16 Month Old Fever for 7 Days?!!

[ApexCabbageMonster]

Spiked a fever of 38.8 at nursery 13/1. I picked him up. Wouldn’t go down with calprofen so brought him to A&E as hand and feet were like ice. They gave him nurofen and calpol, controlled his fever, the doctor didn’t return. We decided to continue at home with general care. Returned the following day as Sam’s scenario as above. They checked his throat, chest and ears. All ok, except his throat red and sore. Sent home. Called 111 as temperature much higher than previous days. OOH GP that evening. She prescribed antibiotics as a precaution. The following day his temperature dropped to normal. The following day, DS broke out with a rash on his chest, back, neck and face. Took him to A&E at the advice of 111. They said likely viral and sent us home again. The day after his temp went up again. I called 111 yesterday as he had a little bit of a nose bleed. GP didn’t seem too bothered when I spoke to them on the phone yesterday. They’ve offered me an appointment for tomorrow at his GP surgery. He hasn’t been eating as much as usual, around half his usual intake. Taking breast milk and not a lot of water.

I am really worried as he hasn’t improved on the antibiotics, hasn’t played with his toys ass week and sleeps a lot. I feel like I’m not being listened to.

Bump

I can see you’re worried but you’ve repeatedly seen health care professionals, have been reassured it’s nothing sinister and have antibiotics just in case, and he’s drinking.

Remember a fever is a symptom, not a cause. As his immune system is fighting a bug all that cellular activity creates heat. Keep his clothing light, encourage him to drink lots and make sure he has his antibiotics. Don’t worry if he’s not eating, fluids are more important than food. You can always offer wet food such as yoghurt, ice cream, scrambled egg etc.

If it’s viral the antibiotics won’t have made much difference. Viral illnesses can take a week or two to resolve, just give it more time.

Hope he’s better soon 🙂

Oh and breast milk is food too so don’t worry about solids for now.

@Sidge Thank you for your response. Just a bit anxious that’s all.

If it's viral the antibiotics won't make any difference.

Just keep him comfortable, prioritise rest and fluids, lots of cuddles.

It's so hard when they are sick. You've done the right thing getting him seen, you have been listened to. Sadly there isn't a magic medicine that will make him better and you just have to ride it out sometimes

@saltedpretzel2 Thanks. I need opinions outside of my own headspace. I already suffer from anxiety so situations like this are horrendous for me. I think that’s why I posted here to just step outside of myself.

@ApexCabbageMonster its totally normal to be worried when they’re poorly! Buckle up because in the first few years they get everything going lol.

Honestly sometimes you just need time to get better, you know yourself it can take a week or two to feel better and babies are no different. If you’ve had them checked and there’s nothing worrying then just think of Calpol, cuddles, CBeebies and sleep! Sleep is very healing so don’t worry about letting him sleep.

Hi OP. When ds was about 14 months he had a high temperature for almost 10 days. I did the same as you, rang 111 a few times and then a n e because he seemed so.poorly. They said it looks like RSV. They said they are seeing lots of kids with RSV this winter and the symptoms are more severe and lasting for longer, usually for about 10 days with RSV (but the outcomes are not more severe). It was very stressful as his temperature hit 40+ a few times but he did get better after ten days. The GP prescribed antibiotics around that time too to be on the safe side but I don't think actually it was bacterial and by the time we started the antibiotics he was already on the mend.

I know it's worrying but just keep.doi g what you are doing..monitor him.closely and get him seen whenever you think he's getting worse. Speedy recovery!!

I also think, the fact that he is having antibiotics means that he is less likely to develop a secondary bacterial infection, which is usually the worry with viral infections so it looks like at the.moment it's all going ok.

@Sidge thank you for the reassurance. Just so awful seeing him this way.

@GetYourOwnTeaTiger thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad son is much better.

I do a lot of telephone triage and this just sounds like a viral throat infection which if it is would be why the antibiotics haven't made any improvement/could well have caused the rash as a side effect (not sounding like an allergy). I'm sure you've had similar yourself and know how rubbish you can feel for a week or so getting better. It's worse for the younger ones as they've got less exposure/immature immune system so can take a bit longer to recover.

It's reassuring that he's been seen by a HCP and they weren't concerned, and there's a review booked in tomorrow.

Here's a good NHS website here which has a lot of resources for assessing you're own child, reassuring signs and signs of concern:

www.what0-18.nhs.uk/parentscarers/worried-your-child-unwell

In itself fever is a normal response to infection. It's not something that you need to try an eliminate with paracetamol/ibuprofen. Use these absolutely if seems in distress or very unhappy but try not to see the fever as a bad sign that needs to be gotten rid of, it's a good thing and shows mounting an immune response.

Fluids are important, keep encouraging. With a sore throat might be reluctant but ice lolly/jelly can be a good alternative.

I've had a viral throat infection recently - my throat was in agony for 7 long days & bright red. It's just gone away. Hopefully your little one will be on the mend soon.

@SleepyRich @Pamparam Thanks for your responses. He seems to have perked up today. I’ve cancelled his GP app for this afternoon. I didn’t fancy dragging him out once more to be poked and prodded.

Glad to hear on the mend. He should continue to improve generally now, keeping on top of the calpol and plenty of fluids will help, expectation to be back to normal 10-14 days from when it began. Any sudden or significant worsening which persists wouldn't be expected and would certainly be reasonable to prompt recontacting 111/gp in that instance.

Generally speaking features of concern would be abnormal/excess drooling, seeming unable to open mouth properly, not able to swallow fluids or having difficulty breathing.

@SleepyRich tjamks.