Patient's question:
Suddenly the baby had 20 many times of diarrhea in one day and went to the hospital. A check revealed white blood cells as high as 19,000. After five days of intravenous fluids, a recheck showed 15,000 but the diarrhea still occurred 20 many times a day. During the five days of intravenous fluids, the baby only had a fever once. The doctor said it was necessary to wait for the white blood cells to decrease before stopping the diarrhea. I thought this was not working, so I changed hospitals for two days of intravenous fluids, and the diarrhea stopped. After not having a bowel movement for two days, the baby still received three more days of intravenous fluids before stopping.Four days later, the baby started having a fever of 39.2°C and received intravenous fluids again. The fever lasted for one day before returning. This cycle of fever continued, with the baby having a fever almost every other day. A check at the hospital showed white blood cells at 15,000, and the doctor asked me to continue intravenous fluids. However, it seemed to have no effect, so I switched the baby to Chinese medicine. The doctor prescribed three days of Chinese medicine, which the baby has taken for two days but is still running a fever.
Hello, what is going on?
Previous Treatment and Effects:
Previously, the baby had a thorough check-up at the hospital, revealing white blood cells at 14,000. After three days of intravenous fluids, everything improved.
Desired Help:
How can the white blood cells be reduced? Should I continue with intravenous fluids or switch to Chinese medicine?
Doctor's answer:
This friend, based on the situation you described, consider the possibility of a viral infection mixed with a bacterial infection. The baby has diarrhea, which is considered pediatric enteritis, caused by a viral infection with a course of 7 days. It is not recommended to use anti-diarrheal medication during this period, so as you mentioned, the hospital treated it well by the third day. Even if you hadn't changed hospitals, the condition should have improved similarly. However, the baby's high white blood cell count suggests a mixed bacterial infection. A high white blood cell count may lead to recurrent fever, and it is recommended to start anti-inflammatory treatment immediately.