First time Mum not sure what to do now. Baby had fever for 24 hours

[mawbroon]

I'm not panicking just yet, but my 28 week old ds has had a fever since this time yesterday. I am giving Calpol every 6 hours (I know you can dose 4 hours apart, but you can only give 4 doses in 24 hours hence my leaving it 6 hours in between). The Calpol brings his temperature back down and he is stripped to keep cool. His temp yesterday was 38.8 so I called the doc. They told me to bring him in but during the visit to the docs, his temp was normal and he was quite alert, but not his usual self. I was dimissed from the docs and told to keep an eye on him. I took his temp 45 mins ago just before his last dose of Calpol and he was back at 38.8. He has no other symptoms and his nappies are wet and he is breastfeeding more or less non stop as he is pretty miserable otherwise.
Should I be harassing the doc again? or do I just wait for it to run it's course?

Oh these temps are taken under his arm which I believe gives a slightly lower reading, so I'm not really sure how high his temp is

Call the doctor, not just for baby but your own peace of mind too. THe Dr wont mind at all (or shouldnt do). Go with your instincts. Good luck & let us know x

Temp add .6 fo C and 1 if F so he has a high temp. x

Do you have a sense for how he is? You can often tell when they are really unwell - listless, peculiar, blotchy etc. etc. It's not very helpful, but mum's gut feeling is the most important diagnostic tool in these kind of cases.

My doc used to tell me to alternate Baby nurofen and Calpol. I can't remember what age you can start using the baby Nurofen, but it is much more effective at birnging down the temperature. Since they work in different ways, you can give alternate doses safely (i.e. full daily dose of each is OK).

Will probably run its course. Keep feeding as often as since this will keep him hydrated and comfort him. Did they check ears, throat etc, just in case of an underlying infection ? You could alternate Nurofen with calpol to bring the temperature under control.

Hope the little one feels better soon.

Also, occasional sponging with blood-heat water (baby in nappy or naked on a towel) is a drug free way of dropping the temp.

He is over 6 months so can have neurofen so I would do as Lizs suggests. That way he can have 4 calpols and 3 ibuprofens in 24 hours so you can dose him at 3-4 hour intervals.

Kif - he seems ok, just not as happy as usual. Not so wriggly and no smiles, but I guess I wouldn't smile either if my temp was that high.
LIZS - yes doc checked ears, throat, chest etc, but he also said "are you sure he didn't just have too many covers on in bed"

Awen -thanks for temp info, that pushes him up to 39.4 which is not good

Mawbroom - its ok, agree with alternating calpol and paracetamol. at drs comment for you too. Is there a hv or another dr who you could see if still not happy? Has he had any immunisations recently? Any rashes? Is he crying high pitched?

If he becomes unresponsive, glazed over, floppy or drowsy seek emergency help.

Nope, no rashes, no immunisations, hardly any crying, just whinging if I put him down. He slept fine last night except for when I went in to check him, but went down straight away after.
The baby clinic is on this afternoon. I think I'll go to see the HV there and I'm sure she'll put me on to the doc if she thinks it's serious

good idea :)

would second the nurofen suggestion

I've always found it much more effective (than calpol) when they are poorly with high temps

ok. thanks ladies. I'm going to go to the chemist and get some Nurofen. The Calpol doesn't seem to have had much effect this time. I gave him it at 11.15am and now, an hour later, he is still at 38.4 under arm, so really 39.
I'll update later.

I had this with ds around 6 months, same syptoms. He was back to himself after couple of days. I dosed him up on calpol and calprofen (ibuprofen for kids) and put a fan on in the room.
It can be worrying and scary, If you are still concerened call your hv. Luckily my dr was very good and not so patronising.
I found that ds had a more high temp when he was teething too.

"calpol and paracetamol" - Calpol contains paracetamol, while Calprofen/Nurofen contains Ibruprofen.

I'll confess that when I'm unhappy with Dr's response, i have occasionally 'snapped', and phoned up the out of hours doctor. Where I am, they have a surgery for the whole city that is open through the night. You can come in if they agree to see you by phone. When babies and mystery illnesses are concerned, they'll always see you if you ask.

It is cheeky, but it is a quick way of getting asecond opinion if you're feeling not right about it.

LIZ - duh me - yes i typo'd - meant ibuprofen - heres me nearing my finals too

I'm just back from the baby clinic and had a chat with the HV. Basically she said that I should just keep doing the things that I am doing and these things normally last 5-7 days, so if no improvement by Friday then I should have him seen again. She also told me that a fever itself is not dangerous, but of course the worry is dehydration and that I should bf ds as much as possible which is exactly what I have been doing.
I am happy with the advice that she has given me. Is that a first for a HV on MN?
DS has just gone down for a nap after some Calpol so timings of drugs are fine for a dose of ibuprofen just before bedtime.
I am happy just to go with my gut instinct now as his temperature fluctuations seem to be in direct relation to when he has had medicine.
Thanks for all your advice ladies

glad you were re-assured Some HV are nice..

Hmm, ds is just the same today and his temp was up at 38.9. He just wants his mummy the whole time. I'm lucky enough to be able to just cuddle and comfort him when he needs me and the housework can wait!
He is bf non stop so at least when he gets back to normal I will have an abundance of milk for freezing.