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is temp of 38.4C (101.2F) dangerous for a 9 week old baby???

62 replies

thebluefoxategreensocks · 13/06/2009 22:58

Been holding wee Clement (9 weeks old today) all evening (breastfeeding him while sitting here) as he's had a temp of 101.2F (38.4C) - it was a lower grade temp earlier in the day but has gotten this high since about 7:30pm (now nearly 11pm). No idea what's wrong with him - but he's otherwise OK - fairly happy still, though a bit more sleepy than usual - and having lots of drinks from mummy. Bit worried at a temp that high for a 9 week old baby - but not sure what one can do really, apart from phoning NHS24. Have given him Calpol about 2 hours ago, but not bringing the temp down. :S

Does anyone know if that is a temp that is dangerous (I should be worried about) or just make sure he stays happy/cool as possible, and lots of liquid??

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
luvaduck · 14/06/2009 12:57

to be honest i have no faith in nhs direct - they often give out the wrong advice

blinks · 14/06/2009 13:04

to be fair, so do GPs and hospital doctors.

blinks · 14/06/2009 13:06

hopefully though clement's temp stayed down and he's ok.

am worried though.

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 14/06/2009 14:36

The doctor who diagnosed the baby I cared for said alot of GP's miss this, she even phoned the baby's GP to thank them for sending it in, it was a really good job they did though.

Hoping all is OK.

JodieO · 14/06/2009 14:57

With a baby so young I would have gone straight to a&e regardless of whether the temp went down a fraction or not. Yes it's inconvenient but such is life. I have 3 dcs and really wouldn't hestitate in getting the baby seen asap.

blinks · 14/06/2009 16:11

it's worrying we've not heard back.

i don't think they knew where their nearest A&E was.

keeping my fingers crossed.

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 14/06/2009 17:52

I'm really hoping all is well.

TripleTroubleMuffin · 14/06/2009 17:56

Just seen this.

I hope the baby is okay.

BionicleBill · 14/06/2009 17:56

I jsut read this and wanted to add that when you are holding a baby next to you, often it makes them a little bit hotter - once put down on a sheet they can cool down slightly/ Definitely take sockies off!! Hope he is much better now.

luvaduck · 14/06/2009 18:24

yes but you don't get a temp of 38.4 by holding next to you

they may not have access to internet

has she posted before? might not think to post back...

BionicleBill · 14/06/2009 18:27

No Luvaduck sorry I didn't mean that - of course there is a temp already but holding the baby very close to you can make it harder for him to cool down iyswim. At least I have always found the temp is higher when I've been holding mine.

blinks · 14/06/2009 20:08

bugger, thought she may have updated.

luvaduck · 14/06/2009 20:27

I've just seen she is a regular.

its amazing how worried you can get for someone elses child who you don't even know!

LeninGrad · 14/06/2009 20:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

luvaduck · 14/06/2009 20:56

yep you did the right thing

babies under 3 months with fevers need to be seen in hospital, pretty much always, as they are at risk of severe sepsis.

certainly nhs direct should have called back quicker

blinks · 14/06/2009 21:20

they should have, you're right luvaduck.

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 14/06/2009 22:28

worridly bumping.

blinks · 15/06/2009 11:01

still hoping to hear good news

TripleTroubleMuffin · 15/06/2009 12:21

Another concerned bump.

Wallace · 15/06/2009 16:19

Hope she is just busy and we're worrying about nothing xx

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 15/06/2009 18:07

Really, really hoping your little one is OK. No news is good news right? Hoping he's in the hospital and getting well.

TripleTroubleMuffin · 16/06/2009 17:48

Any news?

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 16/06/2009 22:06

bumping again.

thebluefoxategreensocks · 17/06/2009 15:50

I'm really sorry to have not been able to update this sooner! Only just back home about an hour ago, after having spent 3 nights on the children's ward at Inverness hospital! I could never get anyone to sort out the Patientline machines to be able to get online (it's disabled on the children's ward) and my husband has had his hands full looking after our 2yo and 3yo - first time away from their mummy, so didn't think to make sure he updated here! Sorry!

Anyway, Clement is now home - and aparently well! (that's the most important details!)

Here's what happened: Saturday night seemed to go OK and Clement slept. The temp was still fairly up on Sunday but not any higher than the previous night (tho thermometers seemed to be giving conflicting readings). So we just went directly to the local out of hours and got seen by a doctor there (one of the GPs from the clinic here). He assumed it might be just a virus (since there were no visible signs) but he thought he should be seen by a paediatrician, since they might be able to see something he couldn't. So he phoned the children's ward to let them know we were coming and gave us a letter so we could go straight in and be seen immediately. The 2 doctors there said they needed to do blood & urine tests since he's such a young baby to have a high temp like that and no visible signs - they assuming it was likely to be a UTI. Clement's temp had gone up to 39C by then, but it's no wonder, as the ward there was sooooooo hot! Anyway, I managed to catch a sample of his urine while holding him without a nappy on (a relief to get, since they said if I didn't get one quick enough they'd have to insert a needle into his bladder!). So next was to attempt to get a cannula into him to get blood samples and also so it would be there if IV was needed. However, the registrar tried to insert it in both hands and both feet and his arm, with no success! Afraid wee Clement and I were both crying together! He finally gave up and got his (kind & capable!) consultant to come, and he got the cannula in the first time (in his ankle) - and allowed me to bf Clement while he did it, which helped to calm him down a bit. Anyway, urine came back that evening with preliminary results to say that there were lots of white blood cells (to indicate infection) so they decided to put him on IV antibiotics until further results came back to say which oral ones would work etc. So, me and Clement were admitted to the ward (thankfully in a private room, with bed and toilet/shower for myself!). Monday they did scan on his kidneys/liver/bladder to make sure nothing was abnormal. All looked OK, though furter tests on urine did prove a positive urine infection. He did have a temp spike to 40C on Monday and was still looking quite poorly. On Tuesday though (after 2 IV infusions of antibiotics) Clement was looking quite himself - back to lovely smiles! (just a bit of upset tummy from antibiotics, which have made him a bit more restless). I had hoped to get home yesterday but the results to say which antibiotics were suitable didn't come till late yesterday and they also wanted him to have another IV dose. So, at last, this morning we got discharged! He's gone home with oral antibiotics for 5 days and then probably 4 months at least of prophylactic antibiotics while they do various tests (injecting dye into urinary system and another time to inject dye into his veins) and then to see the consultant about conclusions. Apparently it's not common for newborns to get urine infections, so they first assume that something might be not quite right inside (physically), so they do all this!

Anyway, thank you all so very much for all the kind messages! ((( hugs )))

I'm really sorry I didn't find a way to update sooner, but it's been quite chaotic - and now I'm home sick! Vomitting at 2am last night and generally feeling very ill/weak. Don't know if it's a bug picked up from hospital or food poisoning, but I'm feelng pretty rotten. Oh well - at least Clement seems to be well!

OP posts:
TheProvincialLady · 17/06/2009 16:02

Gosh, sorry this has happened but I am very glad he is all right.