Fever 38.2 ...... not getting response on parenting thread, advice appreciated

[Mummy102]

My son, 1 years old. Randomly and suddenly came over with a high temp 38.2, for about 15 mins, gave nurofen and it dropped to 37.7, he had a nap, and when he woke up back to 36.7... why did this happen, should I be concerned?

I wouldn’t be concerned, I’d probably not even treat a 38 degree temperature anyway.

How is he in himself?

If his temp has come down with the nurofen then that is good. He could have a viral infection common at this time of year. It's sometimes hard to know. But as long as his temp stays down and you can get him to have fluids I'd say you're okay.

I went through a very anxious stage with my PND (not saying this is what is happening to you though) and if it was the weekend and I couldn't get into the GP I would sometimes phone 111. They were often very reassuring.

Could be the start of a virus. Just keep an eye on his form- fever has a function in killing off bugs so don’t stress too much about keeping temp down at all costs. As long as he’s in decent form then just watchful waiting is the way to go.

Thank you, for the 15 mins, he wasn't himself, just sat still and I cuddled him. After nap and temp back to normal, back to his cheeky little self. I'm just worried incase I leave it, but It is something underlining. It was just so random.

Could be caused by teething, being too warm, virus, infection etc. Impossible for anyone to guess and depends on other symptoms.
38.2 is barely even a fever, I wouldn't think twice at that, especially as it reduced with medication.

For context my DS (just turned 2) has probably had a 38 temperature 20+ times in his life (I was thermometer obsessed in his first year due to PND and health anxiety). He's also had 39's and a 40 which was awful and scary.

I wouldn't worry, DS has random temp spikes at times with no apparent cause. As long as it comes down with medicine there's no need to worry

38 isn't a high fever for a 1yr old, OP. If it doesn't go back up then he probably just has a mild virus.

Also the advice is paracetamol first, if they can have it, then if that doesn't bring a temp down, to give ibuprofen.

@pemberleypearl I do over worry a lot about him, I was toying with calling 111 but as the temp dropped I just didn't and it's been bothering me ever since. Thank you for your advice.

@RedLemon thank you for your reply, I'll keep an eye on him, there are no other symptoms as of yet

Thank you all so much, I feel much less worried. It's hard to believe he is my second, there is a 10 year gap between him and his sister & I just feel as if I'm a first time mum all over again, seem to have forgotten all these things. It probably doesn't help that his sister used to have febrile convulsions when she was 3-4 it was very scary I suppose i just over worry. Thank you all again.

The view on fever has changed over the years. It is now seen as a normal part of fighting a bug rather than a problem unless it gets very high or there are other symptoms.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/fever-in-children/

There are loads of colds and respiratory infections going around at the moment. One thing to look out for is if he is fiddling with one of his ears a lot, that can be the sign of an ear infection.

DS2 had chronic tonsillitis up until the age of 3 when we had them taken out so managing fever was a common situation for us. (He is now a healthy 12 year old so no long term issues).

Both my sons get fevers like this before a cold.

For future reference: if you don't happen to have Calpol/Nurofen to hand for some reason but do have lemon juice and two face-flannels, if you get the flannels wet with lemon juice and wrap them round a baby's legs it reduces a fever.

I have no idea why this should work, but it does. I was told it by an aunt who worked in a paediatric ward in Canada during the war, and that and two teaspoonsfuls or so of very finely-grated raw eating-apple (so it's just mush, really) for a baby with a runny tummy were both from her and both did what she claimed. The raw apple in particular I always tried first before even thinking about a chemical medicine, and it always worked with all three of mine. The hospital apparently gave it to very young babies they didn't want to medicate, because it was important for them not to get dehydrated.

I’ve heard the raw apple one too on a science programme, albeit you’re supposed to let the Apple brown first for it to be most effective, hence the grating - biggest surface area means you get more brown, more quickly.

Apparently the chemical that is the brown of apple going brown is similar to drugs that can bing you up and stop diarrhoea. Although these days the advice has changed on that too - best to get as much of the diarrhoea out as possible to reduce the time the bugs are in your system. The apple/drugs are good if you are out and need to get home for example (or if you take a tablet that has diarrhoea as a side effect etc) but if you have an infection don’t take drugs to stop the problem as they’re not actually curing you but making it last long if you see what I mean.

Then once it has stopped the grated apple can be a great starter food again (along with the other BRAT foods) as it can help to reintroduce fibre to the gut to get it going normally.

Oh and it’s different too if you are losing lots and lots of liquid and becoming dehydrated - but medical advice is needed for that!

I am very glad indeed to hear that it isn't just an old wives tale about the apple: I mean, it worked, but having a reason for it is also good.

For dehydration (and also for sunstroke) I use a half-pint of warm water with a teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of white sugar dissolved in it -- sounds disgusting but if you really need the fluid you don't actually taste it as anything but water, which is a bit weird in itself. And it is a lot cheaper than those sachets you can get, as well as being things you are likely to have in the house.