To take ds to the drop in doctors

[NachoAddict]

ds is 16 months old and has had a cough for a few days, last night he coughed till he was sick and had a temp. The childminder said her children have all got it too so send him round.

I have picked him up and he's off his food, burning up (sil borrowed my thermometer but he feels very hot to touch) and he is now asleep.

I have given him Calpol but he is still hot. He has had some breast milk.

Wibu to take him to the drop in or am I wasting their time with a cough/cold.

If he is only just starting with a temp then I wouldn't be going to the doctors yet, just see how he goes.

I would watch and wait tbh

Have you checked his breathing? If he is struggling ,you will see his chest wall being sucked in at he bottom of the rib cage

If he's taking BM, don't worry too much about the temp, it will help him fight the bugs. Latest WHO advice is only treat pain, not fever with calpol

TBH all you'll be doing by takign him out is spreading germs, so unless you think he has a secondary infection I'd wait it out. Lots of fluids and love should see him right after 3 or 4 days

Thanks for advice, he is a bit wheezy but not struggling as such, temp has been since last night and he has started shivering in is sleep.

As long as he is breathing fine, and taking fluids I would not bother with a doctor. You need to watch out for a very high temperature (above 39), panting or struggling to breathe, lips or nails turning a bluish colour or breathing with his stomach instead of his chest (sounds strange but basically if his stomach is going in and out instead of his chest then you should get it checked out). DS had bronchiolitis last November and was really unwell with it, but it happened so fast it's scary. I would maybe sleep in the same room as him tonight so you can keep an eye/comfort him. Plenty of Calpol and keep him cool - just a vest. I hope he perks up a bit soon.

I think you need to get your sister to bring your thermoniter back, I would say a child with a temp close to 40 that won't go down with calpol should be taken to the dr. Under that probably not.

I would wheezing chest is not something I would ignore.

Sent dp for a new thermometer.

He perked up for a bit, ate some tea, did a poo, shouted at his sister and temp came down to 37.1

by 9 he was 38.4 so we gave Calpol, it is up again to 38.9 giving some ibuprofen and if it is still up will call 111 and speak to a doctor/nurse.

He is ar the breast but nor sure how much he is drinking or if he is just comfort sucking.

I'm glad he's perked up a bit, personally Calpol never works for Ds only Ibuprofen ever gets his temp down if it's above 38. Hope he manages to sleep it off. If not wrap him up in the morning and take him to GP.

Thanks welshnat, he is asleep again, has been for hours but he definitely perked up between sleeps.

I would definitely call for advice. He obviously has a fever, is sleeping lots and is only small.

So you gave calpol at 9 and temp was 38.4? What is it now? If the calpol or nurofen is not bringing it down at all then you probably should call 111. Or your out of hours doctors are usually a better option. /just keep trying to get fluids into him as that really helps to bring his temp down.

Woke him up about 10/15 mins ago to give him nurofen, he has been awake since then and is toddling about eating a cracker muttering away.

Just took his temp and it was 37.6?? Surely it wouldn't work that fast? Unless it was the Calpol at 9 finally kicking in. He did move his head quite a bit so not totally accurate.

He is also very windy, keeps doing huge farts, not sure if that is related in anyway!

that would be the calpol at 9 bringing it down. Sounds like its being cotrolled well which is good

I would leave him until the morning then. He's better off in his own bed than waiting for a few hours in a doctors. Unless he wakes up and he gets worse. It's a good sign that he's up and about and eating, even if it is only a small burst of energy. Good luck for tonight Nacho.

My 22mo DS has had a cough, runny nose and on/off temperature since Saturday, he's been home from childcare for 3 days and hasn't had much appetite I still havent thought about taking him dr though what can they really do?

If it's just a cough/cold then obviously shouldn't take them to docs, but a temperature over 39 or trouble breathing you are always advised to seek medical advice. I held off taking 11mo DS to docs last year with a cough/cold, but as soon as his breathing changed I took him in for an emergency appointment and he ended up getting a lot worse in the waiting room and being sent in an ambulance to hospital with oxygen. ]

I think you should always listen to your gut instinct, if you feel that DS needs medical attention then that's what you should do.

Will see how we go, definite improvement anyway.

I considered te doc because it said on nhs website that if it was a chest infection it would need treating with antibiotics and as mentioned a very high temp or breathing difficulties need checking out.

Thanks for all the replies.

Hi Nacho, I hope he woke up feeling better this morning!

thanks Welshnat He has been much better today thank you. Still not entirely himself but certainly on the mend.