High Temperature - how high before gonig to the hospital, please !!!!!!!!!!!!

[stace]

My0 Ds(4yrs) is on his 4th day of chicken pox and he has had a nightly temperature between 38.4 and 38.9 last night was really bad and at 4.30 this morning it peaked at 39.9 Temperatures were taken with braun ear thermometre. All my books seem to contradict themselves as to what point a temperature becomes dangerous, can anyone help me??? Thanks in advance

My DS has a temperature as well although not as high as your DD. We phoned NHS Direct last night and they said that 40 degrees is "high" and if temperature stayed that high and didn't go down ie with Calpol that you should see someone.

Hope your DD is feeling better soon.

Stace - What are you using to bring the temp down? I found when my Ds's soared with an ear infection that Calpol just wasn't enough. The GP told me over the phone to give Calpol, then 2 hrs later give Baby Neurofen, then 2hrs later Calpol again etc etc etc.... I may be repeating what you've been told already, but thought I'd better tell you that.

I don't know what temperature I would take DS to hospital.... I took him when he started to act funny and got very lethargic/eyes rolling. It was horrible.... But the Calpol/Neurofen really worked.

Good luck... poor wee soul.

Sorry, just called your DS a DD......I'll blame the one handed typing due to bf unhappy DS of mine.

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Toothache you MUST have 6 hours between calpol doses and 8 hours between nurofen. Particularly important for calpol which can cause liver damage and overdose very easily.

You can take them at the same time though. So you could do

Noon Calpol
3pm Nurofen
6pm Calpol
11pm Nurofen
12pm Calpol

If you know the reason for the temp then that really helps, ie the chicken pox.

Yiu need to give a dose of calpol, and a dose of ibuprofen at the same time, in their relevant quantities for your childs age. This is the only thing that gets my ds temp down, and keep giving lots of water to stop him getting dehidrated.

Obviously you know your ds best, but realistically, you will only need to go to hosptial, if he becomes listless, limp, dehidrated etc. My ds actually started hallucinating once with a temp and that is when I took it seriously, also if they have a fit then you need to get medical help/advice. etc.

If you are ever in any doubt then call your gp, or if you in the UK then I have found the NHS direct service invaluable, when needing to know when to seek more advice. Their no. is 0845 4647

ok - sorry to repeat advice, it took me a while to type my message!!!

CD - I got that from my GP.... and also the locom at Casualty!! And have been told that on Mumsnet as well. It's every 4 hours for both!

AND It says that on the Calpol bottle too... who told you that?

Well that's not what I've been told, or what it says on the bottles!

My dh had a secretary whose husband died because he took paracetomal and then took lemsip too soon afterwards. He didn't realise that the lemsip had paracetomal in it and accidentally overdosed. I am paranoid about it as a result!

Don;t have a calpol bottle here but the nurofen one says no more than 3 x in 24 hours

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You're both right It's 4 hours for Calpol and 6 hours for Nurofen HOWEVER, you can't give more than 4 doses of Calpol or 3 doses of Nurofen in a 24hr period which would equate to CD's 6 and 8 hour thing comes from.

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thank you thank you all for that, i have been giving calpol (which he hates) and it has not been particularily effective, i will now switch to nurofen, thank you all for you quick replies and also who ever said about the braun thingy being unreliable i agree completely and always take it numerous times >

Paracetamol is not dangerous if you give it every 4 hours, but you MUST NOT give more than the safe dose in 24 hours, so if you give three doses in the first 12 hours you can give no more for another 12. Probably safest to stagger the doses as CD suggests.

Stace - hope he's feeling better soon.

When I took DD to casualty recently with high temp and headache (and also on a previous occasion) they told me the best way to treat a v. high temp is with calpol and nurofen at the same time - as already mentioned. This is absolutely fine as long as you follow instructions on bottle.

Also, keep clothes to a minimum, open windows to keep him cool and bathe his forehead with TEPID water. That can help too.

It shouldn't last too long. Hope your day gets better!

we had dd with temp of 43 with measles, she was otherwise chirpy, the doc said yes high sustained temp was not great, but that the demeanour of the child was more important
Having had one older child that convulsed and went limp at over 38.5 and then one toddler who races around with temp of 43....
Inclined to agree, but useful to use calpol and nurofen together, to strip to light vest and also to sponge when necessary too
Hope your ds is getting better today
xx

I don't have a themometer so when my kids get a temp I have to go by how they are IYKWIM My youngest aged nearly 3 have a really bad flu session with a high temp (no idea what, but she was truely burning up and listless) she wouldn' take any medicine and just wanted to sleep. So I rang my brother (a peadiatrician) who actually said the temp is the bodys way of killing the germs, which cannot survive at high temps. Therefore unless she is really ill leave her be and don't try to reduce the temp with drugs. I must say it did work as the fever broke within 48 hrs and she was her churpy self again. Now I worry far less and unless they actually ask for medicine I leave well alone . MEAN MUMMY!!

My dd once had a temp of over 40 and it was pretty scary. She was delirious. She thought my brother was her dad, and kept asking me where mommy was.
I used Calpol and Nurofen too and it really helped.
Hope he is better soon Stace