2.5 year old sick for a week before getting fever?

Question

My 2.5 year old has had a cold for almost a week now. She has been coughing up a lot flem and has a runny nose. I just figured we would let it run its course...probably viral. This morning she has a fever and I am wondering if I should take her in or wait it out till Monday to see if it goes away. Is it normal for a fever to kick in after a week of being sick and it still be viral? Her nose is not running so much but her cough sounds pretty rough.

Answer 1

there is something nasty going around that sounds just like what your child has.  it's like a sinus/cold type thing for a week then a low fever (controlled easily by tylenol) for 4 days.  my daughter had it and got through it fine.  one of my co-worker's grandkids got it and had to have antibiotics.  it's so hard to tell with these things.  keep the fever down and give her tons of fluids.  if she gets really bad over the long weekend just take her to a walk in place.

i forgot to add that my daughter didn't even act sick - she was totally herself, but with a fever.

Answer 2

It's sometimes normal.  What I usually do if I don't know if I should take my son in is just call and leave a message for the doctor or nurse and see what they say, sometimes though if I'm really worried, I just show up at the doctors and wait to ask the nurse what she thinks especially if it's a cough I'm worried about so she can hear it.

You could just try to give motrin for the fever and see how she does for a day or two, for the cough, of course try a humidifier, during the day and night.  If the cough is really bad, you can even go in the bathroom, close the door and turn on the shower-hot and sit on the edge or even in the tub.  The hot mist helps clear it up.  Other ideas for a cough is vicks on the chest and for the runny nose, nose drops to help break down what's in there.  

Good luck, and remember, try to use your best instincts...if you are really worried, just go to your doctors.