To think illnesses can't come on this quick

[Talkabtit101]

Went to London Tuesday - went to Harry potter studios, and then stayed in a hotel for a couple nights, used swimming pool and went shopping on the Wednesday.

DD (5) got back home this morning and fell asleep a few hours after around 4 then woke up with a 38.5 fever and crying saying she didn't know what was wrong but felt poorly.

Now in our history of illnesses has rarely had a fever so I've succumbed to a wee bit of panic.

Just looking for some advice on do illnesses happen this quickly?? Could've been the only way we'd caught it as was WFH the few days before and DD is homeschooled.

I've gave calpol around half hour ago and fever is now at 38.2.

Posting for traffic and maybe a hand hold because I do have anxiety and ocd and I'm never good at handling illnesses, especially fevers. Thank you in advance.

it all sounds very normal to me and her fever isn’t too bad. I hope she’s on the mend soon

Reading some of these comments I think it’s really important for us parents to be aware of what the purpose of a fever is.

Our bodies increase their temperature to make it harder for the pathogen to multiply. Interferring with this process by giving calpol or nurofen effectively makes it harder for our body to fight off the virus / bacteria. This can prolong recovery and actually makes it easier for pathogens to get deeper into the tissues sometimes leading to more serious complications.

Having a fever obviously makes us feel crap, but we’re not supposed to do anything besides rest and sleep, and actually more often than not, also avoid food, while our bodies recover.
Often, people give calpol etc and the children might go back to playing / normal activities, when actually they should be resting.

Some people believe that not giving calpol increases the risk of febrile seizures - this isn’t true. It’s a drastic change in temperature that does this so the advice is to avoid cold flannels, artificially cooling the body etc.

The overuse of calpol is a worrying trend and it’s not without risk. There is evidence that it depletes glutathione and excess usage of paracetamol is associated with increased rates of asthma, liver, kidney and heart damage. This is without considering the awful ingredients in a standard bottle.

I know lots of people may not believe me but you can verify this here using the NICE guidelines:

https://gpnotebook.com/en-GB/pages/infectious-disease/nice-guidance-use-of-paracetamol-and-ibuprofen-for-management-of-fever-in-child-under-5-years-old

I have 3 kids, my eldest being 12, and thankfully, I have only ever used calpol twice. Of course if they were in severe pain with a toothache or earache etc then I would give them a dose, but for managing fevers etc, we’ve always done lots of tlc and immune support.

My advice always is to watch the child and not the fever 🙏🏽

Well I have reared three children to adulthood and I always was cautious with a temperature, due to the experience I shared further up the thread.

Not one of my three ever had an ear infection but I understand they're one of the most painful things a child can suffer.

I would never, ever have dealt with fevers the way you did, and I acted on the advice of my GP too.

I think your 'advice' is bonkers and dangerous! If giving Calpol/Nurofen eases your child's suffering (and it does), it's wrong and disgusting not to give it to them!!

"Tlc and immune support" - crazy!

I discovered my youngest had CP too when he was in the bath! He was covered and it was in a very short space of time! At the same time, the lock on the bathroom door broke and DH had to kick the door in to get in to us lol!

He was 4 and he had such a horrible dose. On his eyes and everything. Eldest wasn't too bad, second was only 11 weeks and had a couple of spots. She got shingles in her early 20s though a few months after having Covid!

You sound quite triggered. And uneducated 🤷🏽‍♀️

I won't say what you sound like because I like posting here. Batshit would be a mild version.

I am highly educated thank you! I imagine you are also a conspiracy theorist? Disapprove of vaccinations??

So sorry but it absolutely does, with children and adults.

My husband has had sepsis 3 times now, most recently just a few weeks ago. Fine at breakfast, on iv antibiotics in the evening.

Not to be dithered about. If you’re concerned, get help.

Go and do some research then - start here amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/04/why-parents-are-addicted-to-calpol

Yes. I once went to church feeling absolutely fine, fainted half way through the service and by the time I got home I was too ill with flu to even get out of bed for three days.

Similarly went to an exercise class feeling fine, an hour in started to feel dodgy, and 30mins after that was at home being violently sick with presumed norovirus.

