Oh help! ds temperature of 39.7

[Mintyy]

Am I right to be worried? He had paracetamol this morning and I took his temp again about half an hour ago and it was 39.7!! I gave him nurofen immediately.

What does it need to come down to to be acceptable?

Ds is 10 years old and has been ill for a couple of days but his temp seems to be climbing, not coming down.

He had the nurofen at 3pm and his temp has now gone down from 39.7 to 39.4. Am calling GP .

If he's ok in himself (not floppy and unrousable) then I wouldn't worry until it's over 40.

Try getting him in the bath, just about normal temp, and keep him in there until the water is cool or he feels cold. Make sure he is drinking enough too.
He can have paracetamol as well as ibuprofen, so might be an idea?

Obviously, if you phone them, follow the gp's advice, I'm not medically trained.
I hope he feels better soon.

Tepid water on a flannel over the head, strip down to vest, turn heating off was the advice given to us by our gp.
Keep giving paracetamol/nurofen at the advised times, give plenty of water.

What sort of temp does he normally run when ill? My DD frequently goes up to 39 with ordinary virusus etc. If my DS went up that high I would probably be calling an ambulance as his rarely goes up at all.
Keep up with paracetamol and ibroprufen (you can have both and alternate them).

I wouldn't worry. he'll be fine. just keep an eye on him.

don't call an ambulance! complete waste of resources. if he's not a baby or impossible to rouse then he's just unwell and his.body is fighting a virus

My lovely gp asked me to take him in. She gave him a thorough check up and its not his ears, throat or chest. She said I was right to be concerned because the temp was very high and it hadn't come down much after nurofen.

Its down a bit now. Poor wee chap.

Tepid sponging isn't recommended as it can produce a compensatory effect on the body and cause it to raise the temperature higher.

Why would you call ambulance for a temperature? Unless you've got a floppy, dehydrated baby then see the GP.

Glad you've got him seen OP.

I have linked to the NICE guidance for feverish in children so often - just google CG160 but the relevant bits are here:

1.6 Antipyretic interventions
1.6.1 Effects of body temperature reduction
1.6.1.1 Antipyretic agents do not prevent febrile convulsions and should not be used specifically for this purpose. [2007]

1.6.2 Physical interventions to reduce body temperature
1.6.2.1 Tepid sponging is not recommended for the treatment of fever. [2007]

1.6.2.2 Children with fever should not be underdressed or over-wrapped. [2007]

1.6.3 Drug interventions to reduce body temperature
1.6.3.1 Consider using either paracetamol or ibuprofen in children with fever who appear distressed. [new 2013]

1.6.3.2 Do not use antipyretic agents with the sole aim of reducing body temperature in children with fever. [new 2013]

1.6.3.3 When using paracetamol or ibuprofen in children with fever:

continue only as long as the child appears distressed
consider changing to the other agent if the child's distress is not alleviated
do not give both agents simultaneously
only consider alternating these agents if the distress persists or recurs before the next dose is due. [new 2013]
1.7 Advice for home care
1.7.1 Care at home
1.7.1.1 Advise parents or carers to manage their child's temperature as described in section 1.6. [2007]

1.7.1.2 Advise parents or carers looking after a feverish child at home:

to offer the child regular fluids (where a baby or child is breastfed the most appropriate fluid is breast milk)
how to detect signs of dehydration by looking for the following features:
sunken fontanelle
dry mouth
sunken eyes
absence of tears
poor overall appearance
to encourage their child to drink more fluids and consider seeking further advice if they detect signs of dehydration
how to identify a non-blanching rash
to check their child during the night
to keep their child away from nursery or school while the child's fever persists but to notify the school or nursery of the illness. [2007]

Did GP weigh him and advise of medication dosage by weight?

My DS can get a higher dose if needed by using weight dosage, helped to bring very high temp down last year.

You can also alternate ibuprofen & paracetamol to bring down a temp but don't exceed max dose in 24 hours.

Mintyy, glad the GP has seen him - there is an outbreak of Scarlet Fever in our area as well as others. It apparently starts with a high temp and sore throat before the rash comes out.

Oh no! Isn't 10 a bit old for scarlet fever?

LadyG, I thought current advice (and probably your post!) was that a raised temperature is the body doing it's job and there's no need to medicate or make any efforts to treat the temperature itself.

Paracetamol etc can be used to treat the associated aches and pain but no need "just" for temperature. How well/ill a child is more important than their temperature. I.e if a child is hot and showing, say, cold symptoms but not desperately ill all is well, if temp only slightly raised but child not responding you need help. Is that right?

Scarlet fever outbreak here in Fife as well.

And in Herefordshire !