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Original poster

ds feverish after vax

25 replies

berolina · 09/09/2005 16:59

ds (16 weeks) had his first lot of vaccinations this morning and has now developed a fever (38.48 C, which is apparently 101.26 F). He's sleepy but otherwise seems OK, not crying much, feeding fairly normally etc. rang the doctor's surgery and they said not to do anything until fever reaches 39, which I think is a little too relaxed an approach, but dh agrees (typical ). Advice?

OP posts:

Toothache · 09/09/2005 17:01

Calpol! Thats it really. And keep him cool..... let him sleep with just his nappy on and a light blanket. Give him lots of fluids and just keep an eye on him. Its not nice, but it should pass pretty quickly.

Original poster

berolina · 09/09/2005 17:02

should I give him anything in addition to bf (water etc.)?

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LIZS · 09/09/2005 17:10

No just keep bfeeding- if he is unhappy he'll get some comfort form it too. Either Calpol or paracetamol suppositories would help too. It is very common and he'll probably sleep it off , but do keep an eye on him.

Original poster

berolina · 09/09/2005 17:11

he's feeding happily, was awake a bit, and i'm less concerned. (taking my mind off it on mn ) still like to know though... 38.5 does seem high.

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Original poster

berolina · 09/09/2005 17:12

that's it liz, he doesn't actually seem unhappy, just sleepy.

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Twiglett · 09/09/2005 19:16

38.5 is not high for a baby

they run quite high temps and can peak quite easily it is a sign that their bodies are fighting something

I would not worry at all until mid 39's but I would give a dose of calpol maybe

Original poster

berolina · 09/09/2005 19:49

thanks
well, he seems better, feels cooler, we'll check temp later but i feel sick now. It was a combined vaccine against 6 diseases (tetanus, polio, whooping cough, hib, hep b and diphtheria - standard over here, don't know whether it's the same in the UK). We'd decided to have him vaccinated because we don't know of any special risk factors and we thought the potential consequences of him getting one of the diseases were worse. Haven't decided whether to have MMR or singles, but thought this one would be OK. Anyway, I stupidly put the name of the vax into German Google and came up with reports of five children having died suddenly within 24h of the vaccine and having brain swelling . Maybe we should have had single doses done - but I szuppose there's always the chance of him reacting to one of them... scared myself silly now. I'm not going to sleep tonight

OP posts:

LIZS · 10/09/2005 10:17

how is he today ? Think serious complications are very rare.

Jimjams · 10/09/2005 10:23

you can't get single doses for most of the diseases covered by the 6 in 1, so that wasn't an option. A mild temp is a very normal reaction to the DTP. Hope he's better this morning. No point reading the worst case scenarios on google - there are deaths after any drug.

Original poster

berolina · 10/09/2005 17:00

thank you both.
He is better, fever subsided quite quickly. Has been playing normally today, but not smiling as much as usual. Is feeding a bit more than usual, which can't hurt my supply
Jimjams - I know, I know - afraid I sometimes do this - as I put it on thread (parenting is being scared s**tless) on the parenting section, I looked into the abyss and couldn't pull my head out.
Is this vaccine (6 in 1) given in the UK, anyone? Or is it a 5 in 1?

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Jimjams · 10/09/2005 18:06

don't know as mine haven't had it! I think it's a 5 plus 1 at the same time (2 jabs- might be all in one). Covers 6 diseases though. glad he's better.

lummox · 10/09/2005 18:11

Don't know about the UK, but ds has just had the 5-in-1 in France. That is for polio, hib, whooping cough, tetanus and diptheria.

Doctor said that in most of France they don't bother giving meningo C (which I think is the other one that kids have in the UK) as it's not very common here.

From talking to people here, there is no MMR/autism debate among French mums (don't know whether their vaccine is the same as the one given in the UK), but there is a view that the hepatitis C vaccine can lead to multiple schlerosis in later life, so lots of people don't have Hep C.

You have to have the others, though, or your child can't go to school.

lummox · 10/09/2005 18:12

Sorry - meant to add that he had much the same symptoms as your ds. We didn't measure his temp but it was definitely up and he was sleepier (and grumpier) than normal for about 48 hours after the jab.

Can't say I'm looking forward to the next one.

Glad your little man is feeling better.

Jimjams · 10/09/2005 18:13

they can go to school with homeopathic jabs in France (seriously - I know a mum who did that)

lummox · 10/09/2005 18:20

Wow - really? Have never heard of homeopathic jobs, but have noticed that homeopathy generally a much bigger deal here. What is in homeopathic jabs?

Jimjams · 10/09/2005 18:32

a bit of the disease generally (diluted and diluted and diluted). the mother said that she had worried about it as she didn't want to vaccinate but then found the whole thing seemed to more about the French need for bureaucracy than anything else. And as long as they had something to file they didn;t seem to mind what it was. She had 4 kids so got away with it 4 times.

Original poster

berolina · 10/09/2005 18:34

sorry, I am utterly ignorant, but I thouht conventional vax were basically a bit of the disease? or do they have other ingredients?

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lummox · 10/09/2005 18:35

Love hearing these French-bureaucracy-isnt-as-bad-as-it-seems stories. It all seems so hard-core when you first hear about things, and then you start to find out what actually happens.

Sorry, berolina, this is a bit of a thread hijack.

Original poster

berolina · 10/09/2005 18:37

hat's ok - living in Germany I am sympathetic to bureaucracy stories

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lummox · 10/09/2005 18:42

Am hoping ds will grow up able to sail effortlessly through the red tape with a gallic shrug.

Never thought of Germany as particularly bureacratic. I should know this from the June thread, but did you have your ds in Germany?

Original poster

berolina · 10/09/2005 19:01

yup. has its good points - bf in public is a dream - and its bad points - strong conservative streak (traditional male/female roles) and said bureaucracy (everything needs a certificate this and an official stamp that).

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Original poster

berolina · 10/09/2005 19:02

oh and the healthcare is generally fantastic in terms of what you get, and often in terms of the people giving it too.

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dinny · 10/09/2005 19:21

they do 5-in-1 here in UK plus Men C.

Jimjams · 10/09/2005 19:31

same idea berolina, but homeopathic remedies are just energy. I have heard vaccination described as a crude form of homeopathy (I only mention that to get hmb going ). No seriouslt the best way to describe the difference is that homeopathy would fall under the banner of alternative medicine which is why I was surprised to hear how easy it was to get around the supposedly draconian french vax rules.

ruty · 11/09/2005 12:29

jimjams what worries me about the homeopathic version is how on earth do they make them? Do they swab a child's throat who has the disease and then dilute that hundreds of times? Who has diptheria or meningitis who can be swabbed for homeopathic remedies? I just can't imagine it being prepared in a lab environment, and it puts me off a bit. Can you tell me anything about that?

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