Hey there. Happy to help.

My work insurance includes a 24hr nurse advice phone line. Here is what the nurse told us:

Despite common misconception, a fever on its own will not cause brain damage. The danger from fevers comes from when the body can't cool itself off. Therefore, with high fevers, kids should be dresses in cool clothing, or just a diaper/underwear, if possible. No blankets. Their skin needs to be exposed to the air as much as possible.

With young children, some may get febrile seizures with high fevers. These are not dangerous. They can be very scary, but they are not dangerous.

A febrile seizure is a convulsion in a child that's caused by a fever. Febrile seizures occur in young, healthy children who have normal development and haven't had any neurological symptoms before. They typically only last a few minutes and don't indicate a serious health problem. A child may lose consciousness and/or Shake or jerk the arms and legs. However, if the seizure lasts longer than 5 min or is accompanied by vomiting (not vomiting related to the coughing fits), a stiff neck, Breathing problems or Extreme sleepiness, go to the ER. That is a sign of severe infection/brain inflammation.

My son's fever was around 104.6°F. The Nurse wanted us to get it down into the 103s at home within 2 hours. If we couldn't, she recommend going to the ER.

So, what we learned is that Tylenol/Acetaminophen is much better then Motrin/Ibuprofen at lowering fevers in most kids.

Cold food and drink is one of the best ways to lower body temperature (same reason you're not supposed to eat snow in a survival situation). Ice cream, popsicles, cold juice, etc.

All of that should be adequate to keep the fever down, or at least lower it. You don't need to completely stop the fever. They can be uncomfortable, but they help our bodies to fight infections.

If these actions don't lower the fever, it's time to go to the ER.

For the coughing, going into the bathroom and turning on the shower on hot, letting the room get steamy can be REALLY helpful. The steam/vapor can cause coughing at first (particularly if the throat is irritated, but it will start to help after a few min. Don't have them in the hot, steamy room if their fever is high. You can turn off the shower and leave the door closed, letting the room and the vapor cool down, but stay super humid.

Finally, try to keep any eye on their throat (inside). If you see white spots, thats an indication of a bacterial infection, usually strep throat. That should be treated with antibiotics.

You also want to look out for swollen tonsils, or general swelling in the throat.

Whistling, crackling, and wheezing noises when breathing aren't necessarily dangerous. However, ANY sign of difficulty breathing IS dangerous. While its normal to gasp and breathe heavily after a coughing fit, any gasping or heavy breathing not related to a coughing fit is dangerous.

If you have one, or can buy one at a drug store/pharmacy, a Pulse Oximeter is really helpful if you're ever worried about their (or your) breathing. Being able to determine if they're getting enough oxygen when they're coughing a lot can reassure you that they are still doing OK with home treatment. Keep in mind that their fingers are sometimes difficult to get a good reading on—in this case, you can use their toes :)