To be worried about 8 day fever in 9 month old?

[worriedmama1980]

My 9 1/2 month old woke at 5am last Friday feeling boiling to the touch, her temp was 38.9 and I spent the day alternating calpol and neurofen with limited effect. At midnight it was just under 41, we were maxed out on calpol and neurofen and we ended up going to a & e.

They tested her urine, said they reckoned it was an ear infection and if the fever had gone away in five days to get her checked out again. Since then we've been to the GP on Tuesday as she had a rash: he said she was fine, some viruses go on a long time and can cause v high temperatures. The rash went away, but her temp has been high 39s almost consistently since Wednesday. Shes had a fever the majority of the time for over a week.

We're back to the GP tomorrow, but I'm honestly not sure what I want. He said that a bacterial infection doesn't usually throw such high temperatures, she has previously had a lot of antibiotics and has tummy problems (reflux and allergies) so I don't want antibiotics if they won't help. Are there any tests I should be asking for? Is there anything else I can do? Should we just ride this out? We're not in the UK, if that makes a difference.

No advice I'm afraid but didn't want to read and run. That must be awful for you and your DD. I'm sure someone will be along soon to offer advice. Hope you're little one gets better soon

Mostly these things are just lingering viruses but any fever for 5 days or more should be investigated in young kids. It can be a thing called Kawasaki Disease, which is very rare, but you don't want to miss it. Ask your GP specifically if they're sure it's not that- if they can't be sure then you'll need to see paediatrics.

@wildflowersandweeds thank you so much for suggesting that, that's exactly the kind of thing I want to know to watch for.

I know it's most likely she'll be fine, but there's something so odd about how persistent the fever is and the fear that there'll be something we miss because I don't know to look for it.

Cheeky bump- any other ideas?

At that age, with a fever going on for so long I'd want an admission to paediatrics to observe and rehydrate. Might seem excessive but it's a young baby and this fever has been going on for quite a long time.

Even if she's not dehydrated @Booboostwo ?

She's a bit off her solid food but is still breastfeeding as normal and taking water and producing decent amount of nappies.

The GP- who is a very experienced family doctor- seems v reasonable and reassuring and basically said last time we were in, it's unusual for fevers to go on over a week but can happen depending on the virus and the main things he'd be concerned about is if she seemed v listless or dehydrated, when she's a bit intermittently snotty and off form but otherwise fine.

When I'm with him that makes sense, though he did tell us to come back today if temps were still high so maybe we're hitting his limit. It's just when I take another high temp- she was 38.8 this morning after neurofen at midnight and a night sleeping in only her nappy- I start wondering if by assuming it's just a long running virus we could be missing something more serious.

I'm not sure how he's respond if I said I wanted to take her back to hospital, or if they'd admit her, when I don't have anything I'm actually concerned about other than a general sense it isn't right.

It's really good that she's breastfeeding and is hydrated. See what the GP says today.

I'd insist on blood tests.

I don't want to scare you, but I'd want to rule out leukaemia. Unfortunately I've known 2 children to have it after an illness that started with a prolonged fever with no clear source.

The Hospital (A&E? Paediatrics?) certainly expected it to have gone by now, and wanted you to get reassessed if it was persisting past 5 days. I would raise that with the GP - I don’t know what the system is like where you are but could they ring the hospital/ on call paediatricians and ask advice about sending you in?

Don't bother with that. Just go to A+E

I’d go back to the GP. That’s a long time to have a high temp, poor thing must feel rough

We're about to head to the doctor, thank you for the suggestions and for making me feel I'm not overreacting.

@Kewlwifee is there anything else you can tell me about that? Anything else to look out for?

I'm going to ask the GP about blood tests and maybe a referral letter to go back to a & e. She's actually in great form this morning, she really looks like she's getting better but her temperatures are just staying so high. I thought she was on the mend Wednesday/Thursday and we had some normal temps but she's consistently had at least one temperature over 38.5, and I think 39, every day and we're now on day 9.

The fact it's still there when she seems well now isn't really reassuring me.

They were both infants that seemed to have a bit of a cold but stinking temperatures. It wasn't until they had bloods that it was seen. I think one had leukaemia and one had.... neuroblastoma?