Child hearing voices after high fever

[mamakaren]

My son is almost 6 years old. 5 days ago he had a high fever (104) during the night. When I brought him to the doctor the next morning he could find no evidence of any infection and thought it was some kind of virus. During the peak of the fever during the night he was hallucinating, claiming to hear voices "shouting" at him. He covered his ears with his blanket and cried to "make it stop." He has experienced fever delirium once or twice before always associated with sleep and illness. I was also prone to this as a child.

What has me very worried is that yesterday morning while wide awake and fever-free for several days he told me he can still hear the voices/shouting "in the back of his head." He is no longer sick and I know he isn't lying because he calmly brought it up on his own while sitting with me on the couch. I asked him later in the day if he could still hear the sounds/voices and he said "now that you mention it, yes." He told me that once I remind him "it comes right back" Since this fever illness he has also been complaining of intermittent mild headaches.

What in the world is going on? Should I be worried?

My son has no physical, mental, behavioral, or emotional issues or diagnoses.

Thanks so much for any help/advice.

[Ratarose]

This is an auditory hallucination. These are often hereditary, my whole family and children now havr them. They occur wjen the body is extremeky fragile eg. fever, during hormonal changes throughout puberty, when the body is reparing itself after a major injury or bone break, and during a comedown off medication of other drugs. Often people describe feeling like there are voices going at different speeds and you cant find the right pace, but also the yelling common too.

[kita1010]

I believe that what your son is experiencing is more related to paranormal that medical. Has you or your son ever experienced any physic abilities? I have experienced this more than 20 times in my life and I can pretty much say for certain that when our body temps become abnormal it brings us closer to death and closer to the  afterlife so what he is are experiences are voices of the dead. I have also experienced some paranormal events during these spouts. More than likely this will continue to happen throughout childhood as adults are unlikely to run such high fevers . If it happens take him outside in the cold and let his body temp cool down the voices should go away within minutes always worked for me.

[specialmom]

I'm guessing it's just delirium. :>))

[Lana1975]

This happened to my daughter as well when she was ill with a high fever. I think she was around seven or eight at the time. I took her to the emergency room and a doctor from the psychiatric department came and spoke to us. She said that it also happened to her daughter when she used to get a high fever and that it was nothing to worry about. My daughter also continued to hear the voices on and off for a few weeks afterwards. It is a very strange phenomenon though, and a very disturbing one.

[pommiebiker]

me and my siblings and now my 4 children have heard these voices in times of fever. for us and others it features high jabbering. voices simultaneously with low pitch slow voice ( no decipherable words) interestingly theres a good description in "little house on the praire" (the book) by laura ingalls wilder which describes this experience very well (the whole family got malaria) and may be comforting for your children

its common with malaria

[margypops]

I would say its hallucinations due to high fever and possibly quite common, hope the first poster found out all was okay ..

[Ingjoy]

Please excuse the strange text in the above post, dam auto text! I didn't proof read before posting.

[Ingjoy]

Hi, did you every find any answers to this?  Our 6 year old daughter had exactly the same thing when she was suffering from a high fever due to a virus. She heard "scary laughing and gnomes and dragons growling". This happened a few times throughout the night during the fever, but tonight (a week later) when she was lying down to go to sleep, she yelled out terrified as she said she heard the scary noises again.  She said she was not half asleep but just lying there in bed. Very strange! I just stumbled apron this old post and thought I'd ask I case your punt an explanation.