<p>Any medical people out there? My 17 year old son was sent home from boarding school yesterday with the flu. He has all the typical symptoms- runny nose, cough, headache/body ache. Last night he spiked a 103 fever. I’ve been alternating adult doses of Tylenol and Advil every 4 hours (I remember from when he was little that you can overlap a little) and he still has 102.4 despite the medicine. I called the pediatrician and they don’t want to see him unless the fever persists until Sunday. Besides forcing him to drink fluids (he can hardly lift his head up) is there anything else I should be doing?</p>
<p>Poor guy!</p>
<p>It sounds like you are doing everything I would do, but am not an MD. Will he sip soups or shakes? (Remember to wash your hands and take care of yourself, too.)</p>
<p>Keep a careful eye on him. My son started with similar symptoms on Sunday. His campus has reported quite a few cases of H1N1 and I figured this was what he had. Fever got up over 104 on Tuesday evening. The tylenol/advil didn’t seem to bring it down too much. Fever would go away in the morning, early afternoon and then return. Cough got worse. Wednesday night the fever hovered around 102 and he coughed nonstop. Thursday I drove 6 hours roundtrip to pick him up. Took him to the doctor last night. The diagnosis: pneumonia.</p>
<p>Yikes! He does have asthma, so I’ve been also making him do Albuterol every 4 hours and Advair twice a day. So unless he dramatically improves in the next two days, I should bring him in on Sunday like they said I guess.</p>
<p>mixing ibuprofen and acetaminophen is completely fine. Just stagnate doses 1-2 hrs apart.</p>
<p>Yes, I have read that bacterial pneumonia as a secondary infection is accompanying this H1N1 virus for many young people. I would suggest that, if the coughing gets severe or breathing is painful/difficult, demand that he is seen or take him to a med center.</p>
<p>From WebMD:</p>
<p>When to call the doctor </p>
<p>If you cough up yellow, green, or brown sputum, make an appointment with your doctor.</p>
<p>If you have fever, chills, shortness of breath, chest pain, or confusion, make an appointment with your doctor.</p>
<p>If you are healthy, you can safely make an appointment to see your doctor. A day or 2 wait should not make a big difference, unless you are experiencing significant shortness of breath, or if any signs of confusion are present.
When to go to the hospital </p>
<p>Anyone with shortness of breath should always seek emergency care. Shortness of breath is not simply the feeling that you can’t take a full breath. It is the feeling that you cannot take in enough air to meet your body’s needs. It is a potentially serious symptom and always requires a visit to an Emergency Department, no matter how healthy you are.</p>
<p>You are at higher risk to catch pneumonia if you have the following:</p>
<p>A chronic health problem, such as diabetes</p>
<p>A poor immune system because of HIV, AIDS, steroid use, or anti-rejection medications (people with organ transplants take these medications)</p>
<p>Diseased or damaged lungs, such as with asthma or emphysema</p>
<p>Are very young or very old</p>
<p>I hope your son gets better quickly! I echo the comments about watching closely the coughing/congestion, especially with asthma. My brother was recently in the hospital for H1N1 that lead into pneumonia. Once he got out of the hospital, the doctor told him to quarantine himself at home for another 7 days. I wasn’t sure if that was more for his protection due to lowered immune system or for the protection of others but I heard on the news this week that they think that H1N1 can still be spread up to 10 days after the symptoms appear.</p>
<p>Take care of yourself! You won’t be able to help him if you get sick yourself.</p>
<p>I found spoonfuls of sorbet to be one of the things I could keep down, that tasted pretty good, and that sat well. My sympathies to your son.</p>
<p>I hope it’s true for him: my husband, myself, and my son all felt significantly better after 36 hours.</p>
<p>Are you being literal when you say he can barely lift his head? Has he actually seen a medical provider? Who actually diagnosed him with “the flu”? As a medical provider, I would be pretty nervous about telling a person who could “barely lift his head” not to at least be seen.</p>
<p>Albuterol Q 4° could be six times a day. Did someone tell you to do that? That’s who I’d call. (My son was doing that yesterday and was shaking like a leaf)</p>
<p>I’d call that MD back and go slightly ballistic. Agree with Shrinkrap…if he truly can barely lift his head he should be seen by an MD.</p>
<p>Well he did crawl out of bed long enough to update his Facebook status to collect sympathy from his friends, so maybe he’s feeling a little better, but now is back in bed with a wet towel over his face. I’m going to ease up on the Albuterol as the cough seems a lot better. My main concern is the fever as when he was little it could go over 104. This is the first time he has been sick in years. He was diagnosed by an MD at the campus infirmary. The pediatrician at home is the one who would see him on Sunday.</p>
<p>Biohelp,</p>
<p>Such high fevers are not uncommon with young children, as you probably know. They are less common with older kids and adults. </p>
<p>and more from WebMD because it was still open on my screen:</p>
<p>When to Seek Medical Care
When to call the doctor </p>
<p>A fever has many possible causes. Most commonly, a fever is part of a virus that will go away on its own.</p>
<p>•Call the doctor if any of these conditions exists.
