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.

DH is saying it's probably sunburn now. I want to throttle him.

He's barely left the house and it hasn't been scorching weather, nor has he been plonked in blazing sunlight

@NameChange30 I was worried about his feet being cold when I took his socks off, because a PP at the start of the thread saying their DC had a high temp and cold feet and it was sepsis.

I was confused as to how he could have cold feet when he had been wearing socks. So I checked my own feet to see if they were cold too, incase it was the temperature in the room. It's not.

Sorry I know that sounds a bit bonkers.

With all due respect you're both being a bit silly here.

It's a fever probably caused by a virus.

Keep an eye on the other symptoms but if your child is drinking, weeing, breathing fine, and generally ok in himself, he will be fine.

Keep an eye on him, ring 111 if he gets worse, but if not just call GP in the morning for a phone appointment.

I don't think this thread is helping you OP, no one on here can really give you the reassurance you need. I have a 2 year old and personally what you describe wouldn't concern me at all. Mine has had temperatures much hotter than that several times but I've only once seen them really unwell and I could tell that by how they were behaving rather than the level of fever. Persist with 111 until you get proper medical advice and stop arguing with your husband, that's not going to be helping anyone.

" a PP at the start of the thread saying their DC had a high temp and cold feet and it was sepsis."

This is why mumsnet is not the best source of medical advice, there will always be someone chiming in to terrify you

Have you looked up the symptoms of sepsis?
www.nhs.uk/conditions/sepsis/

I had sepsis myself and got so unwell so quickly my symptoms were a blur, it was a frightening time so when I hear somebody describing something like this in their DC and it being sepsis I do spiral

Sorry I've made myself look a bit of a twit haven't I.

The plan is plenty of fluids, lighter pyjamas, a lighter blanket and I'll check on him in the night. If the temp doesn't improve within a couple of days then GP but if things get worse prior, then 111.

If you’re worried then no doctor would mind checking him over, particularly as he can’t tell you where/if he’s hurting anywhere. I would keep checking on him during the night, keep him in with you if you can and call your GP in the morning. Obviously if anything changes in the night then call 111.

My eldest was prone to very high temps when ill, it normally turned out to be tonsillitis , sometimes it was jst a cold or other virus but I always just knew when he needed seeing, my husband could never call it but every time I insisted on taking him to OOH it always resulted in ABX, so what I’m saying is trust your instinct.

You’ve had good advice already but to reiterate, current advice is NOT to sponge down, don’t fan the child as it can cause shivering which could increase their temp.

Loose cool clothing and plenty of fluids, ice pops are great for the sugar and fluids. If he’s weeing that’s a good sign but keep an eye on it to make sure he carries on if he’s not drinking.

Oh bless his heart.
He does look flushed. Persevere with 111. Have you managed to get any calpol down him?
Have you got a carton of some sort that you can place the calpol behind in a small cup and use a straw I saw someone do this online.
Have you looked at all the signs for sepsis on NHS website OP?

Im going to have him in with me tonight yes, I'm a light sleeper and I'll be keeping a close eye.

I second guess myself alot because I'm terribly anxious about anything health related with the DC. DS had to have an emergency operation as a baby and DD had a difficult start to life aswell so I'm on constant high alert with them.

Feet being cooler than the chewt/head is fine/normal, feet being icy cold in a warm environment is not. Flushed cheeks also normal with a temp. www.nhs.uk/conditions/fever-in-children/ is written by the nhs for parents of children with a fever and points out a lot of what is normal and what is concerning, I'd recommend reading through it!

I've familiarized myself with sepsis signs yes. The high temp and cold feet are on there, which is why I'm going in circles and not knowing whether I'm over reacting or not.

His feet aren't freezing but are comparatively colder than the rest of him. He's fallen asleep now next to me.

Thanks Hamster I'll read up now

Cold hands and feet were usually the case with my toddlers temps. I know it can also be a worrying sign, but honestly , sleep in with him, set alarms to check him if it helps ease your worry. Call docs tomorrow for reassurance if the temp still there . If he is toddling about normal in the morning and still happy to eat and drink, peeing ok and no rashes or pain I wouldn’t worry
Also I’m surprised you got to two without fevers! Very lucky x

Some of them are contextual and this is where some confusion can occur I,e the cold feet. For instance if my child had a high temp and icy cold feet, but was chatting away watching their favourite programme/eating an ice lolly then I'm not concerned. But if they had been very unwell, taken to bed, not happy and seeming poorly, then i would be running through that checklist and watching out for the 999 flags in order to help me decide whether to goto a&e-noticing their feet have become icy cold now would dictate I take them to a&e.

