2yo temp 40.3 - cause for concern?

[PDR]

DS has been poorly since Saturday morning with a very high temp - ranging from 38 - 40.3 when I just measured it. Average I'd say is 39 even though I have given him nurofen at 9am, 1pm and 11pm. He is absolutely boiling to touch - wearing only tshirt and nappy.

Have already given Nurofen and am pushing fluids. He is just lying in bed with me eyes open but very spaced out. Had had wet nappies but no poos.

He has a slight cough and runny nose but no other symptoms.

He does not talk yet so cannot communicate with him if he has a headache etc.

Is such a high temp cause for concern does anyone know?

Isn't it? It's what we've always been advised to do - but OK then. Anyway, hope he's getting better.

They told me not to do the lukewarm sponge thing when I called NHS direct? I have opened a window though and room is 17 degrees so pretty average.

Right just spoken to doctor who just said to give him 5ml Calpol (already done) and more again at 5am if needed. If temp goes up again I am to ring back....

He is still drinking water ok.

It's not the height of the temp you have to look at-it's how he is acting that's important. The temperature itself doesn't give any indication of the seriousness of the illness. If he is responsive and keeping fluids down those are good signs. Some children do run higher temperatures than others. DS1 has had temperatures of 40.5 but still been ok.

Also, Fwiw, high temps do not cause febrile convulsions, it is the speed that the temp rises that causes them and paracetemol/ibuprofen don't prevent them anyway.

Sorry, x-posts. Glad they got back to you. Hope he feels better soon. I've found that when DS has high temps, the illness usually passes v quickly so ii hope that is the same for your DS. Try to get some sleep if you can.

Oh yes..glad tey have spoken to you! SO good he is drinking and making wet nappies...hope he is better in the morning.

38.8 now :) we are watching Mr Tumble - its going to be a long night!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for everyone's advice.

PDR amd Riven, I hope your children are both ok this morning.

DD is the same (16m), highest temp yesterday of 40.4. Calpol doesn't seem to do much but nurofen helps. Waiting for doctor to call back from surgery. STILL waiting for NHS direct to call back (since yesterday 2pm!)

There's obviously something nasty doing the rounds. How are your children today Riven and PDR? PID, hope your DD is OK.

Morning!

DS slept until 9.45am and is whingy/clingy etc but temp is normal now. DH is running a temp of 39 though so maybe it's a 24hr thing? DS downed 2 cups of water right after he woke up which is good - not eaten anything but not worried about that.

Obviously keeping him off nursery today (I am at home anyway) so can keep an eye on him.

Riven how is DD?

Sounds like what we have got. Phoned the out of hours Dr last night for DS who is 4months and had a temp of 40.5 but they were not bothered. Just waiting to speak to nurse now.

We had same handwringer the other week. My ds was 41.5 at highest and only went down slooowly to around 39 on calpol and nurofen. Burning up. No other symptoms but blocked nose. This went on for the best part of a week. Seems it was just a nasty nasty virus. She's fine now. Her sister, however, took up the baton, lost her voice along with croupy cough with 39 temp. Again, after week took her to docs and she got antibiotics but a week later, course finished, she still spikes 38.5 at nighttime which then goes completely goes in the day. She has had a daily temp of 38-39 at some point in the 24hrs for nearly two weeks now and I really don't know if to take her back in or not.

I am sooo over all the illness I feel like I have no immune system in our house. Is it me or is it getting more evil each year?

fothergill that sounds like a nightmare
PDR glad your DS seems better
just got back from doctors, who said her tonsils are swollen so maybe she's getting tonsillitis, but that it's probably a virus. So said to carry on with calpol/nurofen and gave anti biotics for tonsils
she's asleep in the pram now in her coat with a temp of 39.7 but I don't want to wake her up to take her coat off AAAGH

btw do you all wake them up to give them meds - I have been doing so because she's been SO hot, but not sure if that's the right thing to do and forgot to ask doctor

Hope your children are all getting better soon.

In the past I have been told (please correct if you think that it is incorrect) that children with very high temperature (e.g. 39.5 and higher) are likely to have (1) ear infection; or (2)tonsillites; or (3) flu (including swine flu); or (4) pneumonia or (5) meningitis and similar diseases which could spread to brain. All are potentially serious, so I think that if it does not come down with calprofen and calpol both combined and spread over 24 hour period (depending on age they may be able to have four doses of each, so that is 8 doses combined to be given over 24 hours enabling to make you a schedule in advance when to give which) it is definitely worth to see GP even if out of hours or in the weekend. I am wondering if it is swine flu going round again, because when my DH had (confirmed) swine flu last Summer he had this really high temperature which did not come down with nurofen and paracetamol. He felt terribly ill. Given all these things going round I am going to phone round to see where I can get private flu vaccine for dd I think ...

You know I wonder too if it might be Swine Flu - according to Direct Gov:

Symptoms
Patients with swine flu typically have a fever or a high temperature (over 38°C / 100.4°F) and two or more of the following symptoms:

?unusual tiredness
?headache
?runny nose
?sore throat
?shortness of breath or cough
?loss of appetite
?aching muscles
?diarrhoea or vomiting

Haven't heard anyone mention Swine Flu for ages though... DS has not been vaccinated as by the time our old surgery got their act together the nurse said it would hardly be worth it for him as the "season" was almost over.

dikker, no - the height of the temperature means nothing. A child can have a very high fever with something like a cold and a low fever with something more serious. It is very important to watch the child and base your decision on that - not what it says on the thermometer. It would be very wrong to think that because their fever is below a certain reading - eg. the 39.5 degrees that you stated - that they might not be seriously ill. Did a doctor tell you that? Many would be very reluctant to give 'rules' like that.

Sound like some of these children have the flu possibly swine flu. DD this time last year had swine flu she had consistently high temperatures of 40 degrees for around 2 weeks - she did recover. We now have the flu again and high temperatures again there is something according to radio 4 called Flu A that is doing the rounds in children similar but slightly less severe than swine flu. I'm getting a flu vaccine next year I'm coping on my own with the flu looking after two pre-schoolers with flu. I'm crying with tiredness.

Hi, yes, I was told this by (what I thought was a very good) GP when dd was a baby ...

Was at a party on Sat with a couple of hospital doctors who were both saying they have seen a lot of swine flu admissions in the past 2 weeks and there is a lot of it around. Probably why PDR could not get hold of NHS direct

poor you Fiddledee
Hope you feel better soon.

Riven glad DD is feeling better.

They are talking about Swine Flu right now on ITV news...

DS is sleeping but just went in to check on him and he's quite hot again (not boiling) - taken duvet off him but letting him sleep for now.

My DS (1) has just had tonsillitis which sent his temperature up to 104 degrees which I think is 40 celcius.

I was dead careful to ensure that he had max doses of both calpol and nurofen to bring his temperature down because a friend's DD (2.5) was ambulanced to hospital last week after she had febrile convulsions with tonsillitis and then wouldn't wake up for a while after . She's okay now though.

But I'd also recommend a trip to the GPs if tonsillitis is a possibility because DS's was bacterial so he had some penicillin and we saw him improve immediately afterwards. It isn't always viral.

Lots of things going round though and not necessarily swine flu. I'm sat here with grown-up hand-foot-mouth disease which sent my temperature rocketing and made me feel really unwell.

And I've read that the cold sponge thing is no longer recommended because it causes blood vessels to contract in reaction to the cold water, and then less heat escapes.