My 2 year old has a temp of 38.6, please advise

[Osiras]

I cannot for want of trying get through on 111 for advice. Doctors closed.

I may be overreacting, if so then please do say.

He's 2 and autistic, he can't communicate how he feels but has been a bit grumpy and been off his food for the past 2 days (very unlike him). He has eaten very small amounts.

He came and laid on my lap on the sofa and he is burning hot to touch. I stripped him down, tried to give him Calpol (which he spat out) and offered him juice which he refused.

He isn't drowsy and seems ok in himself other than being off his food. He's currently playing on his tablet babbling away.

There may have been covid in the house last month (I was unwell) but no test so no confirmation.

He's never had a temperature like this before so I'm panicking.

Suppositories are very useful for a child who refuses oral medication or can't keep it down.

In the morning call the GP and ask for a prescription for a paracetamol suppositories. You can only get them on prescription in England (whereas they're available OTC in other countries). You might need to ring around local pharmacies to check they have some. When we got a prescription I think the pharmacy had to order them in but they arrived the next day.

It's also possible to get nurofen suppositories, we have bought them online from Irish pharmacy websites, but that won't arrive soon enough to be useful.

It's easy for me to say but try not to panic as the temperature is not particularly high (as PPs have said) and if he is still drinking and weeing, and is responsive and seems ok in himself, you don't need to worry.

My DS has had temp of 40+ a few times and it's scary but the doctors always reassured us that temp isn't the only measure of how unwell they are.

Thank you twiglet, bless her. I was prone to tonsilitis as a child and it was awful. I hope she's feeling back to normal now.

What worries me is that he can't let me know if something is wrong, I have to rely completely on my own observations so I'll be watching him closely.

I tell you what MN, i'd have been beside myself without this thread tonight. Thank you all. DH has been an utter bastard. He has now apologised but the damage is done.

DS is making monkey noises now, he's in a good mood which reassures me

My 2 year old had a similar symptoms, temp at 39.7, tired and off his food but otherwise pretty fine in himself. I'm pretty sure it was Covid as I was unwell just before and my colleague had it the week prior (we're London and my work waited until Govt pretty much ordered us to shut down). My husband was okay, bit of tightness of breath and my daughter felt a bit rubbish for a couple of days. Anyway the point is it went on for about 4 days and he got a fever rash but he was fine. If you are worried then do call your GP.

I hope you manage to get some Calpol into him and he sleeps ok tonight. I'm sure that you know this, but your entire household will have to self-isolate for 14 days from now. Hope he recovers soon.

DS has had a 40 degree fever twice once when he had scarlet fever and a non blanching rash and need iv antibiotics and once when I had to rush to a clinic on holiday after a febrile convulsion

OP, does he like yoghurt? I used to mix Calpol into a Petis Filous to get my son to take it!

You're not scaring me blue I appreciate each and every perspective

Namechange30 I will see if I can get hold of some suppositiries tomorrow. I'll need to get a telephone appointment for that to be possible I think.

Squiggly sorry to hear your family have come into contact with covid. We are also in London (in a burrough where many are not listening to the social distancing guidelines as can be seen when out doing the weekly shop) I was saying it would be a miracle if we didn't get it.

At the end of March I had sudden gastrointestinal disturbance, my heart rate shot up, I had body aches, loss of appetite, an overpowering disgusting metallic taste and fatigue. I felt better for a week then was hit with a 5 day migraine and eye pain. All of my symptoms were recognised as covid symptoms but I never had a temp or severe cough.

Whilst this was going on both of my DC (2 years and 11 months) had very mild coughs, I wouldn't have called them continuous. No obvious temperatures. I didn't measure them then as they weren't hot to touch.

I thought we had gotten off lightly so when this happened with DS tonight it's made me second guess myself about what happened last month and wonder if he is now coming down with covid

If he won’t take a full dose from the syringe just squirt a little in his mouth, a few minutes later another bit until it’s finished. Don’t worry about trying to get it all in at once. Even if it take’s you 30 minutes to empty the syringe, far better than him spitting out a load and you can’t give him more as you don’t know what he had.

Bluehill, 40 is when unusually worry. I've also ended up with a 3 month in hospital due to a temperature which was sepsis, so I dont take it lightly either. Its more about knowing how the child is with these things. And when you do give medicine does it do anything. If it doesnt then I also worry.

BlackLambAndGreyFalcon, yep I'm bracing myself to tell this to DH. He has been off already because of me being ill in March and his boss was moaning about that. He wanted to take unpaid leave due to me being vulnerable (depleted immune system from sepsis)

He was being pressurized to return to work so is due to return on 23rd. I'm not looking forward to this conversation nor will he having to speak to his boss who I feel will think he's pulling a fast one. SHIT.

Quartz that sounds very scary. My main concern IRT the temp is if it gets any higher and he has a febrile conclusion

Flowers, he loves yoghurt yes. I'll try and get one down him before he goes to sleep.

He's not usually up at this time of night but he slept alot this afternoon and his sleeping pattern has gone funny. I don't mind him being up atm as I can keep an eye on him.

My daughter is a lot younger than your son (11mo) but her temperature goes sky high when she is cutting teeth, the first time I was an absolute state but some Calpol brought it right down, I know you've tried but if you can persevere to get some down him it should bring his temp down🤞like your son, in herself she was fine, a little bit out of sorts but generally ok, so not sure if it's that?

I think that fanning/cold sponge thing drops their temp too quickly, if you're worried just have him in a vest

Hi OP, really hope your DS is feeling better soon. My DS is older but also autistic with speech delay and sensory processing differences so we have similar worries about him not being able to tell us when something's wrong. PPs have said lots of v helpful things and I just had one more thought - may be worth checking your DS over for any obvious external infections, eg his fingers if he bites his nails - my DS does and has had a few infections in his fingers as a result, which take a while to spot.

