5 year old very High Temp help pls

[abonymousAnon]

He got unwell on Thursday but temperature was fine. Friday was around 37.5. We went for a fireworks even as he was okay he was playing, eating etc. we were out for 3 hours only and when we got babk his temperature was 39.2. It’s been creeping up slowly. Phoned 111 they said to just give Calpol.

NHS website says not to give cold compresses but after seeing his temp reach 39.8 I have. I’m really worried about him. He’s coughing too and is saying Nose blocked.

shoud I be overly concerned? I’ve not been work Thursday and Friday and feel guilty phoning up sick again tomorrow but I can’t go back till he’s better.

Ibuprofen was better at breaking a fever than calpol in our experience. Alternative the two and phone 111 again if temp doesn't come down with medication.

@stackhead thank you. His temperature got worse when I gave his nurofen for children as I ran out of Calpol. Nhs says not too mix either I’m so confused what to do. Shall I maybe go back to nurofen if he doesn’t get better by tomorrow?

he’s awake and responsive and I’m wondering whether I should take him to school tomorrow

How is he in himself? If you are worried because of how he is acting (lethargic/in pain/floppy/rash etc etc) absolutely get him checked out. If you're worried about the temperature number only I'd do the calpol/ibuprofen alternating and keep a close eye. Hope they are feeling better soon!

Advice will be to alternate ibuprofen with paracetamol. If it doesn’t come down after medication then contact 111 and check.

I would keep off school until temp is normal. Alternate paracetamol and ibuprofen, no idea where you read not to mix. Hope he feels better soon

So my daughter gets very high temps. It’s hit 42 before.

my rule of thumb is when it gets over 40.5(which is pretty much anytime she ever gets sick which is a nightmare) I take her in regardless.

but we saw a special fever doctor who said that you don’t necessarily need to worry about a high temp unless it hits 40.7 ish because it’s doing exactly what it’s meant to be doing

instead he said it it refuses to move after all the meds then take her in. Or if it hits that number. Because a very high temp starts to shut organs down.

so that’s what I do now.

NHS website says not to give cold compresses but after seeing his temp reach 39.8 I have.

Why?

If temp isnt stabilising go to A^E immediately, he will be seen straightaway. Same with my nephew who ended up having a fit and ended up blue lighted to hospital he was 3. Please dont chance it.

On the plus side!

my daughter is only ever sick for a real max of 3 days. Normally she gets this stupidly high temp for 24 hours and that’s it

sgain the dr said that’s because the temp is doing what it needs to do which is kill the bacteria

the other issue I have is she won’t take medication. You’ll never know how many times nurses have shouted at her for not taking it which drives me insane. We once had a nurse tell her she had to take it. The reason why she won’t take it? When she had the very high temp they held her down to give it to her

hende why she now hates drs. Hospital and medications.

Because it can cause them to shiver which makes the temp higher.

They won’t be worried with a temp like that. I would imagine your nephew had some dangerous obs rather than just the fever of 39

it woood be the fit. Febrile seizures aren’t actually dangerous. As told to by the fever doctor we saw for 5 years.

You can definitely give Calpol and Nurofen together (other brands are available - Calpol is paracetamol and Nurofen is Ibuprofen) makes sure you space out correctly (Calpol is every 6 hours and Nurofen every 8 hours).

I find writing down the times I give first dose then allow me to work out when next dose is allowed and if they need it I give it, if not I shift the time a little.

As worrying as it is, a fever is the bodies natural response to illness / infection.

@Cerealkiller4U

Because it can cause them to shiver which makes the temp higher.

Yes I know, I was rather asking OP why she ignored the big ❌ against it on the NHS website.

Nhs says not to give ibrofen and paracetamol: should I still follow advice on here and give?

feel guilty phoning up sick again tomorrow but I can’t go back till he’s better.

if you’re not ill yourself, you shouldn’t be phoning in sick.

I’m not sure where you are located, but there is a bug going around my area that sounds similar. Two of my children have had high temperature (39-40) for 3/4 days, headache, feeling nauseous, diarrhea, sore throat and a bit of coughing. Thankfully it’s passing now and temps are back to normal today.

If they are dozy/lethargic then call 111 again, plus look out for all the usual worrying signs eg rash, dislike of bright light etc. If in doubt always call 111.

Nhs says not to give ibrofen and paracetamol: should I still follow advice on here and give?

No, because it tells you not to unless instructed by a health professional.

Just follow the actual advice on both the website and that you were given by 111

Oh! I just saw you asked why

Do not send him to school, spread this bug and inflict this on other families!

I know you feel guilty but you need to call up work and take sick/ parental leave

At no point does OP say she's going to send the DC in.

In fact the opposite: they make it quite clear they're worried about their job as they'll need more time off.

@LostittoBostik in the reply she's 'wondering whether to take him to school'

@abonymousAnon first hope your DS is better soon.

I can see why you are confused.

It is technically safe to alternate ibuprofen and paracetamol and is what they will do if you take him in to hospital. When mine were small it was also listed as advice on the NHS website.

It is not now because there is a risk v tired parents will get the doses confused and accidentally give an overdose by confusing which to give next and giving a series of doses of just one drug so the child ends up having 7 x paracetamol in one day for example. This is particularly dangerous with paracetamol and with very small children.

IF your child is school age, you are careful to alternate the drugs (keep a record on your phone of times and drugs given for example) and especially if a Dr or nurse from 101 tells you to do it then it is perfectly safe. The two drugs work in different ways so taking both together won't cause an overdose but they will both help reduce inflammation.

That said, basic advice is sound. The number on the thermometer is not the worrying thing. Especially in children it can go v high but they can be fine. But if he's not ok in himself or seems floppy or lethargic and the temp isn't coming down definitely call 111 again.

Hope he's ok soon.

"IF your child is school age, you are careful to alternate the drugs (keep a record on your phone of times and drugs given for example) and especially if a Dr or nurse from 101 tells you to do it then it is perfectly safe. The two drugs work in different ways so taking both together won't cause an overdose but they will both help reduce inflammation."

To be fair, you don't know it is perfectly safe for this child, which is why the NHS advice page says to only alternate if a Doctor or Nurse tells them to. It isn't wise to give advice that ignoring NHS medical advice is ok.

That's what happens to me. When I get unwell it usually only lasts 24 hours or so but I am REALLY rough for those 24 hours with a temp of about 40-41 then I start sweating - temp drops and apart from being a bit tired I return to normal!

Well as I said the risk only arises if you get confused and overdose on one or other drug. Both drugs are available OTC from infancy and are safe in combination. The advice didn't change because they interact. So if you can take either in isolation safely you can also take both. Obviously ibuprofen is contraindicated for children with asthma and can cause stomach upsets.

It's easy to see that we should be cautious with sleep deprived parents of a 3m old with a temp - hence changing the advice to minimize risk of accidents. It's much less likely that a parent of a school age child will make this mistake or that a child weighing 15kg plus taking 7x 250mg paracetamol in 24hrs rather than 4x 250mg paracetamol in 24hrs could result in a toxic level of paracetamol. The average bottle size of calpol is only 100ml for a reason, because that way even a whole bottle is unlikely to cause toxicity in this age group. (Source: work in paeds mh including self harm in u15s which surprisingly frequently includes calpol overdose, fortunately these are rarely even close to dangerous)