Anyone awake - anxious about my son

[Anxiousmother23]

He came down with a temperature and very off colour yesterday morning, we kept him off school. His fever was at 38.9 last night, gave calpol and about 30 mins later ibuprofen to help, which brought it down to 37.5 (this is forehead temp)

Now he’s woken up in the early hours with a horrific cough and can’t stop coughing, his fever is back at 38.5 I’ve given him more calpol. But his cough sounds horrific. He was totally fine on Thursday, the whole thing started yesterday morning.

I’m mega anxious when it comes to illness, especially his. As I always think the worst, especially at night like this.
He’s also very rarely unwell with a fever etc.
He can’t seem to get back to sleep with this cough - obviously he needs to sleep to help get himself better.
Is it worth taking him to out of hours in the morning just to get him checked over? In case it’s an infection and he needs antibiotics?

His parasympathetic system will have kicked in at night which makes everything worse when it comes to colds and coughs. See how he is when it's daytime and if he is struggling to breathe then get medical help.

I have health anxiety too and reading about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems really helped me understand things and panic less.

I personally wouldn't take mine in for this, it's a mild fever and it sounds like he had a decent chunk of sleep. He will probably spend all weekend sleeping on the sofa coughing and spluttering and be fine by Monday. If he's not fine by Monday then absolutely go to your GP. Unless, he's struggling to breathe (Google tracheal and intercostal tug) this sounds like a normal virus.

Yes, this. Some things, eg pneumonia, develop very quickly, especially in younger people. Keep an eye out for any signs he’s struggling to breathe, like difficulty talking or eating, ‘retracting’ under his ribs, general breathlessness etc etc

This was what I was wondering so it’s a good reflection OP. At 6 years old, I would probably not be worrying at this point - I thought he would be a baby/toddler. It will be much easier to judge how ill he is when he is awake. Eating and drinking ok? Playing? It’s pretty typical to feel crappy with the temperature, but when it goes down with calpol they feel a bit better - this is a good sign.

Having said this, as per PP, no one is going to tell you off for getting him checked. Try to use it to calibrate your sense of little bit ill or ill ill.

Both my kids just had this illness, the exact same with the fever and cough, it’s rife at the moment. Just keep topping with calpol, it settles after 3/4 days.

Could it be whooping cough?

It’s also the natural diurnal variation of cortisol which means the immune system kicks in more overnight that paradoxically makes you feel worse (just like in a reaction to an immunisation).

One of the DCs' cousins is 6 and still gets croupy coughs that require a steroid inhaler. If he's 6 he will tell you if he's having issues breathing. Good luck

There are hundreds if illnesses that cause cough and fever. Unless your kids are in the same class at school for example, you can’t just blithley say it’s the same thing going around. Sorry, but it’s one of my bugbears on the MN lurgy threads!

Whooping cough starts with a mild cough which gets worse. Both my teenager had it just over a year ago and it was a typical mild, bit of a cough/ cold at the start which got worse over the next 2 weeks. This sounds like one of the viruses doing the rounds currently.

It sounds like a perfectly normal cough. No wonder the NHS is on its knees with people on this thread all advocating for immediate medical attention, especially the one who gets their child checked whenever they are ill just to be safe. When did we become so neurotic as a nation? It is really normal to cough more at night. Things which help, blowing their nose if the cough is wet sounding as it's often nasal drip causing the cough. Cold air. Things like albas oil or vick with menthol in can help. Sipping water. Also hot water with honey and lemon to lubricate thr throat.

My ex SIL taught me a trick after her mum developed sepsis in the UK and it took too long for a GP appointment, then GP did not recognise sepsis and it was too late, even if the autopsy showed it was a relatively simple to stop, non-pseudomonal infection. So my ex SIL always has antibiotics at home, in tablet form, for gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. She does not use them, but it gives her some peace of mind that her mum's story would not be repeated. She procures them in Egypt and other places I don't remember, when on holiday (no prescription).

Same in my household - my 7 year old proudly tells people that he's had the same cough for 7 years (he hasn't, but it does feel like it sometimes when he gets over one and a few days later has a new one!)

My 18 month old currently has a cough and a fever, his temp yesterday was 39.4 coming down to 38.4 with Calpol and he spent the entire morning sleeping on the sofa but by 3pm was his usual annoying charming self. He's had another rough night but unless something major happens over the weekend my plan was to treat at home and take him to the GP Monday if he still has a temp (day 5). All these "call 111" and "go to A&E" responses have me second guessing myself now!

