!. I''m thrilled that he is feeling better. I hope that you don''t develop whatever he has.
2. There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding "tonsillitis." First and foremost, a fever is a good thing! It shows that your immune system has kicked in to do its job. There really isn''t a need to try an "break" a fever, especially a low grade one. (In pediatrics we consider anything under 102.5 low grade. Also, a "normal" temp is 97.6-99.6. People are told 98.6 because it is in the middle of the normal rage.) So, back to fever management. Again, no need to break one. Tylenol and motrin are good for treating the symptoms that tend to accompany a fever, IE headache, body aches, etc. I always tell my parents that I am impressed if a "fever reducer" lowers a temp by a degree.
Tonsillitis is truly simply enlarged tonsils. The VAST majority of sore throats and enlarged tonsils are viral. Without a positive strep test or evidence of a tonsilar abscess, there is generally no need to administer antibiotics. In fact, as antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria, a person may even feel more spent using unnecessary antibiotics.
A general rule of thumb I use is: the more symptoms, the more likely it is viral. IE body aches, headache, fever, nasal congestion and sore throat? Likely viral. Here in the Northeast we have been seeing a horrible bug for the past several weeks. Generally healthy people are being knocked over by a high temp (I''ve even seen greater than 104 in ordinarily healthy adolescents.) the throat is AWFUL! There is a cough, nasal congestion, everything hurts, etc. The fever and throat are lasting 5 days. The cough and nasal congestion are persisting for weeks in some cases. In three weeks of seeing dozens of patients with this, I have seen fewer than 5 cases of strep and exactly 5 cases of pneumonia.
In pediatrics we are constantly trying to educate against overuse of antibiotics. So many parents were raised believing that an antibiotic will cure what ails you, that they come into my office practically demanding antibiotics. We need to be sure these antibiotics will still work on their children 60 years from now. It is a challenge. I recently had a teen girl''s mom yell at me because I wouldn''t prescribe an antibiotic. The teen girl cried and told me "all I want is an antibiotic." With clear lungs, a negative strep test and normal ear drums, I didn''t give in. When I called her two days later her illness was gone. The mom actually apologized to me. Apparently no one had really ever explained that an antibiotic isn''t always helpful nor did she realize that a typical virus can easily last up to 10-14 days.
I have NO idea if you or your FI needed antibiotics and I''m not trying to insinuate anything about either of you. I''m also sorry if this seems to have threadjacked your post. I saw an opportunity to provide some info that my peers are desperate to disseminate!
A few myths about illness:
fever isn''t bad - how you feel with one is!
white patches do not mean strep, in fact, it is usually viral
green nasal discharge does not mean a sinus infection, it means you need to drink more fluids. Here''s a quick factsheet
http://www.cdc.gov/DRUGRESISTANCE/community/hcp-info-sheets/child-rhin-vs-sinus.htm
Thank you for letting me climb atop a soapbox. I''m sorry if I offended you! I meant no harm.
Poor fi has really bad tonsillitis and has been taking tylenol every 4 hours and moxicilan(sp?) and his temperature would break, it''s constantly at 99-101 degrees...He''s been eating plenty of ice cream and getting fluids. Poor guy. Anyways, like I said- any advice would be great 
