baby slight fever but not ill

[bumbly]

can i take him out today?

any advice?

seems perfectly happy but has mild fever of 37.5-37.8

baffled as only has slight cough - could this be cause of fever??

also always has one ear reading hight on thermomter thingy than other by sometimes a degree...so fever in one ear!

Wy did you take is temperature? If you hadn't would you know he had a fever? And why wouldn't you take him out even if he did ahve a temperature?

I think the only reason for not getting on with whatever you were going to do anyway is if he feels ill or if he is infectious - neither seem to apply!

just felt a tad warm and had to go to post office urgerntly

so i did

was asking for asdvice as wonder if bad for little one to go out when mildly ill

that is all

but anyway went all hborribly wrong

Oh dear - I'm sorry to hear that - what happened/

I would probably have asked the same thing. I am always hesitant about taking DT's out when they are unwell especially with a cold. I somehow think being out in the cold would make it worse? DP says going out in fresh air even if cold will help to kill off germs and it's worse to stay in house with heating on etc.

How old is your baby? You need to take it to the GP if it's less than 6 months, take it to the hospital if it's less then 12 weeks.

Hang on, scrooged - GP and hospital for a mild temperature? Are you sure?

It's fine. The raised temp just means that his immune system's working at something and as he has a cough, it'll be fighting that.

With a mild temperature where the child seems otherwise fine, be lead by him and not the number. My dd has had mild temp at night for 3 days and it is her measles jab from 2 weeks ago taking effect. I take it as a good sign as it means her immune system is working.

First question, how is the child. In this case, he is fine.

37.8 is not high enough to rush off to hospital. Dd had a temp of 40 the other night but had no other signs of illness, i took her out the next day as i had to take her sister to school, surely fresh air is good for a high temp? last time she had high temp taking her out was the only way i could it back down.

I'm sure. Under 3 months a baby should not get a temp because they are still protected by the mothers antibodies. A fever in a baby this small always needs a full workup. I once cared for an 8 week old with a fever, they did a lumber puncture which had asorts of bugs in it. Scary really. It could have so easily have been missed. Under 6 months should go to the GP, especially if there's no obvious cause.

I did learn some stuff training to be a paeds nurse!

Er, so scrooged, what do you say about a baby who gets a fever after the 2 month jabs (quite normal, ime). Should that be referred to GP, too??

Crikey, no one has ever told me that a little baby with a fever MUST see a GP.

So a baby under 3 months should never get a cold?

And is 37.5 REALLY a high temperature?

I don't even own a baby thermometer, I don't know what the numbers mean (37.5? what is normal, anyway?) I just feel them up to decide which of 3 categories they are in (normalish, hot, too hot so time to give Calpol).

lljkk - I'm the same. Except I have a 3rd, pre-calpol category - hot enough to take a few clothes off, give a cool drink and sponge down a bit. If that doesn't work I then go to too hot break out the calpol!

I'd thought 37.5 was ok, not that I've ever had an ear thermometer to check. With no other symptoms, just carry on as usual. op's lo is about 18 months btw.

www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/health/fever/ see here. Fevers for a reason (ie: cold/immunisation) are normal, the HV's/pracitce nurse advises parents of this. A temp in a small baby for no reason is not normal.

37.5's only 0.5 above normal but you should keep an eye on it.

He has a cough and this explains perfectly the very slightly raised temperature. Bumbly's ds is about the same age as dd though so his general well being is easier to assess.

Scrooged is right, a temperature in a little baby with no obvious cause MUST be checked out.

Sorry to go on, but surely if we all followed your advice, scrooged, the NHS would collapse!!!!!!!

I think (personally) that I'd rather the NHS be busy because thousands of parents have taken tiny babies with a fever in for a check over then have one die of meningitis/bacteria infection because their parents didn't think it was serious enough.

What does anyone else think of this? I have a 13 year old and a 7 year old, and I have NEVER taken the temperature of either of them. If they are feverish, I act accordingly. SURELY it's not necessary to monitor babies temperatures so closely that you know if it's raised by .5 of a degree? Scrooged, do you recommend taking their temperatures routinely twice a day? Because I can't think of any other way you'd spot these minute changes.

No. You can tell when your child has a fever without taking their temp. .5 of a degree is not normally anything to worry about and you should look at other symptoms aswell, look at your baby's/child's behaviour. Are they feeding normally etc. I know when ds has a temp, his ears go red. Other children may look flushed, some may breathe quicker, it's about knowing your child. It's hard to do this with a newborn though, it's policy in my NHS trust to refer all babies under 3 months with a fever (other than immunisation temp) to the childrens hospital for a bacterial screen. I've seen this save one baby.

Temps do change throughout the day aswell.

I agree with scrooged.

today perfextly fine but still hot and 37.5 degrees - most odd!!

I think I'm hearing quite inconsistent things in this thread -- and that's just from Scrooged, never mind when Seeker and I throw our oars in.

Best strategy for those in a quandry is Not to Ask Here, but to phone NHS Direct and ask for their advice.