4 ms·

I dated a girl whose brother came down with a high fever when he was young, and he became mentally retarded Off-topic here, but I'm curious for my own family.

I dated a girl whose brother came down with a high fever when he was young, and he became mentally retarded Off-topic here, but I'm curious for my own family. From what I've read on fever phobia, it seems like what most people consider a high fever really is normal and no reason to panic like we're used to doing[1]. In this girl's brother's case, I wonder how high that fever really was (and how old he was) in order for it to have affected him like that. [1] Or have nurses on the 24/7 pediatrician line yell at you to rush to the nearest ER, only to get charged $400+ for Tylenol.

berntb 17y ago
Don't worry, there are lots of ways things can screw up -- so what gets you will probably be something completely different. What got me was a simple infection in a tooth. It didn't hurt, so I didn't realize that it was bad. Besides, I was incredibly tired from being "burnt out" which was destroying my life... Let me just say that I'll never see non-functional people in a workplace in the same way. Shudder. (Yes, totally off-topic. :-)
- pavel_lishin 17y ago
  It "got" you?
  - berntb 17y ago
    My professional life, definitively. (It certainly has cut back on my life expectancy, too.) But I shouldn't complain. Bacteria infections over a long time might attack the heart or the spine. The good part is that I sat down and thought "It seems I can't take stress badly or that I start doing things before I'm really healthy. It should help if I do things I love, so I'll try to do that." The right decision, for the wrong reason.
pavel_lishin 17y ago
I'll be the dad that will shell out $400 for Tylenol to avoid the risk of my child becoming retarded. Not to mention, $400 for peace of mind is pretty cheap, and would probably buy me a decade or two of ulcer-free living.
- fnid 17y ago
  That's why it's wrong to charge $400 for tylenol.
  - pavel_lishin 17y ago
    I hope health care/insurance reform works. My backup hope is that my children love gruel.
- felideon 17y ago
  I'm not talking about the money here, that's a whole different discussion. Of course everyone will shell out money for their child's safety. My point is with your statement, "to avoid the risk of my child becoming retarded." Since when does a high fever cause brain damage or whatever? It seems to me that unless you're burning at over 106°F (or 104°F for children maybe) there shouldn't be much to worry about. Just try to alleviate the fever at home (unless it constantly persists that high over a day or something).
electromagnetic 17y ago
I know a fever of ~40.5 or 105 when taken orally is a medical emergency, you shouldn't even waste time calling anyone before sticking your kid in a car hugging every icepack you've got, because the problem won't be brain damage it'll be death. A fever over 41/106 when taken anally is hyperthermia and can lead to the rapid breakdown of cells (likely the girl's brother got brain damage either through braincell death if he had a severe fever, or his fever was associated with swelling of the brain, which usually shows with uncommonly intense headaches/migraines). From what I remember, if your kids fever ever gets over 39/100.4 (obviously if they're a baby or infant you should call your own doctor for any fever and follow their orders) you should call your family doctor, keep them cool (cold clothes and such, nothing severe) to keep them cool and do what the doctor says. Over 40/104 (and this is what my mum did to me, she's a nurse) she kept a cold bath and had me sit in it for 5 minutes or so, before laying down in bed with cold clothes and IIRC sometimes even ice packs to keep the fever dipping under the 40's. Over night my fever broke and stayed below 40 and my family doctor said I'd be fine. She even said, the only reason she kept me out of hospital was because doctors treat a fever with everything but cold until it's a last resort. I wasn't a particularly happy kid having been dunked in a cold bath all night, but I'd certainly have been more uncomfortable for a lot longer in hospital, but I had a nurse with over 20 years of experience (a considerable amount more experience than the junior doctors they leave on staff at 3am). Personally I believe, a paediatrician shouldn't have got into the job if he didn't expect panicked phone calls all hours of the night. So anyone with a half-decent paediatrician and concerns, I'd say call away. The bastards get paid way too much and if they don't want to deal with their patients complaining they should have become a mortician.

berntb 17y ago

Don't worry, there are lots of ways things can screw up -- so what gets you will probably be something completely different. What got me was a simple infection in a tooth. It didn't hurt, so I didn't realize that it was bad. Besides, I was incredibly tired from being "burnt out" which was destroying my life... Let me just say that I'll never see non-functional people in a workplace in the same way. Shudder. (Yes, totally off-topic. :-)

pavel_lishin 17y ago
It "got" you?
- berntb 17y ago
  My professional life, definitively. (It certainly has cut back on my life expectancy, too.) But I shouldn't complain. Bacteria infections over a long time might attack the heart or the spine. The good part is that I sat down and thought "It seems I can't take stress badly or that I start doing things before I'm really healthy. It should help if I do things I love, so I'll try to do that." The right decision, for the wrong reason.

pavel_lishin 17y ago

I'll be the dad that will shell out $400 for Tylenol to avoid the risk of my child becoming retarded. Not to mention, $400 for peace of mind is pretty cheap, and would probably buy me a decade or two of ulcer-free living.

fnid 17y ago
That's why it's wrong to charge $400 for tylenol.
- pavel_lishin 17y ago
  I hope health care/insurance reform works. My backup hope is that my children love gruel.
felideon 17y ago
I'm not talking about the money here, that's a whole different discussion. Of course everyone will shell out money for their child's safety. My point is with your statement, "to avoid the risk of my child becoming retarded." Since when does a high fever cause brain damage or whatever? It seems to me that unless you're burning at over 106°F (or 104°F for children maybe) there shouldn't be much to worry about. Just try to alleviate the fever at home (unless it constantly persists that high over a day or something).

electromagnetic 17y ago

I know a fever of ~40.5 or 105 when taken orally is a medical emergency, you shouldn't even waste time calling anyone before sticking your kid in a car hugging every icepack you've got, because the problem won't be brain damage it'll be death. A fever over 41/106 when taken anally is hyperthermia and can lead to the rapid breakdown of cells (likely the girl's brother got brain damage either through braincell death if he had a severe fever, or his fever was associated with swelling of the brain, which usually shows with uncommonly intense headaches/migraines). From what I remember, if your kids fever ever gets over 39/100.4 (obviously if they're a baby or infant you should call your own doctor for any fever and follow their orders) you should call your family doctor, keep them cool (cold clothes and such, nothing severe) to keep them cool and do what the doctor says. Over 40/104 (and this is what my mum did to me, she's a nurse) she kept a cold bath and had me sit in it for 5 minutes or so, before laying down in bed with cold clothes and IIRC sometimes even ice packs to keep the fever dipping under the 40's. Over night my fever broke and stayed below 40 and my family doctor said I'd be fine. She even said, the only reason she kept me out of hospital was because doctors treat a fever with everything but cold until it's a last resort. I wasn't a particularly happy kid having been dunked in a cold bath all night, but I'd certainly have been more uncomfortable for a lot longer in hospital, but I had a nurse with over 20 years of experience (a considerable amount more experience than the junior doctors they leave on staff at 3am). Personally I believe, a paediatrician shouldn't have got into the job if he didn't expect panicked phone calls all hours of the night. So anyone with a half-decent paediatrician and concerns, I'd say call away. The bastards get paid way too much and if they don't want to deal with their patients complaining they should have become a mortician.