I hope your DD gets well soon.

I remember once, I was maybe 14 or 15, and one minute I was fine and the next minute I was deathly ill — vomiting everything up and a high fever.
What scared me the most was my mum was a very calm woman, not one to overreact. But that night she slept in my room and every time I opened my eyes, there she was, looking over at me, the concern written on her face.
I’ve never been so sick - before or since. And my mum reverted to her stoic self.
I wouldn’t have been scared if Mum hadn’t acted so scared.

No wonder hospitals are in crisis. A 4 year old just with a temp of 38 does not need to go to A&E

We've all recently been taken down with flu and it came on quickly for everyone, although after the first, it was slightly more expected for those who followed!

I left the office at 6pm feeling fine, and by the time I got home from my commute at 7pm, I was shaking, feverish, and could hardly make it up the stairs to bed. Really rough few days.

DC also went down similarly quickly. We alternated paracetamol and ibuprofen (like 4pm paracetamol, 6pm ibuprofen, 8pm paracetamol, 10pm ibuprofen) so they were still the recommended time apart but the staggering gave continual relief.

Things that seemed to help ours were staying in bed and keeping warm, or lying with us on the sofa under a blanket. Medication. Hydration, nobody had an appetite, so we had lots of fruit juice in the hopes it kept them hydrated and also gave them a boost from the sugar. Two had sore throats so ice lollies went down well, particularly the orange minute maid ones. Baths before bed to help ease the aches a bit.

Hope your little one recovers quickly, it's utterly miserable. If its anything like what we've had, everyone did perk up a bit after roughly days 3-4, but it has admittedly taken a good 3 weeks for everyone to be back to full health.

We did give two more doses of calpol, one at 12 am and 6am, as DD was very groggy and burning up again. Has also woke up with a cough and very emotional this morning.

Of course they do, they have to start sometime.

Yes, a low fever is the body fighting the illness.

Sounds about right. Just keep an eye on her but she'll be fine.

Just nipped out to pick up some nurofen, last dose of calpol was at 6, should I do nurofen at 9 and go 6 hours for each medicine?

6 calpol
9 nurofen
12 calpol
3 nurofen
6 calpol
9 nurofen

Sorry, never used combo medicine before

Yes, this will be fine

Just to reassure your that a fever is part of the natural body response and unless the child is feeling ill with it, you don't need to eliminate the fever itself until it's very high (if my kids feel fine, I won't Medicate them for a fever until it's over 40)

As long as your daughter is still drinking fluids and is alert etc. then that all sounds fairly par for the course. Fever can last a few days. Giving calpol has benefits as can make them feel better and more awake so able to keep up their fluids etc. Please do not worry about what previous poster has said as we would recommend calpol or brufen if she were to present to hosp or gp. Brufen is very good at reducing fever too if it’s not coming down with calpol alone. Other op is correct though in that fever does not always need to be brought down. If your child can cope with it then don’t worry about giving meds. If she’s miserable and not coping then absolutely make her feel better. Be aware of dosage and times stated on bottle and you’ll be fine. If temp is really high over 39/39.5 then I would always give calpol or brufen to reduce it. Never sit at home worried about a child though. Always go to your doctor and be reassured if you are concerned. Hope she gets better soon.

Temp is 39.1 3 hours after calpol, so this is why I was starting the nurofen, is just sleeping all day which is good, had plenty of liquids so far and a yoghurt frube

Er, yes they do. People's health can change in a literal heartbeat. I went to work at 7pm Wednesday night, everything fine. Come midnight I developed D&V,felt dreadful and had to go home. It was probably norovirus.

See how she is. You might not need to give all of those doses if she’s comfortable.

I was fine on Wednesday when I got up. By lunchtime I was in bed. I’ve been there ever since. I don’t know what the hell I have but it’s not good

That's usually the difference between a cold and flu. A cold builds but flu hits.

Could I do

Nurofen 10

Calpol 2

Nurofen 6

Calpol 8

Nurofen 12

Would that be okay?

As DD is still sleeping and don't want to wake her really