Toddler with a fever - worried

[Bellabelloo]

Hi! My 3 year old has a temp of 39 degrees. No cough but he says his tummy hurts. We've been v sensible and only leave the house to do our weekly shop and to walk the dog - and only me or my husband does this. Could he have a temperature for another reason other than having caught something (please not Covid!). I'm scared. We will obviously self isolate now just in case.

So worrying OP. I hear you.

Dd has had tonsillitis and a sickness bug whilst being at home during lockdown. No idea how or why.

Sickness could have been something she licked or ate but she did get a temperature overnight as well.

So yes she did pick up other stuff from seemingly nowhere.

Thanks Moobar. I was saying this week how amazing it has been without the constant runny noses, coughs and sick bugs and now he's sick!! Trying to keep sensible head on, but can't help worrying.

Absolutely, I was the same, worried sick. Then absolutely furious that she was still sick when she hadn't been anywhere.

Which sent me into google overdrive.

We have glands in our stomach that cause pain with things like tonsillitis. I'd check tonsils as a starting point.

Do throats hurt with tonsillitis? And do you catch it or just develop it...?

My 5 year old has developed a fever and had a sore horse throat for 2 days. I've only been in a shop twice since mid March and only quickly in a small local one apart from that we have been near no one

I'm freaking out , why has he got a temp and sore throat and where did he pick it up from

We live in a small village and had no contact with anyone apart from the odd chat at a distance with someone in passing

Op, not to alarm you, but this is how my ds presented with appendicitis at that age. If you feel he needs looking at please don't hesitate to take him to a&e.

My dsis (paed) is very worried that parents are immediately thinking covid when it is much more likely to be something else. She's seen a boy come in with a ruptured appendix because the poor dm thought it must be covid and didn't want to get in trouble by breaking self isolation. She said she'd rather people just go straight in.

Hope he feels better soon.

I was going to say tonsillitis too (or more specifically, strep infection which causes bacterial tonsillitis amongst other things). As PP says it can cause stomach pain.

So worrying when they were little, can you pop him in your bed tonight so you both get some rest? You might not sleep soundly but it’s easier to rest if your poorly one is next to you and you can keep an eye on him. Hope he’s better soon.

OP to answer your question - if it’s strep throat, it would hurt, and you do have to catch it from somewhere.

But I think strep infections aren’t always throat related (DS has something similar recently - before lockdown - which presented with fever, fast breathing, stomach ache, mild sore throat. Antibiotics seemed to help but not 100% sure it wasn’t a weird form of Covid due to the breathing guarantee - in which case the antibiotics would’ve been coincidence )

Sorry that doesn’t make much sense... hopefully you know what I mean

I would ring 111.

I’m pretty sure that stomach ache and fever require assessment at hospital. Wasn’t it thought that stomach ache could indicate a corona related problem? I’m being vague because I can’t remember the ins and outs, I’m just sure that I remember stomach ache as being a red flag.

I’m not saying this to worry you OP, but just to advise you get a professional opinion.

Yes you’re right @QueenofmyPrinces - the newly identified PIMS condition presents about 4 weeks after COVID infection (even mild / no symptom infection) - fever, stomach pain, diarrhoea etc.

OP ultimately if you are worried, get checked out.

Hi OP. DD2 ended up at A&E the other week with severe tonsillitis coupled with some kind of viral infection, despite us barely having been anywhere other than the park in the last 8 weeks. Seems kids can pick up anything from anywhere! She had a temp of 39+ that wasn’t coming down with Calpol and was listless and extremely congested - very alarming snorty breathing - but was quickly sorted with antibiotics. A&E pretty much empty and we were seen quickly (tried GP first but couldn’t access help quickly enough due to Covid measures).

My 4yo has had a fever, shivers and headache. We haven't been anywhere except super market. She's a bit better today.

It's really confusing. Hope your DS feels better soon.

It could be anything.

I was coming on to say that is how ds appendicitis presented. Please dont be blinded by just looking for CV symptoms. It is just as likely to be something completely unrelated but that could require medical attention. Please call your GP for advice.

Thanks everyone. He seems ok. Still has a temp if we stop calpol, but happy in himself, nothing hurting and eating and drinking fine, so we're just keeping a close eye on him. I haven't slept much though from constantly checking on him!!

Even if it is COVID, children are 99.9999% absoloutely fine. Just treat it as you would any other illness, would you panic so much about a cold? Chest infection? etc etc.. obviously, keep an eye as you would any illness with a fever 🤷🏼‍♀️ And obviously you will all need to self isolate unless a doctor can confirm it’s something else!