Cold hands and feet were usually the case with my toddlers temps

That's good to know, thank you.

I'll be doing exactly that, setting a couple of alarms and checking on him.

If this has vanished by morning I'm going to feel like a total pillock.

Yes it's surprising to me to know that fevers in toddlers are so common. If this had happened a handful of times before I'm sure I wouldn't be as panicked. It's just the first time fright isn't it.

That has also reassured me Hamster thank you.

If you’ve not dealt with it before and you get anxious anyway then you’re bound to worry, don’t feel silly. You’ve got the added worry that he can’t tell you so you’re guessing if something is bothering him as well as the temp. Don’t feel daft.

My two were in nursery from 9months so they picked up all sorts before they were three so I became a pro at dealing with it.
By the time they’d started school they’d both had chicken pox, HFM, chest infections, tonsillitis and perforated eardrums between them, countless colds and one memorable weekend where one had worms and the other nits, that was fun

They’re both older now and, touch wood, seem not pick anything up. My eldest is 8 and had never had a day off school, when he was at nursery it seemed like he was off every other week with something, not sure how we kept our jobs TBH!

38.6 is very high for a temp. Especially a child. It’s even high for an adult.

It was for DD as well. I think some of the advice you have had on here is dangerous. Whenever DD had a high temperature it was always because she was ill - properly ill. She was prone to urine infections and ear infections, both of which required antibiotics.

Trust your instincts if you are worried, and keep trying 111.

I hope your son feels better soon.

@Ginfordinner very dangerous. I think like some others said it’s not the best place for advice

My little girl was unwell last week. She's nearly 11 months old, sudden high temperature (averaging 38.9 but went up to 39.3) but it did come down with Calpol then go back up once it would wear off. This went on for several days. She also slept a lot and was not herself at all, but was drinking plenty of milk and water, wet nappies etc. The doctor from 111 wasn't overly concerned as she said some kids have a temp of low 38s but quite unwell and some with 40+ who are running around full of energy. It seemed to be a bog standard viral infection. It's normal to be anxious. She's my second and i was a nervous wreck.

My son is 3 and also autistic so I understand entirely about the communication. One thing I will say is that as his mother, you know him best. Even if he can't communicate with you, you will know by his mannerisms if he's not himself.

Keep an eye on him overnight. Dress in one less layer than normal. Offer plenty of fluids and little snacks. I give my son extra chocolate or crisps just to get something into his system when he's unwell and loses his appetite.

Keep trying with the Calpol as well, as hard as it is.

Hope he's better soon.

It is now 38.2 so it has dropped a bit

Not sure whether that's because he's sleeping or because the small amount of Calpol I managed to get down him has taken effect

Also I spoke to my GP the next morning with my daughter. She's brilliant. She said a fever is the bodys natural response to kill off any infection. Keep ringing 111 if you're concerned. Trust your instincts. They usually have a low threshold for seeing kids as they don't usually take chances.

All taken on board thank you

He has just stirred and began coughing, quite a dry cough. If it is what I suspect it may be then the one thing in his favour is his age, the second being he usually has a brilliant immune system.

If this is covid, and it has started exactly one month after I suspected I had it myself, would you assume that what I had wasn't covid after all as surely he would have got the temp back then?

The timeline doesn't add up to me

I hope you manage to get some rest tonight. Hopefully your gp is sympathetic and will prescribe suppositories for him, we have to beg if it's not our normal gp. We always have a few day worth as ds is a nightmare taking calpol particularly. Unfortunately his almost permanently poorly with one thing or another, poor thing seems to get everything going. When we do have to face giving him calpol we use a tiny 1ml syringe and give 0.5ml at a time. Ask for them at the pharmacy, they work so much better than the calpol ones as they are much narrower so can be fitted further back in the cheek.

For him cold hands and feet are normal with a fever. We've had lots of medical involvement for him and the only time there has been a worry about it is when his been vissably unwell in other ways and less responsive than normal for the time of day. We've used 111 lots for him, there may well be a long wait at the moment but if you're awake and worried do ring for some reassurance. They will want you to wake him up and make sure his responsive and attempt to get him to do things like look at his toes.

I hope so too, he point blank refused to drink his juice with Calpol in as he could taste the difference. I'll be trying to disguise it in yoghurt or a smoothie tomorrow, fingers crossed he can't tell.

I was on hold to 111 for ages earlier and it cut me off, the lines are cram packed which is to be expected I guess.

I'm going to check his temp again before I do try and get some sleep. Fingers crossed it's come down a little more.