Anyone awake - anxious about my son

Temperatures are the body’s response to an infection so there is nothing alarming about the temperature itself. Focus more on treating his symptoms than the temperature. Sounds like it’s coming down with medicine anyway.

Is he struggling to breathe, I.E are his ribs pulling in when he breathes? Look up recessive breathing.

Or does his cough sound like a seal barking? (Look up croup cough videos)

To be honest if his only symptoms are a temperature and a cough I’d honestly just treat at home, I’m surprised at the number of people saying to call 111.

The NHS has some helpful signs of when to seek medical attention for your child. It’s mainly around if they’ve had a temp for more than five days, are listless/ not responding normally, not drinking etc.

I'd call 111. Hope your son feels better soon.

Take him to the walk in this morning and watch him closely over the weekend x

I’ve been told that temps that come down with calpol are a good sign (even if they go back up again as it wears off), it’s fevers that don’t respond to medication that are a concern, or a fever that comes and goes for 5 days (I couldn’t get antibiotics for my eldest until it’d been 5 days).

In terms of coughing, again mine suffer really badly with coughs and a normal cough/cold will result in a few nights where we have 2-3 hour coughing fits that sound awful. Even in adults a cough is always worse at night.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that what you describe sounds really normal in our house for a standard cough / cold - a temp that responds to calpol and an awful cough overnight. That said, if you’re concerned, there’s no harm in getting him checked out at all, better safe than sorry!

I would call 111

Try not to worry, there are so many things flying around at the moment and they produce all the symptoms you describe. Children are resilient, I remember mine burning up with fevers and making horrible barking noises with their coughs… and being up down giving them calpol and liquid ibuprofen all night long.
As pp have said, call 111 if you are worried and they can advise. It will hopefully put your mind at rest.

Both of mine had this a few weeks ago and took them straight to GP. Thankfully was just a viral infection and lasted about 2 days.

Always best to be cautious. Is he sucking in under his chest when breathing? Ds2 woke up with a bad cough and irritable one morning a couple of months ago and I booked him in first thing with the gp. Started sucking in under his ribs while we were in the waiting room and they ended up sending us to hospital in an ambulance as he had bronchiolitis and required oxygen. Hope you’re little ones feeling better soon!

I may be wrong, but I think most recently they’ve recommended cold air (reduces swelling) vs steamy for croup. Croup often sounds like a barking, seal like cough and does seem to come on quickly at night. But I would recommend ringing 111 because they will take you through the steps to see if he perhaps has issues with breathing, stridor, for instance, and will help you feel more confident about whether or not he needs to be seen.

6 not 56!

For a 56 year old I would just treat at home I should think. Prop him up, get comfy beside him and ride out a long night, things often feel better in the morning. You will be able to make a much better assessment in the cold light of day, and kids perk up quickly, if they don't then it is time to take action.

Dh has a chest infection and when he phoned to make appointment they asked that he do a Covid test first as other patients are going in with coughs and it’s Covid. But I’d ring 111 and see what they say. Horrid when they are unwell.

Since having my little one (now 19 months) I always get her checked if she is unwell, especially with a temperature, just for peace of mind. Our drs are lovely and always say they would prefer to see a child who is ok than it being left a few days and seeing a child who is seriously unwell. I would call 111 for advice as they usually can book you an appointment at somewhere like urgent care which will reduce your wait time . If you go, and have to wait, and he ends up being fine, yes it's annoying to have gone through all of that for "nothing" but much better than him being seriously unwell. We have found the vicks humidifier in our daughters room really helped settle her with a cough. Big hugs to you and your son xxx

I would call 111.

I was going to suggest the steamy bathroom too. Like really steamy. He's over 5 so could have a childrens liquid cough suppressant but I know a lot of people don't like them
If it's croup he will sound like a seal when he coughs . It;s quite distinctive. The doctor will hear it straight away. Mine once heard it from the waiting room. There's medicine for it , it's just not a nice thing to catch. If they prescribe a puffer make sure you get a spacer. They are useless without them for kids as they don't breathe in fast enough to get the medicine. Vicks is good too, I always used to put it on their singlet, ruins them but for some reason they didn't like is directly on their chest. I've heard the vicks on the foot one too but never tried it.
Hope all is well soon.

Hope you're doing ok, OP. My 5yo (nearly 6) still gets croup - is it that sort of cough? She had a horrible bout of it before Christmas. Getting her in a steamy bathroom helps.
It's horrible how much a cough distresses them and stops them from resting. If Calpol isn't helping his temperature it would be worth calling 111, but waiting for GP is probably ok at this time of the morning anyway. 111 might help you get an appointment though.

Hugs to you, it's such a helpless feeling.

See how it plays out today in the meantime keep him as comfortable as you can.
He might be right as rain if you keep his temperature down, hydrated yet warm and cosy, not hot.

Sending hugs OP, it's so worrying when our little ones are poorly. I would call 111 for advice, they can arrange an out of hours GP appointment to check over your DS if needed

Does he have a puffer that might help? (For Asthma)
Does your child have a bowl of water in his room (if the room is heated)?
Has he been vaccinated for Whooping Cough?
Have you given him any Panadol or antihistamines to relieve his cough?

After the above I would have him breathe in steam under a towel and comfort him until morning. Use Vicks Vapour Rub or Steam
I would then take him straight in to see your doctor or A&E.

All of the above assumes he is still breathing fine and that his temperature has dropped back down again.

If he is finding it hard to breathe or if his temperature is high, I would call an Ambulance.

Have you got him propped up on 2 pillows ? Vix on bottom of feet socks on top
Spoonful of vix in a bowl of boiling hot water under his bed
Cough syrup

Phone 111 now and get advice, they can also arrange an appointment for you at an urgent care centre.

Depending where you are 111 can sometimes book out of hour GP appointments. There is a lot going round, but I'd follow your instincts and if you're concerned definitely worth getting him checked out.

Have you got liquid ibuprofen? You can alternate every three hours between that and calpol which should help with temp

Call 111 for advice. Don't want to be taking him out with a contagious virus he might just get better from, that could be worse for someone he passes it on to.

Its possible to have a nasty cough without it being lethal for a child.

If 111 recommend taking him, then do so.