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Child Having Fever, Feels Fatigues, Headache, Eats Like Crazy. Should I Go For Rheumatologist Advice?
My 6yr old son was just referred to a rheumatologist for elevated wbc and high sed rate. We took him to our primary care physician because of fevers about every 6 weeks(give or take sometimes) since he was 2. He fatigues easily,complains of headaches and body aches. Eats like crazy but it is still so slender you can see every bone in his body. We made the appt for the rheumatologist but it s a few weeks away still. I was just curious what they would be looking for at this point.
Fri, 14 Jun 2013
Dear user,
There are literally so many rheumatological illnesses in childhood, that it is impossible for me to predict what the specialist would be looking for. I guess he would do tests to rule out systemic onset juvenile chronic arthritis, but it seems unlikely that he has been having fevers for 4 years and he still does not have joint disease. Hence, I think it may be just "shooting in the dark" by his primary physician rather than something concrete. A good general pediatrician may help unravel the conundrum better than a specific specialist.
- Dr. Taher
There are literally so many rheumatological illnesses in childhood, that it is impossible for me to predict what the specialist would be looking for. I guess he would do tests to rule out systemic onset juvenile chronic arthritis, but it seems unlikely that he has been having fevers for 4 years and he still does not have joint disease. Hence, I think it may be just "shooting in the dark" by his primary physician rather than something concrete. A good general pediatrician may help unravel the conundrum better than a specific specialist.
- Dr. Taher
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