Few days unwise, get him checked

No way we are neurotic as a nation! We had a visitor from Singapore and took her to Scotland in February (don't ask why, I know it is stupid). She saw P1 or P2 boys going to school in grey wool shorts (!!!!!!) and wool blazers (no overcoat) when it was raining and snowing at the same time. I told her it is their school uniform and they are not allowed to change into long trousers in winter! She said (her non-pc words) that is why Britain ruled the world at some point - how do they not die of pneumonia? Why are their parents so neglectful? She was shocked, not surprised but shocked.

When you wake up, OP, ice lollies are great for dc like this.
They release a little water at a time, and feel great on sore throats. The sucking is soothing as well really helps with coughs, sore throats and fevers.

We keep ice poles/pops in especially.

I wouldn’t be dashing to out of hours this weekend unless he got significantly worse. It sounds like the start of a viral bug, they can lead to bacterial infections so keep an eye, but I’d give him a day of rest today and see how he is.

I’m with you OP, it’s horrid. My 1 year old is the same and I feel so helpless. We’ve ‘slept’ on a mattress together in the living room for the past week. I’ve had her at the doctors but all her stats are good. They’ve given me an inhaler to help with the inflammation. Poor baba can’t get any sleep. Just have to ride it out I think.

We both fell asleep.
Just woke up. He’s not coughing as much but he’s. Very heavy eyed and he’s still got a temperature (38.4) but sitting up watching tv eating an apple at the moment.
I'm going to give him some ibuprofen shortly and see if that helps at all.
I have got bronchostop medicine that I can always give him later.

My 2 get respiratory viruses really easily - like your 7YO my 3YO seems to have had the same cough for years. A normal cold leaves them with hours of overnight coughing for 5/6 weeks and they’ve both had RSV and bronchiolitis requiring hospital treatment.

That said, or maybe because we’re so used to it now, I personally wouldn’t phone 111 for a cough and a temperature, without any other symptoms.

Unless he was struggling to breathe I’d see how he is today and call 111 if any worse.
Our 6 year old is rarely ever ill but over the Xmas hols was really poorly, one night she had a 40 degree temp and was coughing loads, temp came down a bit with calpol and we checked on her multiple times in the night as we were a bit worried, but by the next morning the fever was better. She went off her food, it took a week to go, but she fought it off without needing to see a dr. We think she might have had flu, I had it too and had a horrible fever.

I get the anxiety I definitely do!
However… if the calpol or nurofen take away the temp then that’s good. Coughs are renowned for being hard to stop especially at night! I got my son the benylin night time cough stuff to help with drowsiness now he is 6 to use next time we might need it!
You only need 111 if the temp won’t go down or he’s breathless etc.
To help the cough I sometimes wedge my son up on me so he’s sitting up and can sleep.
Hope he improves today!

My three DC are all older now. But I wouldn’t take them to GP for these symptoms unless they’d had them a few days.

My yardstick for going to GP is would I pay for a doctor for this? A GP visit isn’t ’free’: it costs us all and prevents others who might be really ill getting an appointment. Also, if he’s coughing a lot it risks him infecting the GP and entire waiting room, including v vulnerable people. Plus, it’ll be unpleasant for him being taken out in the cold when he’s feeling grotty and tired.

As others have said, keep him elevated to help with the cough. Two of my DS’s would get terrible coughs in the winter. I used to put two pillows to make a v-shape and then one on top. Rub his chest with Vicks. Few drops oh Olbas Oil on a tissue inside pillow case. Make sure he drinks plenty of water. Warm water with a squeeze of lemon and teaspoon of honey. Put in a drink bottle or sippy cup to make it easier to drink when coughing.

Reassure yourself by remembering the temperature and cough are his immune system working. I wouldn’t be worried at 6, if he has no underlying health conditions or disabilities, as they can let you know how they’re feeling and more robust than a baby/toddler.

However, if it’s making you ill due to your anxiety, try NHS online for reassurance.

I wouldn’t be going to out of hours for a cough and mild fever, monitor him today, any signs of a chest infection get him checked out but for a cough and mild temp its fine to treat at home.

I'm surprised by the advice for cold air instead of steam, but that's because I'm asthmatic and breathing really cold air makes your asthma really bad. Obviously croup is different .