How long do you nurse a fever before going to the Dr's?

[MarkStretch]

DS (18 months) woke up at 3.30am crying, went in to get him out of his cot and he felt boiling.

Bought him downstairs and gave him 10ml of Calpol and stripped him off, gave him a cold drink and 90mins later he had cooled down and went back to bed until 7am.

All day he has been a bit tired and grizzly and as soon as the Calpol wears off he feels very very hot. (I don't know exactly how hot because our ear thermometer is shit and I can't get a reading despite trying all day).

Just given him another dose and he is sitting in a nappy near an open window.

How long before I should call the GP? Or should I just manage it myself at home?

you could try childrens ibuprofen in between the calpol doses and see if that helps keep his temperature down.

How is he when his temp is up?

The height of the temp doesn't tell you anything really - you have to go by him - is he alert, responsive, ok otherwise? If you are worried about his behaviour or he is having problems breathing then take him to the doctor/a&e/out of hours or whatever otherwise you can usually manage it at home. If the fever lasts three days then you need to get him seen in case there is an underlying infection somewhere that may need antibiotics.

Also, there is a lot to be said for allowing a fever to run its course as long as it's not making him uncomfortable. Fever is a good thing - it is the body's defense against illness and by bringing it down all the time with paracetemol you are interfering with that. As long as he seems happy and not uncomfortable/in pain then I would stick with the other cooling methods - light clothing/fan etc and leave off the paracetemol for a bit. Hope he feels better soon - It really is awful when they're sick.