Another long viral infection..

[BubandMiniBub]

I just read the other thread about a 5yo who had a long viral infection which turned out to be pneumonia.

I was coming on here to ask the same question about DD - she has had a 40 degree temp since Friday night and has developed a hacking cough. I took her to the GPs today and they prescribed some 'general antibiotics'.

She's not getting any better and we have been alternating calpol and calprofen since Sunday night.

Should I just take her to A&E tomorrow or wait until the antibiotics kick in? Are there any signs tonight that I should look out for?

Which antibiotics did they give you?

I'd give it 24-48 hours to let the antibiotics kick in. That's a very high fever for such a long time though so if you're worried enough then trust your instincts - how old is she? If very little then don't hesitate.

My ds had a temp of 40ish for 5 days and on the 6th was eventually diagnosed with pneumonia. However, his fever wasn't responding at all to anti pyretics and he was delirious, not eating at all, drinking a bit and basically the most ill I had ever seen him.

Try not to panic. Once ds was given clarithromycin he recovered very quickly thought admittedly he was run down for a while. His pneumonia was also a side effect of swine flu which is less likely at this time of year.

Also, is she big for her age? I find with boy my kids that they are tall and therefore need larger doses of calpol than it says on the bottle. A GP could advise you on this based on your daughters weight and it may help control the temp a bit better.

Like I said, antibiotics ime take around 24-48 hours to show a difference but if you are worried before that take her to get seen and ask for a chest x ray. As a matter of interest did they test her urine? If not I would call first thing and ask them to dip test it and if necessary culture it because a broad spectrum antibiotic wouldn't work on a UTI.

Also signs to look out for

• febrile convulsions
• any laboured breathing - is she sucking in under her ribs?
• any non blanching rashes or a rash you're worried about

- any signs of dehydration - not weeing, crackes lips etc

• delirium
• a fever which is rising despite anti pyretics
• prolonged crying as if in pain
• blood in urine

Cont...

• aversion to light
• stiff neck
• extreme vomiting / diorrheah

Thank you so much for your replies.

I will check the antibiotics but she does have much more laboured breath than normal and it's a lot faster.

It just seems wrong for them to prescribe antibiotics without a clue what's wrong but I might see how she is in the morning and pop down to a&e with her on Friday morning if there's no improvement. It's just so worrying!

Just wishing you good luck bub and hoping that your DD gets better soon (Mum from the other thread with the 5yr old DD). Trust your instincts and don't worry about being really insistent to get checked. x x