Toddler 40c fever

[justamum98]

Hi, my son has hand foot mouth desease. He started having a fever yesterday around 2pm it was 38 so nursery asked us to take him home.

then at 7pm his fever was at 40 so we rang 111 but by the time they got back to us etc it was morning and his fever was completely gone. They told me to ring the doctors but I couldn’t get hold of them it’s really hard plus he was behaving fine and his fever was gone too.

put him to bed at 8:30pm and his fever just started creeping up again it was at 38.1. Gave him calpol straight away. And I’ve just checked on him now and his fever is at 39.7 - I’ve left him in just a nappy but should I take him to a&e? He’s breathing fine but I’m a little worried and 111 take forever to get a practitioner to ring you back?

If you are worried get him checked.
my kids run very high temps when poorly and something that have had to try not get too anxious about as it’s just how their bodies react.
is he waking up or he is asleep when you are taking temp?

Have you tried a wet flannel on his forehead and sponging him down with cool water?

Don’t do this. This is no longer the advice.

this kind of thing is always hard to make a call on. I usually go on form and food. If they are drinking, eating and in decent form I don’t worry. My DS regularly got fevers of 40 that I managed at home. He just runs hot when he’s sick. But if you can call for advice do. You can also give him neurofen on top of the calpol after an hour. www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-children/taking-paracetamol-for-children-with-other-medicines-and-herbal-supplements/

I found that foot and mouth tended to spike a high temperature at night more so than the daytime. We gave calpol and ibuprofen before bed and kept the blanket off.

It's not 111 that take forever - they are just a triage it's the Ooh GPs that call back and they are swamped.

He sleeps through. Even with a high temp he’s just sleeping and if awake he wants a cuddle but behaves normal x

Thanks for this. My mum told me to put him in a cool bath if he’s running a fever but i won’t do that I feel like that’s such an outdated advice.

he’s feeding and drinking fine. He’s just got a fever. He’s even playing a little bit.

Thanks for this. He’s never really had a high temp like this before so naturally I got worried. X

Yes of course I understand. I didn’t mean any disrespect pointing that out I’m well aware they’re working around the clock. I’m just pointing out the reality of waiting for a call back 😊

I had this when DS1 was a toddler. Temp of 41. He was sweating and shivering but asleep next to me. 111 sent us to out of hours GP which is right next door to a&E but with appointments so no waiting around, and you’re right at the hospital if you need to be admitted. Hopefully you have something similar in your area. These things always happen at the weekend don’t they!! 🙄
(In my case DH was away so I had to carry baby DS in car seat and push ill toddler DS in pushchair, navigate heavy hospital doors and pay for parking and all that - nightmare 😅)

Hope he’s on the mend soon OP!

I was told the number isn't that significant, it's how they are acting. Some kids can be very lethargic and ill with a temp of 38 and other can be fine much higher. I would try nurofen and see if it responds to that in any way. Even if it comes down a little bit it means it's responding to medication which is what a doctor will want to know.