had one round of abx following a major surgery. As a rule, I avoid abx and OTC meds unless convincingly necessary. In the case of a UTI, given my own experience, I'd probably give the abx to my daughter even if she wasn't running a fever - just weighing the lesser of the two evils, in case her body reacted as mine did to the UTI.

 

How does her UTI experience compare to your own, if you've had one? That would be a good indicator of whether the abx were likely to help or prove fruitless at the point her UTI is.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would not give the meds either. I would give unsweetened cranberry juice and lots of water. Sounds like her body is already fighting whatever is going on.

 

:iagree:

[Tap]

Since the fever seems to be reducing, I would hold off on the meds for now. If her fever starts going back up, I would absolutely give the meds.

 

3yo is a hard age. You can't really trust what a 3yo says about symptoms, but since they can vocalize some of what they feel, you want to believe them. If she talks about having any pain while going pee, seems to start and stop her flow, has a dark color/bad odor, I would start the med.

 

How does she feel today? If you didn't have the past weeks worth of experiences with her, would you give the med today? I hope her fever is down and that you see her feeling better. If she seems worse I would start the med.

 

The sulfa drugs, while they can have a bad rap, are a very effective class of antibiotics. They are used quite often and are used with great success, especially for UTIs. They are one of the top 3 antibiotics used. If they were truly problematic, drs would use them. I wouldn't hesitate to use a sulfa drug for a UTI in my kids.

 

UTIs can get very bad, very fast. I have a coworker who almost died a year ago from an untreated UTI. She was hospitalized for a week, and possibly did permanent damage. It isn't something to play around with.

[Lovedtodeath]

What strikes me is that this child may not even have a UTI. I am inclined to tell you no meds. My DD had UTI symptoms with an inconclusive test and I gave her the meds.

[EKS]

If you don't want to give a sulfa drug, there are other medications that work just as well for a UTI. You could call the doctor to see if he/she is willing to change the prescription.

[ChristusG]

I did some researching online and it seems the method to collect urine from my daughter may not be very reliable. They put a bag on her and waited for her to pee. It took over two hours for her to calm down (she didn't like the bag taped to her) and actually pee. From what I read it seems like it is very easily contaminted by the white blood cells on your skin since it is not a mid-stream catch.

 

The only reason I'm inclined not to give the meds is because the doc said that the results were "iffy" and that there were "a few" white blood cells in the urine. And from what I've gathered online this morning, a few white blood cells can come from the skin while using this bag method.

 

I hate wondering if I'm doing the right thing for my kid. I know that in the grand scheme of things, this is pretty minor. But anything can be a possible health concern....from the effects of the sulfa drugs to the possiblilty of of a UTI.

 

I *almost* didn't take her to the doctor yesterday due to the fact that she seemed much better. If she was acting normal, as she is today, I wouldn't have taken her in at all. She acts normal with no fever (as of yet) today.

[Lovedtodeath]

It occurs to me that if the doctor had said "Come back on Friday if she still has a fever," we would not be worrying about this at all. One day is the cause of the worry.

 

My son had UTI symptoms and I was told they would have to use a catheter... so I avoided the MDs and took him to a ND. It was not a UTI.

[RanchGirl]

If you suspect a UTI, have you looked into d-mannose? From what I have read, and one experience trying it with a UTI myself, it's safe, quick and effective for ecoli UTIs (over 90% are ecoli). I would try that now while you wait for the results because unlike antibiotics, it has no side effects so if it is something else, no harm done.

[kalanamak]

I've only had one UTI, and it ended up in a pretty bad kidney infection. I had always been told by other women that I would *know* when I had a UTI because of the pain; I felt nothing out of the ordinary until it had progressed to my kidney - no pain, no fever, nothing.

 

And the reason the OP has heard of serious reactions to sulfa drugs is that millions and millions and millions of doses have been given, which gives for a lot of chances for front-page reactions to happen, as rare as they are.

[Aggie]

Since the fever seems to be reducing, I would hold off on the meds for now. If her fever starts going back up, I would absolutely give the meds.

 

3yo is a hard age. You can't really trust what a 3yo says about symptoms, but since they can vocalize some of what they feel, you want to believe them. If she talks about having any pain while going pee, seems to start and stop her flow, has a dark color/bad odor, I would start the med.

 

How does she feel today? If you didn't have the past weeks worth of experiences with her, would you give the med today? I hope her fever is down and that you see her feeling better. If she seems worse I would start the med.

 

The sulfa drugs, while they can have a bad rap, are a very effective class of antibiotics. They are used quite often and are used with great success, especially for UTIs. They are one of the top 3 antibiotics used. If they were truly problematic, drs would use them. I wouldn't hesitate to use a sulfa drug for a UTI in my kids.

 

UTIs can get very bad, very fast. I have a coworker who almost died a year ago from an untreated UTI. She was hospitalized for a week, and possibly did permanent damage. It isn't something to play around with.

 

Is this a typo?:001_smile:

[Peela]

I would not give the meds either. I would give unsweetened cranberry juice and lots of water. Sounds like her body is already fighting whatever is going on.

 

:iagree:

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I would definitely give her the meds. As a nurse, I have used and have given sulfa antibiotics many, many times to without harmful effects. WBCs in the urine coupled with the fevers all week means she has a strong possibility of urinary infection which needs antibiotics. Urinary tract infections can lead to kidney infection and even to worse septic (blood) infections which can be life threatening. Antiobiotics are safe and I would not hesitate to take them when ordered at all. I recommend probiotics while she is taking them and after in the form of kefir or a good yogurt like Stonyfield Farm.

[Mergath]

I would give the drugs. The odds of serious complications from an untreated UTI are much higher than the risk of complications from the antibiotics. I'm not one to use antibiotics without reason, but in this case, I would give them.