Remicade and 'colds'

[Tesscorm]

Stephen woke up this morning with a cold, stuffy nose, red eyes and sore throat (no fever). And, just called now to say his throat is really sore.

What do I do? Other than a cough, a couple of weeks ago, that went away in a day, this is the first time he's getting sick on remicade. At what point do you go to the doctor? If he gets a fever later, do I wait a day or so?

Don't want to be running to the doctor unnecessarily but don't want to skip going just because I think it's unnecessary. :ybatty:

His last infusion was April 12.

 

[Clash]

It's so hard to differentiate between allergies/ cold and other type of infections around here since C's allergies have been haywire. We've just gone on the fever rule, if he has a lingering fever we go. I will say if C was dealing with a sore throat I'd be tempted to go and have a quick strep test done. C had strep once without fever and it was a doozy.

 

[my little penguin]

If he gets a fever then call Gi
Sometimes they want an MD to see them sometimes not
We treated it like a young infant .
Fever - call
Lethargy - call/ER
Etc....
They should be able to get you a list of when....
Keep in mind he may not run a fever due to the remicade and still be really sick
Everyone is different
Hope he feels better

 

[S mom]

Hope he feels better soon. It's been a rotten year for colds and sickness, I think. My son had a cold a week or so ago (he's on Humira) and I just watched closely to make sure he didn't really get worse than I would normally expect... and he seemed to recover just fine. I would have called the GI clinic immediately if he got a fever, however... likely would have checked in with them if he complained of anything being 'worse that usual' just to be on the safe side.

 

[polly13]

Lucy has has viral infections twice while on infliximab both times took her to gp who sent to re for bloods. If there is a fever I would always take to doc

 

[Lisa]

If I run a fever for more than a day or two, I give a call, or if it is something like strep, which I had a couple years ago - I knew exactly what it was and went in to the GP for a quick strep test...nurse acted surprised when the test was positive! lol...I TOLD her!.....

For a 'normal' cold, I don't worry too much unless things appear to ge getting worse after a few days vs. getting better. Watch for sinus infection signs too - especially since those can linger.

Hope he feels better soon!

 

[crohnsinct]

Our ped Gi's rule for cold/strep/sinus infections type things. Fever over 101 call him. Fever under 101 for 3 days call him. We had to call once and all he did was send us to our ped. I think it is the same rule of thumb as before Remicade. Just watch and like others said if worse or anything out of the ordinary call.

 

[Tesscorm]

Thanks everyone, I have a better sense of what to look for and when to call now!

I spoke to him once today, he sounded pretty stuffy and said throat still sore... We commute together, so I'll have him trapped in the car for an hour where I can watch and question (poor kid)!

Luckily, he'll be with hubby tonight at a sports bar watching hockey play-off game (first time in nine years that Toronto's Leafs are in the play-offs and, if you live in Toronto, NOTHING's more important than the Leafs in the playoffs! :lol, so he can keep an eye on him and get him home early.

Very coincidental... Last two weeks, Stephen's missed about 5 nights of EN... other than our vacation, this has NEVER happened since May 2011! Haven't called to replace the pump as it's seemed a bunch of things... first time, thought 'one off something' happened, 2nd time, changed NG tube, another time, the bag tube wasn't secured properly, then tried to clean the 'eye' of the pump, last night, new NG tube leaked... Stephen's so accustomed to the beep when the it's done, he just rolls over and shuts it off... doesn't even notice that it's only pumped 100 ml or so. I don't really think missing EN a few nights would leave him suddenly vulnerable to a cold but it is coincidental...

 

[S mom]

Go Leafs Go!

 

[ChampsMom]

Luckily, he'll be with hubby tonight at a sports bar watching hockey play-off game (first time in nine years that Toronto's Leafs are in the play-offs and, if you live in Toronto, NOTHING's more important than the Leafs in the playoffs! :lol, so he can keep an eye on him and get him home early.

And tomorrow we'll be glued to the TV watching the Washington Capitals!