Gosh you've had lots of conflicting advice.

My now 2 y old has had loads of temperatures in her life- worst was 39.6 an hour after calpol, I didn't want to give her nurofen as chicken pox was going round and they can't have it then. Anyway, Hospital advised nurofen and it came down. There was no explanation other than 'viral'.

Anyway, if mine had that temperature I'd be forcing calpol down 😕 I'm not a harsh parent at all but I would be getting 3-4ml on calpol in somehow! It will bring down the temperature. Remember though, temperature shows the body is doing what it should and fighting inside.
Eating and drinking are massive positives.
As is a happy/ responsive child (alert and aware as usual) and you want him breathing normally.

I would call the GP tomorrow morning- if the temperature is still high. They will advise better than all of us as they have the most up to date training. I doubt they'd call your boy in- probably just a phone chat.

Finally I'd give him at least 1 layer less than normal tonight. So if he usually has vest, pjs blanket I'd do vest and thinner blanket or no blanket depending on his heat.

The fact he's eating/ drinking/ normal self are all great, less concerning signs.

As others say, that's not particularly high temp for a fever. I've found that doctors don't really worry about the actual number. My DD runs hot and when she's ill her temperature often tops 40 and her doctor has been unconcerned. You're doing well to get to 2 without a fever!

Bluehill I wouldn’t discharge an adult who was still febrile either, because that would suggest I hadn’t adequately treated whatever had brought them in.

That doesn’t mean I admit everyone who has a fever. Just that once they have met the bar for admission, you keep them in until you are sure they are definitely getting better.

You surely cannot believe that every child who ever spikes a temperature needs admission to hospital! DS would have lived on the paediatric ward last year if that was the case, he picked up every bug going from nursery. 38.6 is pretty mild, I only really worry when he is over 39.5. He has been over 40 plenty of times (every single time he has a vaccination), and while he always looks pretty hot and grumpy, he’s never particularly unwell with it.

As as small number have pointed out you really dont need to worry about the degree of the temperature in a child over 6 months, there is no evidence which links it to the severity of the infection. Fever is a positive response of your immune system to help defeat the infection. There is some evidence that calpol will worsen the severity of the infection and is not recommended to be given for the sole purpose of reducing fever. It should only be given to relieve pain or distress and is detailed here in NICE guidelines: cks.nice.org.uk/feverish-children-management#!scenario

In regards to another poster, calpol does not reduce the incidence of febrile convulsions, they occur by another mechanism and it should not be given for the sole purpose of avoiding febrile convulsions. www.nice.org.uk/donotdo/antipyretic-agents-do-not-prevent-febrile-convulsions-and-should-not-be-usedspecifically-for-this-purpose

Theres a bit more reading here regards when to seek medical assessment in terms of infection in children and tips of other ways of helping them manage: www.nhs.uk/conditions/fever-in-children/

Good luck! He must have a great immune system to get to 2 years old and not had a notable illness before!!!!

What temperature the thermometer say you have? If you and him have the same, the thermometer may be useless.

If you have a normal temperature and his is still so high you need to take him to A&E, some kids do not show how bad they are in the way other kids do.

Just in case you're not familiar with NICE which were the links to reference the statements I made. They're the authority on evidence based medical guidelines in the uk, I.e a very reputable source of info.

I wouldn’t panic at that temp unless a rash, sore neck, mottled skin, difficulty waking , or weakness .
My child was always having high fevers at that age and we got used to seeing over 39 degrees on thermometers. Doctors were never worried and I just stripped him down and let it burn off . Unless he was in pain I didn’t give calpol too often. It is scary though if you haven’t seen it before. He may just burn off whatever it is before any symptoms show, or may wake up tomorrow with a sore throat or ears etc and you’ll know what’s been wrong.
Just keep checking him for rashes and making sure he drinks and wees. I wouldn’t force calpol in if he isn’t ill with it or upset x

@ChristmasCarcass well if they were unwell with it that’s fortune for you. It’s not always the case for some. I’m just stating the range that’s all. At no point did I say call 999 however don’t be under any impression just because your child’s temp was sky high and you didn’t need to go to A&E some kids do like I said I had to with mine.
I’m obviously some don’t need to! Thanks for your input though..

Were not I meant

OP, sounds like you’ve got this completely, particularly if this is the first time you’ve dealt with a high temp. Keep him cool (vest/nappy, one light cotton blanket for bedtime). Monitoring him is a great idea - you clearly know his “happy” signals very well, so will be able to notice any changes. In your shoes, I’d ring GP in the morning if temp is still a concern. Our practice are doing a great job of phone appointments at the moment, so I hope yours is too!

Some great ideas here regarding how to administer Calpol, but if they don’t work, just keep calmly offering fluids, monitoring and keeping him cool and reassured.

Don't give him ibuprofen as can make covid worse if it is that

The thermometer says his temp is 38.6 (I checked again 10 mins ago) and mine is 36.6 - 367

He looks flushed in the face. His back / head / chest is hot but when I took his socks off to feel his feet they were colder than the rest of him.

Not freezing to touch but notably colder than the rest of his body.

I took my own socks off to see if mine were cold and no, they're warm.

So I'm a bit concerned about that now esp what PP said at the start of the thread

I'll attach a picture of him so you can see what I mean by flushed. I'll ask MNHQ to remove it shortly

Sorry what? Why are you panicking? Because your own feet are warm and his are cold?