◦If the temperature is 104°F or greater
◦If the fever lasts more than 7 days
◦If the symptoms get worse</p>
<p>•Call the doctor immediately if any of the following symptoms occur with the fever.
◦Confusion or excessive sleepiness
◦Stiff neck
◦Severe headache
◦Sore throat
◦Rash
◦Chest pain
◦Trouble breathing
◦Repeated vomiting
◦Abdominal pain
◦Blood in stool
◦Pain with urination
◦Leg swelling
◦Red, hot, or swollen area of skin</p>
<p>**When to go to the hospital **
Certain illnesses that occur with a fever can be life threatening. Under these conditions, the person should go immediately to a hospital’s emergency department.</p>
<p>•Meningitis is life threatening and highly contagious if caused by certain bacteria. If a person has the combination of a fever, severe headache, and stiff neck, he or she should be taken to the emergency department immediately.
•A person with difficulty breathing or chest pain and a fever should go immediately to the emergency department or call for emergency medical transport.
•If a person has a fever and blood in the stool, urine, or mucus, he or she should seek emergency medical help.
•A person who has a fever and is very agitated or confused with no obvious reason should be transported to the emergency department.
•Any person whose immune system is weakened (for example, people with cancer or AIDS) should call their doctor or go to the emergency department immediately if a fever develops. (See special medical conditions.)
•Hyperthermia is an emergency. Call for emergency medical transport if a person has a temperature greater than 104°F, is confused, or is not responding.</p>
<p>Mafool- thank you! That is very helpful. I guess I’ll see how tonight goes then decide tomorrow whether to bring him in.</p>
<p>Gatorade. Super cold, even in small sips can make a world of difference.</p>
<p>I sure hope he starts to feel some relief soon.</p>
<p>Thanks JustaMom! He has willingly been drinking lots of Gingerale. This whole thing has been sort of a shock. As much as I have seen this on the news, I never expected it to show up in my own house LOL.</p>
<p>Gatorade helps add electrolytes.That old standby pediacare is helpful, too, for the same reason and has less sugar, which can be better tolerated if he becomes nauseated.</p>
<p>Ginger-ale is good, but try and get him to drink Gatorade or Powerade. They are much better to prevent dehydration. Popsicles and jello are also a good way to get fluids in his body.</p>
<p>When my kids get ill, I just hate the “wait a week and if he is not better then bring him in” Your son has a high fever and I would do whatever I could to get him seen by a doctor. (even if it meant telling a little lie) </p>
<p>Good luck and try to get some rest yourself so you don’t get ill.</p>
<p>He has already been seen by a doctor.</p>
<p>Someone told me today that her teen had swine flu (tested) and went on Tamiflu right away which shortened the illness and made it a bit milder. A few years ago, my grown son showed up at my house because he felt so ill with the flu he thought he needed care and I got him Tamiflu. It made a big difference in the length of time he felt like he was dying.</p>
<p>[Widespread</a> Tamiflu resistance sparks new look at pandemic flu drug stockpile: Scientific American Blog](<a href=“http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=widespread-tamiflu-resistance-spark-2009-03-02]Widespread”>http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=widespread-tamiflu-resistance-spark-2009-03-02)</p>
<p>[Tamiflu</a> resistance reported in 23 patients: Roche](<a href=“Home | The Star Phoenix”>Home | The Star Phoenix)</p>