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Shivering with a temperature

16 replies

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 14:53

Dd is 2 next week, and a couple of weeks ago, was unwell in the night. She had quite a high temperature (not sure what, exactly, but she was v.hot) which we struggled to bring down as we could only get one spoonful of Calpol into her. She was shivering, vomited once, and then went back to sleep. She was fine in herself, though.

The following day, she was still warm, although eating, drinking and playing fine etc, and we went to my mum's in the afternoon. It was quite a brisk day, although not cold, and my mum insisted on putting a padded jacket on dd, which obviously caused her temp to rocket again. She was shivering and her lips were blue, although she was, once again, fine in herself. I gave her some Calprofen, took the coat off her and she was fine, back to normal in 5 mins.

My aunty happened to arrive a little later, she is a paediatric nurse, and she suggested that shivering with a fever could indicate a kidney infection. So, because this totally freaked me out, and despite dd's temperature not going up again that day, and since then, I took her to the GP. Stupidly, I mentioned what my aunty had said, and now under his advice I have been trying for the past ten days to get a urine sample from her.

What is confusing me is this: in the days when I was even more neurotic than I am now, and dd was about 6mo, I took her to A&E with a shivering fever. The doctors words were, "She hasn't got a temperature now, she is fine, don't you shiver when you have a fever? The body is just trying to cool itself down."

It never occurred to me to be concerned about the shivering this time because of that. I would stress that she has been absolutely fine for the past ten days.

Is shivering with a fever really that unusual?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
rubyslippers · 07/05/2009 14:55

no it isn't unusual

DS does it and so do i - usually if it spikes and then comes down - seems to make the shivering worse ....

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 14:56

Thanks ruby - I am insane a natural worrier anyway, but somehow I feel we've gone from 1 to 100 in ten seconds. A bug one minute, a kidney infection the next!

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OhYouBadBadPig · 07/05/2009 14:57

I always shiver with a fever - i thought everyone did.

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 15:02

It never occurred to me that it would signal anything serious at all. Not since that first doctor told me it was normal.

OP posts:
Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 15:24

bump

OP posts:
stuffitlllama · 07/05/2009 15:36

i think it's quite normal to shiver with a fever

not because the body is trying to cool itself down but because it wants to heat itself up to kill the bug, as fever makes conditions for bug difficult and activates the immune system to make more white blood cells

shivering makes you snuggle up, get yourself a hot water bottle and get down under the duvet -- hence you get hotter, hence the sweating out

but if your aunty is a paediatric nurse she'll know more than we do about kidney infections haven't you asked her again?

stuffitlllama · 07/05/2009 15:38

er am not doctor

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 15:38

She lives in the Isle of Man, she was just visiting that weekend. I try not to ask her to be honest, she works in a Children's A&E department, and seems to automatically jump to the worst case scenario!

Obviously I wasn't asking you for a diagnosis, more trying to understand whether anyone else experienced the same.

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stuffitlllama · 07/05/2009 15:39

oh, then yes, definitely, shivering with a fever without kidney infection -- yes

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 15:40

thanks stuffitlllama

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meep · 07/05/2009 15:48

dd1 shivers when she has a high temp - and her skin goes blotchy blue! I now know this is what happens so it isn't scary any more.

First time it happened we went to the out of hours clinic - had to get a urine sample (done by sitting her in a big plastic bowl until she wee'd - she thought it was a big game!) in case of infection - not sure whether they were worried about kidneys or just a UTI - but it wasn't anything.

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 15:50

I've tried that in the bath, but as soon as I put any kind of 'implement' by her to catch it, she sits down and says, "stop it mummy!"

Yeah, the part where the GP has to indicate what the urine should be tested for says, 'UIT?'

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meep · 07/05/2009 15:57

I just let her wee in the bowl with her in it - whipped her out then poured out the wee! She was a bit younger at the time so it was easier to keep her in there. You could try a potty and sit her in front of c-beebies?

Looks like they are just checking for a urine infection - which i think can be related to kidneys (but am also not a doctor so not really sure).

At least you know now that it is pretty standard!

stuffitlllama · 07/05/2009 16:15

actually yes, urine infection left untreated I've been told can go to kidneys

and fever with no other symptoms at all, I suppose must be quite common so that's what they might think

sorry.. there I go again!

Pinkjenny · 07/05/2009 16:19

No, she had a heavy cold and vomited also, so she did have other symptoms.

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morningsun · 08/05/2009 23:00

Theres a difference between being a bit shivery, and shivering uncontrollably with a high fever[a rigor].
Shivering very hard, a rigor, [arms and legs shivering,teeth may be chattering]and feeling freezing cold at the same time[begging for extra blankets etc] is a serious symptom of being quite toxic with infection,usually bacterial.

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