Persistent high temp in 13MO

[Soniarc]

Im at my wits end. DS is very prone to picking up everything from nursery and the. Having very high fevers. It’s been relentless since we started in September. The fevers he has had in the past have normally gone on for 4-5 days, and reached highs of 41.2c. GPs just say he runs hot.

However, this time we are on day 10 of high temp (I’ve added a screenshot of my calendar with his highest recorded temp of the day in red). He was given amoxicilin on day 2 in case it was bacterial. However, we have finished the course, and he came out in an awful rash. We went back to the GP and he said it looked like a reaction to the amoxicilin and gave us Piriton for it. Picture of rash included - he’s had it for 3 days and it seems to be getting a little better.

He’s still going to nursery and eating and drinking fine, give or take. His mood is definitely more grouchy than normal, it’s hard to get a smile these days, but he’s generally playing and OK. Apart from when his temp spikes (normally at night and after his nap). Temperature comes down with Calpol and Nurofen.

I suppose I’m looking for reassurance that some viral illnesses can last this long. He may be teething his first molars, as he’s chewing his fingers and drooling everywhere. But then I know that teething doesn’t cause a high temp? But he keeps waking up every hour at night with pain in his mouth, despite Nurofen and calpol now.

Please don’t tell me to call 111. They have been absolutely useless, referring me to departments that don’t exist in hospitals around here. I plan on speaking to my GP tomorrow again l, but don’t want to take the day off work to just be told to give Calpol again. I narrowly missed being fired last week, and don’t want attendance to count against me next time.

You poor thing☹️
its stressful enough having a poorly little one without work worries on top of it when you have to have time off.
my dd gets super high fevers too, when she is poorly my calendar will look similar to your’s.
did the rash start during or after the antibiotics? It looks viral to me so could be the wee guy has picked up a virus while on antibiotics and he’s now battling that. It’s happened to my dd a free times where she just picks up one thing after the other and immunity just rcrashes with them all.
Plus points for you: he’s eating and drinking ok, managing nursery and still playing. None of these suggest a very poorly child.
negatives: persistent sore mouth, extended need for calpol snd nurofen+ temp for this long = need to investigate further. Most paediatric a&e want to see a child again if the fever persists after 7 days. I’d head to children’s a&e and ask for bloods. These can show if he is “just” fighting a virus or if it’s bacterial and give a more general overview of what’s going on with his body and how he’s coping. Basically a really thorough mot. gp’s won’t do bloods on such young ones so it will need to be done by children’s hospital.
sending much love your way and some sleep for tonight 💐

@wobblymum1 thank you. Your post brought tears to my eyes - perfect balance of reassurance but extra information. Something I’ve just noticed on my last trip into the lion’s den is that he has an ulcer on the tip of his tongue (like a canker sore which he does get when he’s run down. Just like me) and he’s also got a snotty nose. I’m now wondering if it’s possible that he’s chained up two viruses. The rash appeared towards the end of his 5 days of antibiotics, maybe day 3 or so. Initially the doctor also said the rash was viral when it first appeared, but when we went the second time because it had spread so much, he said a reaction to the antibiotic and gave us Piriton. I think it’s gone down a little bit in the last two days, but hard to tell.

I just hesitate to go into AE because our previous experiences have been 11h plus waiting overnight to be told to keep giving Calpol. And then having to work the next day with no sleep. We did it about 10 times in 3 months and it nearly killed us. But it might come to that. I’m now just wondering about if he’s just got one virus after another, given these new symptoms after 24h of no temp.

It’s so hard. I’ve not felt joy being a parent since September. It’s one thing after another, and one grouchy baby.

