Signs Of Infection

[meglet]

One of my sons never gets a temperature when he gets an infection. He has had multiple ear infections (which are now being treated with grommets). He also had a mild case of tonsilitis all summer and lost weight due to not eating but I had no idea he was ill until I took him to the docs and they prescribed some antibiotics. He has even had pneumonia twice with no fever. Is this normal?

[AuntLydia]

Yes. I am immune suppressed which means I can get infections very easily and have to be monitored. My GP told me one can have a quite serious infection without an elevation in temperature, and often a dip in normal temperature is more serious than a small rise.

[Sqad]

No it is not normal, particularly for a child, that is of course if all the diagnosis are correct.

Ear infections in children is invariably associated with a temperature, as is tonsillitis.

[meglet]

What makes it more difficult is that he is non-verbal (querying autism at the moment) at three years old. So he can’t tell what hurts. Are there any markers I should look out for?

[Sqad]

Pain is not the only manifestation of infection in a child, as one should consider temperature (is he/she warm or hot), listless, off their food, lying around not wanting to play or interact.

All pointers for infection an a child.

[Sqad]

Other pointers...nausea, vomiting and in extreme case....convulsions.

[meglet]

Thank you, that’s helpful. He spent all summer running around the garden perfectly fine and I just assumed the heatwave made him less keen on eating. Turned out he had a low level infection and he’s spent the last couple of months eating me out of house and home to catch up.

Do I need to be concerned of anything untoward if it’s not normal? He has a corrected heart defect so he maybe colder than normal anyway. He certainly gets colder quicker than my other two.

[Sqad]

I can't see that his heart defect is a major factor as it has been repaired and do not be concerned about his absence of temperature in response to infection as you have plenty of other signs and symptoms.