Struggling to control 3 yr olds temp - any advice

[devotion]

Late this morning she was complaining and so I took her temp which was:

38.7 at 10.55aM I gave her 5ml nurofen.

then I planned to give her calpol at 2.55pm but it was 38.1 at 2pm so I gave her 10ml of calpol

then again at 5.10pm she looked dreadful and her temp was 38.4. so I gave her 5ml nurofen.

Her temp right now 20mins later has gone up to 38.8 I know it can take at least an hour to kick in.

I am worried that I have not been able to keep her temp down for four hours at a time. If i carry on I will run out of the doses because I know she can only have 4 doses of calpol in 24 hours and 3 doses of nurofen in 24 hours.

When she gets a temp it is usally worse during the night.

She says nothing hurts she just feels unwell. She can put her chin on her chest and no rash except her hands and feet are very cold but that always happens.

Any advice would be great!

Ah bless her, now she is fast asleep on the couch.

her 6 yr old sister asked, "does that mean she has swine flu?"

i guess not because her only symptom is fever and from everything i read it tells you that you get a sudden temp with cough and other flu symptoms. she would be coughing by now right?

plus she has been ill all day and there would be more symptoms?

when her meds kick in she is playing happily and looks fine.

My GP tells me to alternate the doses (eg
9am calpol, 11am ibroprufen, 1pm calpol, 3pm nurofen) when DD1's temp get really high. You can only do this until the doses for the day are used up (4 for calpol and 3 for ibroprufen) but it does help those gaps.
If she's really struggling to keep her temp down you should ring NHS direct

Spongeing with lukewarm water will keep her temp down too. Don't use cold, she mustn't get shivery, and don't let it be draughty.

cktwo - that is what i am doing.

i will try the luke warm water. she is asleep still.

its now been 1 hour since i gave her the nurofen and its still 38.2 I hoped it would have gone down more by now.

i could give her calpol now but that will mean after that I only have one more dose of calpol and nurofen to get us through to 11am tomorrow.

Hello everyone

trying not to panic.

i know if i follow the national flu pandemic line it will most prob tell me she has swine flu.

you cant ask a three year if their limbs ache or headaceh etc.

i am really struggling to get her temp down, earlier i did it but now its just staying high.

i dont want to give her tamiflu if she just has another virus???

also my gp said only use it if its really bad as lots of people have bad side effects with it. how do you know when its bad?

Hi,

The most effective way to control a temperature is with a combination of controlling the temperature of her environment and meds.

Keep teh room cool (but not cold); Keep her in cool clothes (but not naked); lukewarm sponging or baths.

I am just trying to work out what meds she has had:

11am - Nurofen
2pm - Calpol
5pm Nurofen

She could have 8pm - Nurofen now
11pm (or middle of the night) Calpol

Tomorrow I would aim for

8am Nurofen (don't worry about the 24hr thing once in a while; but don't be silly and do 5 doses/day or do 4 doses every day)
11am - Calpol
2pm - Nurofen
5pm - Calpol
8pm - Nurofen
Calpol during hte night if necessary.

It is a good thing to start and end the day with Nurofen as it is more powerful.

She may have SF. I wouldn't automatically give Tamiflu because of side effects unless she is in a high risk group (immuno supporessed; asthmatic etc.).

If you can't control her temperature please ring GP/NHS direct for further advice as this is something that the GP may be interested in. My GP is happy if we can keep a temp below 38.5C.

Remember - a fever, whilst not pleasant is helping her to fight the bugs which are causing hte fever.

WRT to knowing if it is really bad - personally I would be looking for signs that breathing is laboured or diffiult (it will be a bit fast because of the fever though), if she is limp and or lethargic and unresponsiv.

Also the limbs being cold is perfectly normal with a fever.

hi out of hours go reckons it swine flu and to give her tamiflu, shes had two doses now.

last night she was terrible, looked dreadful, today she looks so much better but still looks ill.

not sure whats best to do, to give her more tamilfu, what if its not?

she is not in the high risk group.

Hi devotion

My 5 yo dd is in a similar position - she had a very high temp and aches, pains, runny nose and is now developing a cough. She started on tamiflu last night and seems better already but I am continuing the tamiflu, just in case.

Good luck & hth

...in case you haven't read all the blurb, tamiflu treats all sorts of viruses, not just swine flu

thanks bella21

So far my dd hasn't had any side effects

How's your dd now?

hi

today she seems fine, looks a bit peaky but is playing, yesterday she was on the couch with cbeebies most of the day.

she has had two doses and no signs of side effects yet.

but whenever she is ill its usualy worse late early evening and night.