Help!

[WhereDidThisComeFrom]

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DD 17 months has a temperature of 40.1 at its highest and 39.4 at its lowest with calpol.

Been doctors. Told viral and to alternate calpol and ibuprofen, but quite honestly it always makes me nervous. So I asked 111/doctors/mum on how to do it and have been told different each time?!

If it matters to this she has been sick, is very lethargic, not at all herself and not eating.

Worried sick as she is my first and she has never been this unwell before.

I have three, been there! Including a child that gets Febrile convulsions (basically fits/shaking when hot) If her temperature is coming down with medicine, she has no shaking, her breathing is ok (no dips), she has no rash then I just monitor.

Alternating medicine is fine. If her temp doesn’t come down with the medicine, then I take them in as it’s moved from viral to infection.

Just keep watching her and if something feels “off” then take her to A & E.

Illness in little ones is scary don’t beat yourself up x

The ibuprofen should help with the temp. My little one has regular high temps and calpol doesn't seem to bring them down but ibuprofen does. I always go to that first now with calpol in between

Good luck x

I'll second the ibuprofen helping with temp.
Calpol doesn't work for my lo temp.

I've been there too temp hitting 40 and the panic I took DS to A&E twice in the one night I think they thought I'd lost the plot they kept telling me how it was viral and fevers are good and there is no upper limit re temperature. I just couldn't believe this!

Second time the doctor was a lot more understanding of how scary it can be but assured me he would be fine.

That is basically my plan. I have allowed myself a sneaky coffee to fight through the sleep, I will be watching her very closely and I have no plans on bed until her temperature is steady for at least three hours.

She amazes me every second of every day. Cheesy as that sounds. I am just so scared I'll fall asleep and miss something a better parent wouldn't have.

Trust your instincts. I’m not saying it is sepsis but this time last year my son had all the symptoms you described and he was 5 months old. We even got sent away from A&E and the GP surgery. My instincts were telling me not to give in, so I kept going back. In the end he ended up being diagnosed with Sepsis from a UTI. A year later he’s still on antibiotics. They don’t always know best! Good luck.

Please don’t be so hard on your self. You aren’t a failure, you have a baby and are pregnant and have step kids. I’m sure driving will come at a time when you have a little less going on, don’t beat yourself up over that!

Just keep on top of how much medicine she has had in 24 hours. Yes, you can give every two to three hours of alternating paracetamol and ibroprofen but there is only a set amount she will be able to have in 24 hours.

I see you’ve said her temp has come done a little which is great. Don’t stress about giving juice, now is the time to give it. If you have any kids rehydration sachets in the cupboard then they are great, if not, some diluting juice or fresh orange is good. At this point you need to give her whatever she will drink and keep down.

If you can’t get her temp to come down any more or it goes up again, she stops drinking and giving wet nappies please just pop to a and e.

We had terrible problems with our third DC and he always had high temps of over 40. I took him to a and e a few times and every time they get weighed so they can give a bigger dose of pain relief, try and rehydrate them, keep and eye on them and run tests. He always got rigors which was like a shaking and apparently that happens before a seizure so I never chance it when that happens. I appreciate the seizure is normal and is the body fighting the temp but I would rather he didn’t go through that. Luckily he’s grown out of it now at 6.

Have you checked her over for any rashes?

I hope both your DC are doing better now.

Tbh an underlining thing is a big worry for me. It took YEARS of my mum fighting to get my dodgy kidney taken seriously. So I am well aware the reality of doctors not knowing best sadly.

No rashes. Slight mark under her eye, but that was from catching it during a brief spell of play.

All doses are being whatsapped to DH so I can keep a clear eye on when and how. Including symptoms.

So far she is still settled, easy breathing and sleeping.

Temperature has risen to 39.3. All other aspects settled and okay. Still sleeping.

Despite me saying I would wake her for ibuprofen at this point I am putting it off as she has barely slept for days. I feel sleep must be important at this stage? Especially as I know she will wake.

I really wish DH was awake to throw this around with. I feel so bloodu lonely and I have the most beautiful little girl to make sure is okay and I feel like it is all on me to make the rihht choices and I just don't trust myself

My 17month old has had a temp of 40 a few times over the last few months. Childminder always calls and sends him home and tells em basically that's on the verge of having fits so I need to take him to be seen ASAP. Dr always is uninterested (last month they didn't even see him just spoke to me on the phone) and say to use ibuprofen and calpol and as long as that as that brings the temp down (even into the high 39s) that's fine ... usually correspond as with teething especially molars coming in

Molars could be a good shout as she has some coming atm. Plus I wonder as I had a bad viral chest bug thing the other week that took me and her both ages to get over. She still had a dodgy nose. Could that have come back a bit harder on her?

I just don't want to drag her down ane just to be told the same thing again and I've unsettled her for nothing. Add DH then being annoyed.

I just want to curl up into a ball and have someone tell me "this is exactly what you need to do. You're doing great! DD will be completely fine!"

