what do you do when your little one has a temp?

[brian2]

my ds has been having temps of 39 + (taken under his arm) for the last few days. the dr said the usual... viral,teething etc give calpol and keep cool. however she also said not to strip him right of when the temps come as he will get chilled in this weather. i have been taking him right down to his vest until the temps gone then wrapping him up again she said i should keep a couple of layers on him... ie vest and sleep suit.
just wondered what everyone else does or if you have anything that seems to work well for reducing a temp.

Oh my god, that is the most ridicuous thing I have ever heard, does she also swaddel a baby and ay it on its front like in the good ald days???

Provideing you dont liv in an igloo, I usually let ds run about in a vest (sometimes without a nappy if I'm feeling brave!!

How old is your ds?

My dd has been the same the last few days. I keep her in a vest and socks (attractive!) til her temperature comes down. Depends how warm you keep your house I suppose.

Persuading her to put the layers back on is another story ...

I strip right down including nappy becuase that holds alot of heat from the urine.

If it's really bad and the house is warm, I use a damp cloth and doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen.

I strip right down, open a window in her bedroom at night time if necessary, and use tepid water to sponge her down, or just to put on her forehead. I give both Calpol and Ibuprofen - Ibuprofen is better for bringing down the temperature, and you can use it while you're giving Calpol.

he is 8 1/2 months. i always thought striping right of was the way to do it but she made me feel i was making him worse. will try with out the nappy next time.... could be fun. how long do their temps usually stay high,it can sometimes take up to an hour to come back down. last night he had a bit of a rigor which was scary, has anyone experienced a febrile convulsion at all... the thought of that terrifies me!

I had ds2 in just a vest last night because of his temperature.

However, I did hear on the radio the other day about how the reason why we get a high temperature is actually our body's response to the virus/germs. The germs thrive in cooler conditions and the heat kills them off, which is why our bodies react in this way. Therefore you can speed up throwing off the infection by allowing the temperature to stay high. However, the conclusion the doctors on the programme came to was that the benefits of getting rid of the infection quicker were not worth it for the discomfort it put you through!

I also do vest and sock with alternate ibuprofen and calpol.

Haven't experienced convulsions, but my dd is prone to hallucinations with a fever, which is quite scary. Another thing that I've done when her temperature has been really high is to take her outside (not stripped off, I hasten to add!) into the cool air for a few minutes ... that was something that a GP recommended to me once as a way of dropping the temperature quickly to stop her hallucinations. It does decrease the temperature pretty quickly, even if temporatily, so it might work to stop febrile convulsions as well, it has to be worth a try.

seriously though, if your wee one has a very high temp, you should not bring it down too quickly as this can cause more problems.
Febrile convulsions are scary but are usually harmless.
If your child does have a siezue, make him safe, turn him on his side and do not put anything in his mouth. If it last longer than a few minutes call an ambulance He must be seen by a dr if he has a convulsion although I'm sure you would have done that.None the less if your childs temp persist I would consider going back to your gp.

do you know its funny fisil, I had a discussion with ggirl about exactly the same thing last night.
high temps are dangerous and I would only consider "allowing them" under the supervision of a dr.
Children cannot controll their temps as well as adults can and antipyretics such as calpol and nuerofen will only lowere a temp by 1-1.5 degrees taking a temp of 40 to 38.5 (IMO) will still work to kill infection.
Although a temp will fight infection naturally a prolonged high temp is dangerous.

think i will bring him back to docs tomorrow if his temp keeps spiking. thanks for advice on convulsions, it is horrible to watch them when they are feeling so poorly. in between temps he is breast feeding and taking a bit of solids.... which i guess is good. i always feel like such a neurotic mum taking him to the drs!