Temp of 103, told to home treat, any suggestions please?

[Monkeybar]

My DS was breathing rapidly this afternoon, so while he was having his supper I took his temp and it was 103 (39 and a half). He's not sweaty and seems okay in himself (he's asleep now). That just seems hugely high to me. Rang GP out of hours service and they told me to give him some calpol, but to ring 999 if he has a fit. He's just under 1 year old, and is asleep wearing just a vest and with a fan in his room (which is at 27 degrees). Anything else I should be doing. SHould I be very worried?

cool sponge him in the bath. I know it's very worrying and I would be up the walls with a baby under 1yr old who had that temp, but my SIL is a nursing consultant and she always tells us that a temperature is a good thing as that's the virus fighting out of the body.. hard to think at a time when your baby is buring up in your arms. Would he suck on a ice pop or ice lolly?

I'm not a doctor or anything (just someone who's DD has had plenty of very high temperatures!) so please bear that in mind with this advice:

If his temp increases during the night, sponge him down with tepid (but not freezing cold) water. To be honest I might also leave him in just a nappy given how hot it is, but I'm sure it wouldn't make much difference either way.

I'm sure he'll be completely fine and it's just a passing virus, but if you do get more concerned for any reason, call your local A&E unit for advice - I wouldn't bother with NHS direct.

... ALSO baby nurofen has always worked really well with DD to bring her temp down - you can alternate it with Calpol (i.e. give it to him an hour or so after the Calpol if his temperature is still high).
Finally, I've always been told not to wait until the temperature rises to give the next dose - just keep giving it (pre-emptively) until you can see an improvement in him.

Thanks both - haven't gone down the nappy only route these past week as he's inclined to remove it, which isn;t the end of the world, but he often does a poo before he gets up in the morning. The vest is sleeveless. Might stick a pair of soft shorts over his nappy and take off the vest if when he wakes up. Or maybe pull up pants?

i was in the same position with dd when she was 8 month old. if you are bf, breastfeed as much as he wants. however, as long as he is willing to take whatever fluids, it is a good sign.

you can give children's nurofen (calpol now has its own brand called 'calprofen' too) at the same time as calpol - which was what the doctor on nhs direct recommended. in addition, you can give children's nurofen or calprofen every 4 hrs safely.

calprofen/nurofen is more effective than calpol for teething as well!

hope he feels better soon. can you get to a 24hr ASDA before 10pm?

Will give the next calpol when he wakes, then, if it's after 10.30 (last dose was at 6.30). Thank you

Have got some nurofen, will try that when he wakes, then, whatever time that is.

i always sleep in with mine if they have a really high temp- i feel more relaxed if i can monitor them more closely. by the way, was it an ear thermometer? if so, its worth bearing in mind that the temp in the ear is slightly higher than rectal or under arm temp, so not as bad as it seems at first.

I was told by NHS direct that capol and parecemtoml are more effective at bringing temps down than Nurofen based products.

Has he been out in the sun? It could be a touch of heat/sun stroke, in which case make sure he drinks loads of water, stays cool, has cool baths etc.