AIBU to think 38 temp every afternoon isn't normal? Gp useless!

I had a friend with health anxiety. Her kid go endless antibiotics for everything over the years.

Parents can’t prescribe anti-biotics though, no matter how severe their health anxiety. A doctor should still make a responsible decision on when to prescribe them.

I had a friend with health anxiety. Her kid go endless antibiotics for everything over the years.

He sounds as if he presents well in every way. Children don't generally if they have a fever/infection for any length of time. Stop taking his temp, unless he feels really hot- ask someone else's opinion on that if it helps at first. Play and be glad he obviously feels well. Anxiety is an awful thing to have. I imagine his hospitalisation has not helped. Are you receiving support for that?

If he had tonsillitis or an ear infection he’d be obviously unwell and miserable. Please stop taking his temperature unless he seems unwell.

I never used a thermometer, just common sense. If the child is taking fluids and otherwise normal, let it be.

I think you need to seek help about your anxiety. You don't want your son to grow up to have the same worries - it seems to be really affecting you.

You need to stop trying to find a problem with him if he appears well, is eating, drinking, peeing, pooing and playing. Looking at his tonsils will tell you nothing. If he is well in himself with a bit of a sore throat, all they will advise is plenty fluids and calpol if he seems out of sorts. A temperature in a well child does not need treatment beyond calpol, and really you should only give calpol with a low grade fever if they also seem unwell.

You don't want to end up like the boy who cried wolf with the GP practice, calling and calling about a well child. Try to be calm- you said yourself he seems well apart from some teething. Try to focus on that, stop taking his temperature unless he seems unwell, and seek some help for your health anxiety. If you think he is sore teething, you can give him calpol.

I think you’re being a bit over anxious. It could very well be the temperature monitor itself that measures a bit high - have you tried it in your own ear? A much better indicator would be how your child is in himself, is he feeling ill, lethargic, irritable? It’s been warm recently, and teething is another thing. With kindness, because I had a tendency to be this way with ds when he was little, I think you need to chill out a bit and see how things go.

Your thermometer quite possible needs recalibrated. Say it was .2 degrees hotter than the true reading then his lower temperature might be closer to 36.9 and highest around 37.7 which I would not count as a fever. If he is not unwell, passing urine, bowels are moving, eating and drinking and happy in himself then I think you need to stop checking his temperature. I understand 100% why you are anxious around his health but the constant checking of temperature isn't helping you feel safe/stopping the anxiety. If anything its making you more anxious.

My kids were exactly the same, so entirely normal here.

Temp always rose slightly in the eve to 38. Not ill, just normal for them.

If your child is otherwise well and behaving normally then nothing to worry about. Would you be worried if you weren’t measuring the temp so often?

Is his temperature the same in each ear? I run a degree hotter in my one ear, I have narrow passages and have had a very waxy ear on that side all my life. I suffer from regular ear infections and glue ear. My normal temp is 36.9 my other ear is always 37.9-38.5 when I am well with no infection. Higher when it is infected.

Sorry for your losses, no wonder you are anxious. Don't let it be an obsession.
Agree with put the thermometer away now and go by if he seems ok. If you are concerned again you can use it but try to reason it out first. Don't let him get dehydrated. Do you have health visitor you can check with? Get out in the sun, have a nice time. You will know if he is poorly.

No thats not true. Underarm thermometers are accurate.

Why are you adding a degree on to the underarm measurement?

I work on a children's ward and we use underarm thermometers because the ear thermometers can easily be badly positioned so there is less user error with the underarm one. I've never heard of adding on a degree to a underarm temperature reading.

38 isn't a concern if the child is well in themselves.

This can happen for a while after a virus. After Covid I kept spiking a low grade temperature for weeks. I was probably a good 3 months after the event until it stopped happening. I’d feel temperaturey too, and temp would be around 38. It was very common on the long Covid groups. I suspect any virus could do this. I wonder if the immune system gets a bit over sensitive.
Having said that, 38 is much less for a young child than an adult. They run hotter. If he’s well in himself I’d step away from the thermometer for a bit. If he’s unwell at all, then I’d get him re checked. But not on a raise to 38 alone when it’s each afternoon. Temperature is always higher as the day goes on, in everybody.

Yes in general pretty lethargic and unwell , totally off milk and food. May well not have it but I always get gp to have a look as it's always accompanied by a fever that is reoccurring in my experience. Definitely go back to gp and I think you are being a great mum , best of luck op

Our eldest spiked a fever every day around 7pm for what felt like months. GP said no worries about giving her one dose of Calpol a day if needed, judged by whether she was uncomfortable rather than just the fever in itself. We assumed teething but you might as well just say babyhood.

I think it's completely normal parenting to notice and worry if your child is spiking a fever for days or weeks on end, particularly when they've been hospitalised recently. You don't need to berate yourself OP. Pre-covid our GPs would always see babies if parents were worried.

Just to say that my DS also runs hot and easily flushed. We had a couple of phone calls from nursery shortly after he started as they were concerned but we reassured them and they got to know what being well / out of sorts looks like for him.