Once again baby cakes has a cold with an accompanying fever. We've been going through the typical routine of temperature taking and series of questions I ask myself to make sure I'm taking care of her properly. You know the questions I'm talking about...the should list. Should I take her to school today, should I take her to the doctor, what should I feed her, etc.
Since my last experience with her catching a cold I found out that fevers go up at night. It's amazing to me that she's 41/2 and I just discovered that! Anyhoo, I was curious about what makes this happen and I found this interesting article by Dr. Greene, a renowned pediatrician. Here is what it reads.
"our bodies are on a 24 hour clock called the Circadian Rhythm. Hormone levels rise and fall according to this daily cycle. Some hormones help us to wake up in the morning, others help us to sleep at night. These same hormones affect how we feel pain. During the day high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, keep us from feeling some of the pain and keep our fevers in check."
Click here to read Dr. Greene's full answer to the question "Why Does My Child Always Seem to Get Sick at Night"
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Have You Ever Wondered Why Your Child's Fever Gets Much Higher At Night?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Health blogs provide a port in life's storms
Local bloggers find safe haven for sharing their health battles When Kathleen Weaver got her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis five years ago, she started the fight of her life. The disease that took her father wasn't about to get the best of her. "Living with him terminally ill for two years because of the diabetes and cardiovascular complications, it scared the hell out of me," says Ms. Weaver, who just turned 48. "That kind of slapped me in the face." She was determined to live well past the age when her father died: 48. So she made it her mission to educate herself about the illness. The Internet became a trove of the latest research, advances and medicines. But her biggest source of help was a blog. Like many other Americans living with chronic conditions, she turned to faceless friends for support and information.
11:57 AM CST on Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
it is 3:13 am EST time, fri feb. 8 or 9, i'm not sure right now and don't feel like looking for what date it is. anyway i have been waiting for an hour for the pediatrician on call to call me back. actually it is 3:17 am now and i just called the answering service again who said the doctor on call should call back within about 15 min. and if not to call again. she told me that in the future if i don't hear back within about 15 min. to call them right back. so now it is 3:24 and i just got off the phone with the pediatrician. the answering service lady did also mention she thought the page didn't go through correctly which makes me feel much better that they don't have concerned mothers waiting up at all hours of the night. the pediatrician actually did call right back.
... so here's the story...since tuesday i have been taking care of my sick 4 year old. her temperature had been progressively going down since i got the call from school with her having an under arm temperature of 101. i decided to go to work yesterday (thursday) afternoon because she seemed to be doing great to me with just that lingering fever that was going down. my mom's friend agreed to watch her for me so i could go to work for the afternoon. i went in at 11:30 and left at 5:30 by the time i was getting my daughter ready for bed at 8:30 pm she didn't look very good to me and her temperature was at 99 under the arm. 2 am she wakes up to use the bathroom and she felt like she was burning up: temp of 101.8 under the arm. i'm feeling a little guilty for going to work now. i feel like i needed to have encouraged her to rest and drink fluids more and not be in a rush to get back to work. i guess there's always more we can do... as long as we try to do our best on a day to day basis and everyone is alive and happy at the end of the day, what more can one ask for?
join us next time for some more blog therapy as we move forward on our journey to fabulosity
-Mama
How to Interpret Your Child's Temperature
this is a great article about reading additions and subtractions that need to be considered when taking a child's temperature under the arm compared with oral and rectal readings. it is a great reading because it reminds us not to get so caught up in the exact temperature down to the 0.1 degree, rather to use the temperature readings along with your judgment of you child's symptoms to help you decide how to best take care of your child.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit
gives detailed information on how to mix natural household products to use for specific purposes. for oven cleaning, window cleaner measurements, etc. if you are a strictly recipe cook this will give you precise measurements.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
so i received a call today... my 4 year old daughter was sick at school with a temperature of 101. she was also having headaches... like many mothers, a series of thoughts ran through my mind including: what does she have and will she need to go to the dr's or er. the center did inform me of 2 viruses that were going around the school including a stomach virus and the the flu.
as soon as we got settled at home i found myself googling flu season, children's flu symptoms etc., as if i haven't already read this information a dozen times before. with all of the viruses and everything out right now i've posted these articles to hopefully help you reduce your search time for relevant material by having information from varying yet credible sources. there are also some links to current flu trends and news articles.
please let me know if you find this useful.
join us next time for some more blog therapy as we move forward on our journey to fabulosity
thanks,
Mama
Flu in Children: Provides comprehensive information
information from healthsquare.com. provides a synopsis of the flu including symptoms and treatment for children
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Children Flu
this is a little more in depth about flu and how to treat children. another perspective that can be considered.
Does Your Child Have a Cold or the Flu? Symptoms Guide
this has a very user-friendly chart from kidshealth.org to help you determine if your child has a cold or the flu
Flu in Children
gives in-depth information about the flu in children including a time outline for the virus. treatment advice consistent with how i've adopted treating my daughter based on advice from pediactricians and internet resources.