To want to take my son to be seen by someone even though its probably "just a virus"?

[User191718w000]

not covid - done a few tests

I started with some horrid illness at the end of last week. Muscle weakness, achey all over, hideous phlegmy cough, nausea, sleeping all day etc.. ive actually never been as poorly and only yesterday starting to feel more normal.

My son had a bit of a runny nose all week but seemed fine so i hoped he'd gotten away with it. All week he's had no temperature, no cough, not unhappy, weeing and eating well still etc.. and nursery had said he was happy all day there.

He is 3yo.

Yesterday they called and said he had gone down hill in the afternoon and wasn't well.

I got him home and he's just taken a nosedive from how he was all week. He fell asleep on the sofa and has barely been awake since. He keeps having high temps of 40 which calpol and nurpfen barely seem to shift if at all. He won't drink although I did manage to get him to eat an ice lolly last night, his eyes are red and puffy when he is awake.

He's been asleep with me all night and woke up about an hour ago in what I presume was a fever induced hallucination of some sort as he was screaming about pizza of all things saying to go away. I tried to cuddle him but he was SO hot, like it was making me sweat just being near him. I've given him more medication and he's back to sleep now but it's not seemingly touching the temp and he's breathing quite fast and just murmuring to himself in his sleep and coughing.

I feel so awful for him I don't know what to do. When he was about 1 he did contract bronch and was admitted to hospital with it for a number of days and since then he does get things badly on his chest.

Should I just keep trying the calpol / nurofen or should I try and find an OOH for him? I know they will probably say just a virus but he's so unwell 😢

Just keep going with the medications and sips of fluid. Watch for rashes, and his wee output.

It may be a virus, but if you’re concerned get him looked at. Kids can get ill so quickly (and better just a quickly). In the interim, don’t bundle him up, keep him lightly clothed and a tepid facecloth to wipe him down/cool him.

Ring 111 for advice

Always trust your instincts - call 111 and follow their advice.

Look in his throat with your phone torch. When it’s tonsillitis this is how my daughter nose dives. A few times I’ve been like oh virus and then GP looks in her mouth and goes wow she has bad tonsillitis!

I think it just worries me because I thought he's had what I had all week but just didnt have it badly (he did have thick yellow snot all week but he seemed fine with it). But now after 7 days he's just completely nose dived.

111 is a good idea.

I’m usually one to say ride it out, it’s a bad cold. But rapid breathing can be worrisome, I was chastised by an A&E doctor for not taking my daughter in sooner when she was little. She did tell me the number of respirations in a minute to watch out for. Sorry I can’t remember the figure.

Also sounds like my ds with tonsillitis. Get a good look in that mouth. And yes, I'd get medical advice. He's actually had a in stay at hospital with IV antibiotics and fluids for tonsillitis once when he was 40+, refusing all foods and liquids, and just sleeping.

He is very small op.

If he won't drink and is burning up and delerious you absolutely should be getting him seen!

I'm shocked you haven't already

Thanks I'll try and have a look. He developed bad tonsillitis when he had the bronch in hospital actually.

Drink is a worry. He won't eat either but I'm not as concerned about that. Since he got home from nursery yesterday afternoon I managed to get him to have an icelolly and and about two grapes just to try and get any form of liquid into him but he keeps refusing when I try and give him juice/milk/water.

This sounds exactly like what me and ds have just got over. We ended up in the children's A&E with him.

Flu was the diagnosis, from a swab test.

Bloody horrible seeing them so ill.

You'd probably be fine waiting it out, but you have to do what you have to do. And if your gut is saying that you want someone to see him, take him.

Hope he's better soon.

When did you last given Calpol/neuro and what's temp like now? If it's not going down with meds if he inclined to get him checked as his breathing is so fast. Could infection that needs antibiotics. The yellow shot usually means infection I thought

It's awful when little ones are poorly. If he's not drinking but taking medicine then see if he'll take syringes of full sugar squash tell him it's medicine if you have to. I learned this trick when one of mine was in hospital with dehydration after a particularly nasty virus.

Get him seen asap OP - trust your instincts.

He needs seen

YANBU and our surgery will ALWAYS see an ill DC if the parent is worried. If he's that hot OP I would run a cool bath and sit him in it as that will lower his temp more quickly than medication. Sometimes you have to alternate Calpol and Nurofen if they have a very high temp and the gaps between the doses of each individual medicine are too long. It does sound like he's got what you've got, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Every time we have been to doctors or hospital with the kids like this, they say they would rather check than be under cautious. The not drinking is a definite concern. Please do get him medical attention, they really won't just think you are over anxious.

Try a pharmacist or 111.

Get him seen.

He needs to be seen, increase in work of breathing, a temp that isn't really coming down with meds and hallucinations are all indicators that he needs reviewing by a doctor sooner rather than later.

If calpol and nurofen aren’t helping such a high temp, it is more likely bacterial. Get him seen ASAP.

If he's not drinking he absolutely needs out of hours or a&e. They'll get him sorted. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be home and sorted.

If you get a good look at the mouth, red spots on the roof of the mouth indicate strep, with or without the tonsillitis white patches at the back of the throat. We've had about 8 strep and more than 20 tonsillitis in 2 years with ds. As a result my threshold for seeking help is way too high, but no fluids means immediate attention needed.

For goodness sake, he has an extremely high temperature and is not drinking. Of course he needs medical attention.

If he's not drinking properly and the Calpol/nurofen aren't bringing the temp down the 111 will find you an OOH appt.

I would take him to A&E with a temp that high.

111 takes forever to respond.