Temperature of 39.8 not reduced with Calpol

[freddiemed]

My 3.10 year old DS woke this morning with a temp of 38.7, gave him nurofen about 9am and his temp reduced quickly and he was full of beans as usual. He went to nursery as normal at 1pm and they called me at 3pm to say he wasn't feeling well and had a high temp. Gave him calpol when we got home at 3.30 and his temp is still over 39. He has fallen asleep on sofa and was complaining about being cold before that. Trying not to panic and wondering about next dose of nurofen. Any quick advice?

NHS direct website or phone - cool drinks, normal clothing - don't make him shiver - Really think you should check this out. It's probably just some virus but you need to find out from someone medically qualified. Hope he is better soon

My ds1 (2.3yo) gets very high temps quite often. I'd give him some nurofen now, give it 15mins max and if no difference get him seen.
I took ds2 (9m) to the hospital a few weeks ago as his temp went to 39.9 and they gave nurofen and his temp started to drop instantly.

Thanks - gave nurofen and it is now down to 38.2 and he's gone to bed. he perked up a tiny bit and had a drink and a biscuit before bed. been trying to ring nhs direct but can't get through, now trying national pandemic swine flu website too.

Freddiemed: For what it's worth, my daughter (4.3) woke on Friday morning with identical symptoms to your son: extremely high temperature (including an hour at 40.5 on Friday evening - very scary!) and complaining about feeling cold despite having a burning temperature. Saw the doctor immediately, who said it was OK to alternate Paracetamol and Nurofen at four hour intervals (as they are dealt with via different organs) and also that an effective way of helping bring down a high temperature down is to wrap the child's calves in cool (not cold!) flannels as it draws heat out of the body quickly without causing shivering. I know it sounds odd, but we did actually try it when the fever was extremely high and it did seem to coincide with a fall in the fever (it's apparently a commonly used technique here in Germany where we live). Other than that, she said we could only just wait and see, but to contact her immediately if DD started being sick (which she didn't) as that would ring the "swine flu" bell for her, but to otherwise to try and keep calm as it could really be anything. DD was the same on Saturday but then perked up on Sunday and it now transpires that it was "nothing more" than a run-of-the-mill virus and she is pretty much back to her usual self.

Take care and hope you little one gets well soon xxx