Should I wake my DS to check his temperature?

[Miggs28]

My DS is 9 months old and developed a temperature of 39.3 this evening. We managed to get it down to 38.5 before we put him to bed. Should I wake him through the night to check his temperature or is it best to just leave him to sleep?

My DH has just been in to him and felt his back (DS sleeps on his front) and said DS still felt hot to the touch so we have left him in a short sleeved vest but nothing else. He didn't take his temperature though as we weren't sure if we should wake him up.

Can you take it while he's asleep?

I would leave him to sleep tbh. Even if you do wake him, you would have to wait half hour or so to take his temperature as body temperature raises naturally during sleep. I'm sure he'll wake if he feels awful during the night. Maybe put a fan on to cool the room down a bit?

Personally I would say yes take his temperature and just check he is rousable too, then let him settle again and sleep. It does seem a bit over protective perhaps but having been in a situation with a seriously ill child it will never seem overly cautious to me again. These situations are of course very rare and there is every chance your son will be just fine if you didn't but just to be thorough I personally would.

I don't think he would stay asleep to be honest as it's an in ear thermometer with a rather loud beep, pretty much guaranteed to wake him!

We have the window vents and his bedroom door open which is keeping his room at a nice temp.

I would always wake my child to take their temp around the time another dose of calpol/paracetamol is due. A high temp can cause fits so I'd be bothered about that and whether they were overheating under blankets etc. we have an ear thermometer and try to do it while he's sleeping but invariably he wakes up. But I wouldn't sleep well anyway for worry. Your son is still very young. Even 38.5 is still high. Have you tried a cool sponge bath? Good luck, hopefully it will pass soon x

Thanks for the advice. I called 111 earlier this evening and they told me not to use a damp cloth or sponge on him as it could cause a chill if his temp dropped too quickly.

He is due more calpol at 11 so I will check his temperature then. Hopefully it will have gone down some more.

Oh that's useful to know about the no damp sponge. I think you're doing the right thing timing taking his temp around the time calpol is due. Hope he gets better soon

I would use the old fashioned hand-on-forhead technique to see how hot he is. and maybe strip him down a bit, only a very light blanket.

we don't have a blanket on him at all at the moment but I have dug a cellular blanket out of the cupboard that we used with him when he was newborn.

If his temp goes down some more then I will put that on him to stop him getting cold.

This is the first time he has had a high temperature so its left me a little rattled!!