Squirt the medicine into her mouth using the syringe they come with. Do a little bit at a time and then you don’t need to wake her. I do mean a little bit, like give the amount over ten little pushes. She won’t even notice it.

She sleeps on her front, but will keep an eye out for a wiggle in movement that allows me to do just that. Thank you

My nephew ended up in hospital for a high temp a few months ago. Very scary at the time but he's 100% fine now and it was some viral thing.

One thing he seemed to find comforting was wiping his face/arms with a cool washcloth. Also helped to bring his temp down a bit. Don't do it too cold, just cool.

A seizure is very very unlikely at this stage. In my experience (a lot) if she has already reached 40° without one it's not going to happen now. The risk is in the speed at which the temp changes not the height, and usually any seizure occurs just as the temp begins not hours into it.
I would keep a close eye on her, keep fluids going in wherever possible and let her sleep in between. Unless she becomes particularly listless or unresponsive or worse than she was when you saw the doc I would stay at home.

If you are worried about her having a fit turn even more reason to dose her up with ibruprofen .

Write down the time , medicine and doseage and that way you can't mess up how much you give her.

I wouldn't take a child to A and E without trying this first especially as she's already been seen by a doctor. Obviously if it doesn't come down then I would.

**turn=then

No amount of calpol or ibuprofen will stop a seizure by the way, that's a myth. You should medicate as needed if they're unhappy but not just to keep the temperature down, the temperature is the body's way of killing the bugs.

Thank you all. So much. Every single one of you has helped ease my mind/get a plan of action in place.

I am still a nervous wreck. But feel a lot more settled with the ibuprofen/calpol and a strong determined eye on her.

I keep repeating to myself "I know my child. I do." .

Now i have allowed space to breathe i am so worried sc (8/11) despite explaining it was best to avoid viral things this bad will feel kicked out. 100% not the case. I couldn't wait to see them today. I keep reminding myself if my DD was in that situation I would want the option of having her removed from it, cos I know I would to save the risk of further infection. But exW reaction has had me questioning if we should have just gotten on with it and not informed her. But our only concern was the kids. Not ourselves. I'm up anyway! Makes no difference to me if we had one or a million kids wandering around

I don't know why posters are saying trust your instinct, take to a&e when the op is asking how to alternate ibuprofen and Calpol! Leave her to sleep, give ibuprofen the next time she wakes. I also find the ibuprofen reduces temps better than Calpol.

Try and get some sleep OP.

Sods law the one window I had to get some sleep I am missing! She hasn't settled for longer than fifteen minutes for the last two, three including this nights.

Tonight she is. Yet I'm still awake.

At this point this thread is my sounding board. My eyes hurt. I hurt everywhere. I'm staring either at my phone or my monitor. Or getting up every ten minutes to do checks on DD. I KNOW I need sleep to be able to be a better parent when she needs me. But I am so scared I'll miss something.

@WhereDidThisComeFrom I promise you are doing a brilliant job and this is completely normal. So many of us have been where you are. Frantically googling, posting on forums and waiting for 111 to call back. My dd's have both had high temps in 40's when they were babies and it is terrifying. Watching them sleep and snuffling from colds and blocked noses, terrified they will stop breathing or a rash has developed that I can't see. In the majority of cases it is indeed just viral and it always has been for us 'touching wood as I type'. The absolute best thing you can do now is accept you aren't sleeping, but get comfortable and 'rest'. On nights like this I would take dc downstairs and sit in sofa with blanket and shit on tv. You can trust your instincts because you are her mother and you will know if the situation changes. Please try to relax a little. Missing a few nights sleep, whilst shitty at the time, will not break you.

As for other sc, actually I think it would have been fine for her/him to come over but I say that much further down the parenting line than you. I used to freak out with dc1 when someone exposed her to virus. Dc2 I was far less stressed about and that is probably where exw is. But now is not the time for you to worry about that. If your pfb is not waking up for medication naturally (and is still breathing normally with no rash etc) then I would leave her to sleep. She will soon tell you when she needs you. Good luck for this long night. You'll look back almost fondly one day!

Get in bed with her. You will hear her if she whimpers,starts to fidget etc. You need some sleep. She is fine at the moment. You don't have to torture and deprive yourself to be a good mother . You've taken her in, you are medicating her, you are keeping an eye on her and her temp went down. You are looking after her.

You have nothing to prove. Get some sleep. Breathe. She will be fine and you are doing ok. Hopefully after a good sleep she will be better in the morning. If not back to docs as it might need antibiotics.

And stop berating yourself. All any of us can do is try our best. Constantly beating yourself up will not make you a better mummy. If you love her/him and take care of her/his needs you are doing brilliantly. Kids grow up with memories of the fun times. They don't even remember the first three years so you can make your mistakes without being reminded!!

How long has she been asleep for now? If I were you I'd try and get some rest, at least just close your eyes for a bit.

I know exactly how you feel, it's so worrying when they have a temperature.

Does she have a lot of layers on?