What is considered to be a High Temperature?

[mum18772]

My 15 month son has a temp of 39.2 deg (under armpit on digital thermometer) tonight - should I be alarmed that I need to contact doctor? He is sleeping fairly peacefully - I am giving calpol and sponging his forehead - should I be doing more? - when is high temp dangerously high?

[schneebly]

I think over 39 you are supposed to call doc but not sure. If I were you I would call the NHS helpline and they will advise but it sounds like you are doing all the right things anyway. HTH and hope DS is better soon.

[mears]

Can I ask why you checked it if he is sleeping? Has he been unwell? If the temperature is still there after 48 hours then he should be sen by a doctor. A temperature in itself is not a bad thing - it is the body's defence against infection. A high temperature kills bacteria. If it goes above 40 though, you should get doctor to review.

[Kittypickle]

I personally start to worry when it gets up to about 40. You sound like you are doing fine with him giving calpol and sponging him. Make sure he hasn't got too many clothes on. I would keep an eye on him and see how he is in a bit - sleeping pretty peacefully sounds good. But, if you at any point feel that you aren't happy with how he is, give NHS Direct a ring.

[squarer]

One night as I put my son to bed he was quite hot, but had not been unwell previously so I just put him in his summer grobag. He had had a febrile fit before I went to bed (I found him afterwards apparently). Whilst I totally respect your opinion Mears, in my experience you need to check high temperatures on a regular basis - it is the spiking temperatures which are dangerous as I understand it.
That said, it was a virus that gave my son his temperatures whch spiked intensely for 3-4 days. We were in hospital for 2 days where we met several young ones (and their mums) with the same virus.
Your DS wouldn't sleep through a massive temp though Mum18772. He would be moaning away about it. That's one of the places I went wrong - I heard him and just thought he was unsettled.
Hope he feels a bit better soon!

[TOD]

A high temperature in itself is not a bad thing.. just a sign your son is fighting some sort of infectin. If temp doesnt settle with calpol, give him some neurofen for children {as long as he is not asthmatic} and give him plenty of fluids.
if there are other worrying symptom like a rash,vomitting, listlessnes or if fever persists i would get him looked at by a doctor just to be sure.

[mears]

I do agree a high temperature needs to be checked but I am not sure by mum18772's post whether her DS has shown signs of illness before his temp being checked tonight. There is no need to get a doctor the first time a temperature is raised ( with no other symptoms) because it is a sign the body is dealing with a problem and a doctor won't treat a temperature without other signs. IME, ill children do have other signs and do not sleep peacefully, which is what you are saying too squarer. A febrile convulsion is certainly a reason to be seen by a doctor. My son had meningitis when he was 6 months old and had a temperature that spiked to 40 over the course of 2 weeks. He never had a febrile convulsion which might have got him tested sooner to find out what was causing his temperature. When he was hot though, he did not sleep peacefully.
I agree that it is best to keep a temperature under control with regular calpol and nurofen, but a temperature on it's own is not a reason to see a doctor immediately.

[mears]

Should have said he was repeatedly seen by doctors during that time and had been treated with antibiotics. If temperature has not resolved after 48 hours, baby should be seen by doctor

[mum18772]

Thanks for all your advice - it's reassuring that you aren't all screaming at me to go to a doc immediately - I'm just wanting to remain vigilant but calm - will try ibubrufen for kids now to see him through the night. Yes, since he is fairly settled and the fever seems to be the only symptom of an apparent infection I'm not overly concerned - he had a temp last night too and yet today he was in good form all dat and still ea\ting and drinking well - I know temp tends to rise at night anyway. Have checked out NHS website but wasn't very specific about how to treat a fever (that I could find!) and din't state what was 'dangerously high' - better advice given by all of you!! Yes, had read about fits but keeping fingers crossed.

[TOD]

It is a good idea to keep the temp under control as his form will be better and he is more likely to drink for you. Good sign that he was in good form etc today.
Not all children get febrile convulsions with fever... those who do tend to seize as temp is rising...very frightening but remember that these fits usually dont have any long term effect on the child.
Stay calm as you sound as if you are doing all the right things.

[squarer]

you would have to recommend feeding a 1 month old cheese and onion crisps for me to disagree with you Mears.

Mum18772 - to control a high temp you can give calpol every 4 hours and nurofen every 6 hours. You can give both calpol and nurofen at the same time, but never more than in the time spaces above. If the temperature is not controlled by the medicine, strip to nappy and use a fan, but don't point the fan directly, use to cool the air around the baby and never use cold sponging. Use tepid sponging if you must but infrequently

Let us know how you get on

[mum18772]

That was just the question I was going to ask about doses and frequency of the two drugs which I understand do not affect each other. Thanks - that confirms what I was trying to remember when the doc had prescribed them a couple of months ago when my son had full blown cold. This is only my second night chatting on this site and it's great for asking someone else for their advice at any hour of the day or night! Will let you know tomorrow how the night goes! Mothers were born to worry! Thanks

[mum18772]

Well, just to let you all know the worst of the fever is now over - after two nights of high temp my son is now sleeping as normal without calpol and without the temp! Relief! Thanks for your advice!

[squarer]

Thats great news Mum(and all the numbers) .
In a few months time you will be posting your experiences on similar threads. Welcome to Mumsnet. You'll never leave!!!

[mum18772]

I'm addicted already! Was going to start another thread - but I gues I can do it here - any advice on what your experiences have been of giving MMR injection to your child? My son now due and accepting that it is probably the right thing to do, despite the bad press, I'm waiting til he is really well - tricky when he comes home from nursery every week with another new bug! What side effects have you experienced?

[SofiaAmes]

I would also like to add that it depends on the child. My son regularly had 104/105 temps when he was a baby and they were always due to an ear infection. So when my dd had temp of 100 and was miserable I didn't really worry. When it didn't go away, I finally took her to the gp, turned out that she had a flaming ear infection. Now that they are older I realize that they are just different. Dd never ever gets high temperatures even when she is very ill, while ds gets 104/105 with just a little cold.
My impression was always that you need to a) look at other symptoms and b) consider whether calpol/ibuprofen is succeeding in bringing the temp down (definitely go to gp if it isn't).

[squarer]

My DS hasn't had it yet Mum..... and you would be better off starting a new thread - be warned though, the MMR is an emotive subject for many on this site, so word it carefully