burning up!

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

so advise please 14mth old boy very grizerly and hot whats temp should be classed as dangerous and is this just a cold

dad

Erm, 39 + for an adult so i'd guess the same. Have you a thermometer? Any other symptoms?

very snoty breathing quicker than normal and very dopey

ok temp 36.8 but chest feels hot..

Strip him down to nappy, give him plenty to drink and give him neurofen (sp).

ok will do thank you but any idea what it is could it be conected to him cutting more teeth?

I really don't know... I would say with the quick breathing (was the one thing that alerted a MW to my infection, thermometer wasn't working right) and dopeyness maybe ring out of hours GP?

Children will breathe faster when hot...it is a cooling mechanism. But if he is genuinely not hot then he should be seen - do you have a walk-in centre nearby?

How are you measuring temp. What kind of thermometer and where?

Do not strip to nappy. Stip him to a vest. Bare skin will actually cause him to retain heat

oh - and how do his hands and feet feel compared to forehead & chest? are they warmer, about the same, a bit cooler or significantly cooler?

digital thermo under the armand he is hot

abit cooler why

Digital thermometers that go under the arm are not incredibly reliable. I would call NHS direct and get him checked if he's dopey.

OK, so his core body temp is about 37.3ish then (normally about 0.5C higher than armpit) - so he does have what would be classed as a mild fever. This could be causing his fast breathing. But equally a chest infection ^could be causing the temp and the fast breathing so it can't be ignored. How is the quality of his breathing? Is he gasping at all? Is the dimple between his collar bones sucking in significantly? Is his abdomen sucking in significantly? If all teh answer are no then I think you an treat the fever and see if his breathing improves.

If you can get his temp down with nurofen & a vest (allow 30-60mins)and his breathing returns to normal then it is just the temp. If not then call out of hours/walk-in and get him checked.

I asked about the hands & feet as a genuine fever is often accompanied by very cold extremities as the blood flow get shhifted around - especially with some of the more serious causes. A little bit cooler is fine though (perfectly normal in fact).

ok thats all great thanks for the help ill let you know how i get on

dad