High temp and lots of shaking a&e or gp?

[Starlightsobright]

please could I have advice from anyone?
my just turned 3 year old has had a temp since Friday night 37.8 and above but at least 1/2 in 40’s each night.
he keeps shaking so much at night and in the morning last night at 4 it went on for about 15 minutes.
shall I go the gp or a&e? Sorry if it’s a silly question but I dont want to waste either setting’s time but I am worried.
he has not really been eating only bananas and some yoghurt, has been drinking lots of water. He is poorly in the morning but perks up then dips again before and after nap but plays a lot before bed so I thought it was passing. Just worried about the night time shaking and very highly during night.
now temp was 40.3

Sorry for poor text and grammar, I am just typing quickly as I am preparing to get ready but unsure of destination!

It’s called rigours I think. Shaking with a high fever, could be something like tonsillitis. I’d go A&E for a proper assessment. It’s been 5 days at high temps. He needs help.

Thank you @cannynotsay will go now

Trust you instinct @Starlightsobright hope he starts to get better soon once you’ve got help xx

Yes I would go to A and E. Hope you get seen and don't worry about wasting time. They are there to look after sick people and you are sick.

shaking can also be linked to uti - I think children’s A&E sounds like a good plan, especially if not himself.

Personally at this time I would hang on and call the GP when they open. If they can give you an appointment, it would save you a trip to A&E and they should be able to diagnose things like tonsillitis.

I’d try to get a GP appointment this morning only because you could be say waiting in A+E for hours. My grandson who’s 1 spent 5 hours there recently at the weekend because 111 sent him. He had a chest infection and needed antibiotics, which a GP would have picked up.

Was at hospital with my two year old recently for similar but less severe and they said bring them back if fever for longer than 5 days so yes A&E - GP can’t monitor oxygen in the same way as well as other stuff.

I had rigours about 15 yrs ago. Which was er... an adventure. A&E for sure with a small one.

tbh, I reckon all you have to do is explain that with the high fever, he's had shaking fits that last for long periods and might be called "rigours"... you won't wait as long as many.

ps: please update later if you can. BW

Do you have a good GP that you trust? Can you call for a same day appt? If so, I’m going to go against the grain and say GP. We took DS (1.5 at the time) to the GP when he was really struggling to breathe with RSV. He did need to go to the hospital, but the GP was able to call ahead to Paediatrics after assessing him herself so we bypassed a wait in A&E which is what we were worried about. I don’t think we were in the Paediatrics waiting room for much more than 20 minutes as a result. Febrile seizures would be a worry at temps that high so you are right to have him seen. Bless him, hope you can get seen wherever you decide and he’s feeling better soon OP x

Rigours is when your temp is shooting up and your body is actively trying to cool down. It will calm down with calpol/ibroprofen but of course if you feel your child is really unwell and needs to be seen in a&e then absolutely trust your gut xx

Thank you all so much helpful advice. We took a while getting ready anyways so I’ve put a gp request in. If they don’t get back within an hour I’ll head to a&e. It’s so hard because he seems fine and is happily playing, it’s really more the night time and early morning he seems to be suffering.

Are you giving regular paracetamol, (calpol) to keep his temp down? Paediatric nurse here and temp of 40 would really worry me. Remember you can call 111 for advice on whether to take to GP or A&E (and they can book an appt for you in urgent care if it's the middle of the night). Temp of 40 , not coming down with calpol and shaking- I'd have taken straight to A&E.If his breathing is fast or shallow or both call an ambulance

Even GPs can get it wrong, even with tonsillitis ended up in A&E as they have said it’s viral when it’s bacteria. I trust the Paediatric nurse here. Wouldn’t waste time.

Get a video of the shaking and A&E if you are worried. Just turned 3 is still very little and they won’t mind seeing you.

How’s he doing? X

Hello, thank you for asking @cannynotsay was meant to update last night but too tired. Went to the gp and ds was happy no temp, playing and looked fine ! Dr. Said just viral and not really concerned.

however just before bed, temp started 37.8 so I gave calpol. Then around 12am was 40.1 have ibuprofen and now he’s at 39.4.

shall I go to a&e today or back to gp? Or leave it as he said if he has another temp to give calpol through the night and it should pass?

Can you do a day or two of giving regular psinkillers and then reassess? DD used to get horrific temps and be spectacularly I'll but once we gave her meds to bring the tempo down would also dramatically improve

I’ve been giving him paracetamol/ ibuprofen with every temp. They are coming down with medicine but spiking back up through the night. I have Been waking to give

Yes but I would try doing each every six hours so there's no longer than 3 hours between doses. If he was seeming ill in the day Is day go back but if he's not it does sound viral. Obviously have window open, ensure he's in cooler beefing etc too

Ah ok thanks Phunky. I actually haven’t been dosing like that i must be administering it wrong maybe that’s why he’s not getting better?
Will follow on your advice, thanks ☺️

I would bring him to be rechecked by a doctor, front be fibbed off with ‘viral’ as it could be tonsillitis ear infection or uti. Did they check all of these?

Also keep track how often he is going to the toilet. It should be several times a day a least.

Keep track of fluids..

No, it's nothing to do with why he's not getting better, but it should hopefully stop the awful spikes and rigors. Some people (DH, Dd and my dad) just seem to have bodies that really go into overdrive with temperatures. Dd's temp was once 41.6 for one infected chicken pox spot!