It’s relentless when it’s like this and so so exhausting trying to guess what’s wrong with your gorgeous baby. Again, similar to you my dd gets ulcers when run down and it sounds entirely possible he’s just picked up another virus in the chain (and as you know mouth ulcers REALLY hurt). I completely understand you don’t want a long wait in hospital, but I can confidently say (having just done this myself) that they would do bloods and investigate further for prolonged high fever. A fairly simple blood test would show what’s called the CRP level and that is indicative of viral or bacterial. It’s not 100% but it gives a good picture. If viral, you know you’re just in for a long road of fighting that and looking after him while he fights it. And if anything suggests bacterial they can treat accordingly and stop you having to wait and wonder and keep checking on your cub which is utterly exhausting after a month of it. I so so understand💞sending love and mama bear hugs

Ps no hospital tonight! Sleep when you can and take him after work tomorrow 💞

Hmmm. Did your GP feel that they had identified the focus of the infection? (Like ears, or tonsils etc). If not, I always get nervous if a fever has gone on past 5 days. I wouldn't automatically do bloods, but I would accept a referral up to the ward for a proper assessment, urine test, and if no focus found then consider doing bloods.

@nocoolnamesleft sadly not. We’ve been seen by 3 different doctors at the surgery, and they did check all his vitals and various orifices. I’m wondering if now he has a second virus after barely getting over the first. Or could be his teeth as he just is not sleeping (first molars are next, gulp). He’s moaning and fussing in his cot, biting his hands in a pool of drool (even though he’s had Calpol and Nurofen and his temp is around 37.5 now). He’s had 15oz of cow milk, 7oz of water and 5oz of formula since 7pm!!! And we’ve been clapping and playing with a toy while I made up his formula. And just keeps waking up every hour. I have no idea what’s going on.

Two of my children had intensive bouts of illness. One when teething had 6 illnesses over 5 months. The other aged 4 had two months of being continually ill with odd days he was ok but still sent home from school for exhaustion. GP said one more illness and he would do bloods but remarkably he got stronger again. Both were very scary times. Both are strapping teens now who rarely get poorly.

Well, after 13 days of high temperatures, we are in AE. I’ve had enough after GPs just tell us to continue to wait. We’ve been 5 times. My health anxiety is through the roof, my chest hurts from it. I’m so exhausted from this. Just want it to all stop.

Did you find out what is was? Similar situation 16 days of high fever

We were back and forth to gp and a&e after day 16 he was on iv antibiotics
Temp went after 48 hours but my son still isn't right. They did find bacteria in urine so said it as possible uti but never really got to bottom of it. Like you I was told it's "nothing"

@Soniarc did you eve find out what happened? Similar situation here and freaking out!

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I’ve only just finished therapy after the anxiety and PTSD this all caused for me.

What ended up happening is that I lost the plot in AE after all of January with temps over 40c. I’m talking every day. We peaked at 41.3c and after going to AE I just quietly told them I couldn’t do this anymore and needed a solution. That night they gave him intravenous ABs - it started with a T and we had to give it to him every 24h at exactly the same time. So we had to come back 5 nights in the row to the hospital at 1am, have them put an IV in his foot, and sit for 30min for the AB to go through. Better than staying in for 5 days, at least.

After that, he made a full recovery, and never had a temperature since (it’s been over a year now). I have since discovered that AE didn’t inform me of him testing positive for Adenovirus and Epstein Barr. I raised a PALS complaint about this. Whilst both are viral, I needed answered that they had, and didn’t give me at the time. So maybe ask specifically if there’s any virus the tests have shown up, as apparently they don’t always tell you.

Thanks so much for replying!

Yes we found out his swab tested positive for flu. I just didn't realise you could have a temp for that long! He did get some antibiotics too in case it turned bacterial.

I suffer from health anxiety and have had therapy for it but situations like this don't help! After being temp free for 9 days he now has yet another temp (I think he got a mild virus from his friend who is also ill now) so it's just relentless.

The problem is that I've now resorted to checking his temperature literally 40 times a day as he is happy so I can never tell if he is running hot or not without the thermometer. The problem is I think he has always been a warm baby and so regularly measures 37.7 during the day sometimes a but higher after running around but it does then settle back to 37.4. I no longer know what a 'normal' temp is anymore! Being a parent right now is not fun :(

I get it. This was us for 6 months. I didn’t have health anxiety before but did after that. What the doctors drilled into me is that having a higher number in the thermometer is not necessarily worse - it’s more that and a combination of what they are behaving like. One day it just all stopped for us and now he gets ill like I thought a child would - a slight fever below 38.5 and it’s over in 1-2 days. And he’s only had that one in the last year.