A&E or wait for GP – 16mo poorly

This is what they make you do at A&E anyway if your baby is dehydrated. You have to do a fluid push with diorylite(spelling??) every 5 mins or so. Where I live at kids A&E they always say bring them in if you are worried. We'd rather check them out and stop you worrying. If there is any sign of dehydration you'll have to stay in for the fluid push. Hope you get your LO sorted.

My DD has had tonsillitis a few times and it always presents like this (she’s 10 months). If his temp isn’t coming down with nurofen or calpol I would take him to be seen.

I hope that you’ve heard back from 111 now OP. It’s really horrible when your little one isn’t well and everything somehow feels so much worse in the night. If it’s any help my thought process has always been along the lines of I won’t regret getting baby checked out but I might regret not doing if it is something serious, complete opposite thought process for myself though which is much more along the lines of I’m sure I’ll be fine! Assuming this isn’t the first time your little one has been unwell something about this clearly feels different to you and I’m a big believer in trusting your instincts.

It is were my 18mo id take him in. Reason being prolonged very high temp, refusing liquids, reduced urine output, lethargic. It must be an infection as there is a temperature, and if it’s not cough/cold then what is it? I’d make sure a dr checks him over just to be safe.

Nothing you have said is a red flag to take to A&E . If you are worried just go to the GP in the morning.

Listen, don't even think of it as overreacting or wasting anyone's time. It's not. I have always been taken seriously when
I've gone in with a baby or toddler as staff know how worrying it is. A&E is often a long wait but little ones do get prioritised for obvious reasons. They can't speak for themselves.

If you are worried, take him. Better safe than sorry and the staff will get that. 111 tend to advise it for that reason too.

How much as he actually drunk? It’s normal to drink less if unwell but unless he’s not taking any fluids, not had a wet nappy in 12 hours ED unlikely to do anything other then try and get you to syringe in.
I’d monitor overnight and see gp/anp morning. Tonsillitis often the cause of this in my experience.

How often are you alternating the calpol and ibuprofen? And when can he have his next dose of calpol? How many wet nappies has he had today and when was the last one?

Fevers make children pretty miserable and he's bot going to settle, sleep well, eat or drink until the fever comes down. Its late, it's likely past his bedtime so he's going to be even more grumpy and unwilling to drink.

Obviously go to A&E if you're worried (i think it's best for 111 as at least you're not sat in A&E for hours but hopefully see an out of hour gp) but if all observations aren't worrying in triage other than a temp and posssibly high heart rate which is common with a raised temperature, then they'll top him up with calpol or ibuprofen, whichever comes first, to get his temp down.

I find with mine having a bath really helps with a fever. Not a tepid bath just a normal bath, it also makes them feel better when they’re in it.

I personally wouldn’t take my child to a&e with a fever unless there were any other concerning symptoms such as breathing difficulty or a rash.

Hope he feels better soon, it’s horrible

This sounds like how my daughter was at a similar age and she ended up having a febrile seizure due to the fever. We had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance and it turned out she had tonsillitis. We were sent home with antibiotics the next morning once her fever dropped.

Honestly just take him, your his mum you know him best

Just take him in

If he's lethargic, take him in. Worth looking at the signs of serious illness here. Sounds like he has ticked two of those, and I wouldn't take the risk.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/health/is-your-baby-or-toddler-seriously-ill/

OP going against the grain, you’ve got him in front of you and are clearly worried. I’d take him in. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had tonsillitis.

Another one not really understanding what the fuss is about here. Your child has a temperature and is a bit unsettled. They've had wet nappies today. What you've described does not warrant an A&E visit. Have you actually read the NHS advice for temperatures in children? That wouldn't suggest any action right now either. Having poorly children can be a worrying time, but you have to respond with calmness and have a certain tolerance for them being upset. Of course if anything changes, my response would change, but a temperature and a grizzly child in and of itself isn't a particular concern. Just keep offering fluids (via a syringe if that helps) and keep up with alternating nurofen and paracetamol

I would go to an urgent care centre. They have GPs on hand and prioritise kids - I called 111 with my 2 yo with similar symptoms to this and they told me to go to urgent care right away. We got examined and antibiotics within an hour.

If there's no urgent care near you then A&E your best bet.

I know he's very little but when one of mine has a bad bug around the age of two and wasn't drinking a nurse advised me to let them eat some salty crisps and then they wanted water! I still use this tip :) also lollies if you have any in the freezer

Also just to add if you are worried dehydration and are showing signs of actually being dehydrated (sunken fontanelle, no tears, dry mouth, and lips, no wet nappy for 8+ hours) all the hospital would do is give a fluid challenge, which would consist of giving 5mls of water via a syringe every 5 minutes for a few hours. They would be very very unlikely to give Iv fluids in a child this young u less absolutely necessary or in a situation where they are voniting constantly and not keeping anything down. You could do this yourself at home.

Had this more times than I could count with my two children. TBH I’ve never even went to the gp unless it’s not settling after a few days. Keep trying with fluids, make sure you have some wet nappies even if they are not quite as well or heavy as usual. No rash or difficulty breathing/ fast breathing/ sucking in under the ribs etc. and they aren’t showing signs of pain such as inconsolable crying (generally wingeing and clinginess is to be expected when poorly) I’d probably just dose them up with calpol and ibuprofen and see how it goes for a few days. Any fluids are good fluids in this situation, even things you wouldn’t normally allow, ice cream, milkshakes, squash etc. lots of things like water melon, strawberries, cucumber, soup if they will eat it. Let them eat anything they are happy to eat even if it’s just cereal and toast. Don’t be worried about bad habits.

Definitely try fluids with a syringe. A five ml syringe every five minutes will get a reasonable amount of fluid in. Juice is better than water as if they’re not eating then they need calories as well as fluid.

The advice to strip off clothing/tepid bath is outdated - fever is a protective mechanism driven by their immune system to fight infection so artificially cooling them just means their bodies will work harder to try and push their temperature back up.

Trust your instincts OP. While a high temperature alone doesn't warrant A&E, if you feel your LO isn't themselves them that absolutely warrants getting them checked tonight.

In the meantime, keep giving Calpol and Ibuprofen, offering fluids, and giving opportunities for rest.

This was my thought exactly. Unfortunately saying your baby is out of sorts is hard to interpret because of course they are if they are ill.

No other symptoms to be worried about and very normal unfortunately for babies to get fevers.

Not RTFT but neurofen/calprofen is better at keeping a temp down....111 have always been extremely reliable for swift advice, although have always sent to A&E when in hindsight not required..... if you are worried then go xxx