Sudden high temp and hacking cough in 4yr old. What should i do?

[missmapp]

Hi,

DS1 went to bed and was fine, no signs that anything was wrong, then about half an hour ago he woke up coughing violently and struggling to breathe, he also had a temp of 39.8C. I calmed him down and his breathing is ok, Ive given him calpol and sponged him down and his temp is now 38.3. He is sleeping, but still has a hacking cough and is still v warm. What else should I do? I think the cough sounds croupy, but hes never had that before so i dont know. Any ideas anyone? They would be very gratefully recieved!

[PinkyRed]

Phone your gp out of hours service now - sounds like at least a couple of the symptoms of swine flu, and best to be on the safe side with a child under 5 I think. They'll be able to tell you over the phone whether they need to see him now or wait until tomorrow.

[EldonAve]

swine flu

[twinmam]

Can you describe the cough missmapp? Croup has a very distinctive sound. I think a call to NHS direct might be an idea as his temp is still high after calpol and it doesn't do any harm to speak to someone and have them set your mind at rest.

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

If he's struggling to breathe then you need to call an ambulance! Swine flu or not!!!

[missmapp]

Do you think, Im worried it will just be automatically treated as swine flu and then hell get tamiflu that he may not need.

[missmapp]

The cough is a drwan out cough, like a bark. His breathing is fine now, he was just panickimg so he struggled to breathe normally. He is sleeping now, but temp still high

[preggersplayspop]

When my DS had croup it was a distinctive barking sound. He literally did sound like a dog.

Sudden onset of temp is one of the main symptoms for swine flu I believe.

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Sweetie, if he's having a problem breathing then just call an ambulance. Let them assess him and judge what to do. Is he blue? Wheezy? Gasping for air? If so, get off here and call for an ambulance.

[missmapp]

No fluffybunny hes none of those things thank goodness, his breathing is regular now, but he is coughing in his sleep. My feeling is he is best of sleeping for now and to assess again in the morning, but I tend not to worry about illness when maybe i should

[missmapp]

preggersplayspop, that sounds just like ds1s cough, the thing is, with swineflu about you think of that first, but it could be so many other things

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

A croup cough is like a bark, filling the bathroom up with steam will help a mild cough, a bad cough needs a hospital trip for steroids, if he can't talk to you then this is a bad cough. Children also get a temp with croup as it's a viral infection, it normally comes back the next evening or so.

I paniced there! I hope he's OK.

[missmapp]

Thanks, fluffybunny, I hope hes ok, will go and check his temp again. God they can worry you cant they!

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Ds is 10 and he still gets croup every now and again. Stress!!

[Elibean]

Could be croup or swine flu, either...if its croup, he'll probably be much better during the day than at night, cough-wise. dd never had fever with croup, but I know others do.

Either way, I would check him frequently during the night (sorry!) and give Ibuprofen as well as Calpol if his temp stays that high.

Hope he's better v soon!

[missmapp]

Thanks everyone, temp down now so will go and get some rest before night checking!! Thanks for your quick responses.