Salmonella

[NYC feather fam]

This all seems like a very touchy subject..... everyone seems to be very concerned for the boy's health.....let's all calm down and take a deep breath. We are here as a community to help each other, let's keep that as a goal while we work together to help kara_leigh

I'm a registered nurse, and just felt I would like to weigh in on the situation as such and not as a chicken owner as much. My background is in maternal child health and I have some limited pediatric experience. I feel the fever of 103.5 is boarderline for a child of 12 years old in terms of needing to be seen by a physician. Children frequently will run high fevers when they are sick.

However, from the initial post the symptoms of sensitivity to light and severe joint pain as well as a severe headache are pretty concerning to me. Does he have stiffness in his neck? Meningitis was mentioned and although diarrhea is not typical of meningitis, i don't think we can automatically rule it out in light of the other symptoms. Keep in mind, the child does not have a confirmed diagnosis of salmonella poisoning. It may not be wise to assume this is what is causing his illness. I don't think it's wise to assume this is salmonella poisoning because we cannot automatically rule out other causes for the illness based on his symptoms alone. Diagnostic tests would need to be performed in order to confirm the diagnosis of any causative bacterial agent. There is no way anyone on the board, whether they have had experience with salmonella or whether they have medical experience can say definitively this is what is causing the illness based on symptoms alone.

In light of all these factors, my opinion as a mother and as a nurse would be to have him seen in the emergency room especially if he has not improved by now or if the fever has gotten higher. It may be difficult to maintain electrolyte balance at home when he is likely not able to tolerate replacing the amount of fluids by mouth that he is losing via the diarrhea. A fever this high also taxes the bodies fluid reserves. And illness of this kind, especially if it is of a bacterial origin, could potentially cause damage to organs like the kidneys if not treated appropriately. Although antibiotics are widely overused and misused in this country, let's not forget the fact that they do save lives when administered appropriately.

Professionally, I think caution and medical treatment is warranted in this situation. My opinion as a chicken owner is less pertinent

 

[SourRoses]

As to what the illness is or isen't... I have an idea.
My doctor has on a few occasions provided me with scripts to get labwork done over the phone. I dont know how it is everywhere... but mine does this because I would have to go out and make an appointment to get the labwork done seperately after a visit anyway, and this way things can be ruled out or confirmed before an actual office visit.

So I'm just wondering if you can arrange something like that, IF you feel YOU have any questions at some point about the nature of his illness.

I hope he feels better soon!

 

[gritsar]

I would like to clarify that I wasn't suggesting the child had meningitis, just that is what happened in the case of my brother. Meningitis is one of many, many illnesses than can cause a high fever.

 

[kara_leigh]

I called his doctor and she said there was no reason to bring him in, that I'm doing everything I should be doing. I only need to bring him in if he gets really lethargic or if he stops peeing.

 

[redhen]

Everyone is just concerned about the child. I think thats a good thing.

I also would have taken the child into the doctor if i suspected salmonella.
I had a few friends come down with salmonella while on vacation once... they ALL ended up in the hospital with dehydration..etc... they said it was the WORST sickness they'd ever had. and wanted to die..
Poor little guy, ..

Hope he feels better soon.

 

[HeatherLynn]

On a positive note kara. After my daughter had her run in with this and the doctor told her it was probably from insufficient hand washing she has become a ton more responsible about it. When I say wash, she washes. Even if she had just washed them she does it just in case. Losing your guts out of both ends tends to have a negative impact on the poor dears and they want to avoid repeat performances.

 

[kara_leigh]

Quote:
That's what we are hoping is the outcome of all of this. I hope I can get him to stop touching everything at the stores also (like the trash cans on the corners of the aisles at Walmart, that drives me NUTS!!) since he is always mouthing his fingers, and we can't be sure of the origin of this illness.

He's still running a fever (the Ibuprofen wore off) but he seems to be doing better. He's asking for more food, which is a good sign.

 

[Godsgrl]

Quote:
That's what we are hoping is the outcome of all of this. I hope I can get him to stop touching everything at the stores also (like the trash cans on the corners of the aisles at Walmart, that drives me NUTS!!) since he is always mouthing his fingers, and we can't be sure of the origin of this illness.

He's still running a fever (the Ibuprofen wore off) but he seems to be doing better. He's asking for more food, which is a good sign.

Glad to hear he is improving. I always take it as a good sign with a stomach illness if the appetite returns. Hope his is on his way to recovery. And good job taking care of him, it is so stressful caring for a sick child.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
That's what we are hoping is the outcome of all of this. I hope I can get him to stop touching everything at the stores also (like the trash cans on the corners of the aisles at Walmart, that drives me NUTS!!) since he is always mouthing his fingers, and we can't be sure of the origin of this illness.

He's still running a fever (the Ibuprofen wore off) but he seems to be doing better. He's asking for more food, which is a good sign.

You are a lot like I am, calm and not quick to run to the doctor. I have never regretted it either. The one time I simply knew the doctors were wrong and took him to ER, sure enough they were wrong. His appendix had burst. I was never an overly cautious parent unless it came to my kid talking to strangers. Oh HELL no.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

The only experience I have with it is when I was hospitalized as a kid, I vaguely remember a ten year-old boy who ate a small amount of raw beef and was in the hospital for a few days. All really fuzzy, I just remember that the doctors did treat it like it was a very major concern, with a lot of hustling around, so I was kind of surprised to read that some received no treatment when they did go in (and I was told it was salmonella, not e-coli), just because I remember that particular case being such a major concern. I'm not sure what the range is for it at all, vulnerable groups, or when it is time to go in. So basically, I'm completely useless!

Hope he is feeling better very soon.