Temp - at what point to worry?

[Natzer]

Hi

At what point do you panic about temperature please? DD has temp of 38.7 no other symptoms, not too bad in herself, maybe a little tired. She was sick a few times on wednesday, but not since then, limited appetite but eating OK.

Teething is a possibility.

Also, I understand that recent guidelines to say that a slightly raised temp is fine to fight infection and not to give calpol too readily.

Any advice please,

TIA

How old? How long has she had the fever?

As long as your DD is not teeny tiney - under 3 months or under 6 months, I think a lot of doctors now would say not to worry about the actual figure of how high a fever is, as you say.

If she is miserable with the fever, then by all means treat it with calpol but if she is feverish and ok with it, don't rush to medicate.

see here www.babyzone.com/baby/baby-health-and-safety/how-to-treat-a-fever_66180

I am looking for another link that had really nice sensible way of putting it all but can't seem to track it down.

Hope your DD will be better soon.

more detailed link

Hi, sorry she is 11 months. I don't want to medicate if I don't have to as she has been teething and had alot to ibuprofen etc over the past month or so.

We have just given her a cool bath and brought her temp down to 37.7 so will test again in half an hour or so to see if it has stayed down.

Watch out that you don't reduce her temp too quickly with cool baths, should be gradual. FYI, my DD had temp of 39.4 last night, admittedly she is 2.5. She seemed fine in herself, I think it was heatstroke so I gave fluids and eventually Calpol and it came down ok

I agree with loveisagirl, be careful with cool baths. My three-year-old has always had problems with fevers etc (had febrile convulsions when he was 11months) and if we cool him down to much he often gets really cold and his body then goes into overdrive and the temp peaks again. We've been battling with this this week again - there does seem to be a bug going round with high temp/vomiting. I find a damp flannel round his neck is quite good, lots of cool drinks, ice lollies or cool teething ring. The main thing is to keep them hydrated. Different children cope with different extremes of temperature - some are really quite poorly even at 38, others can still be quite ok at 39. It might be worth getting some calpol into her if the temperature's refusing to go down as that is all that a gp would probably suggest if they saw her - remember calpol is in the different family of drugs to ibuprofen. If in doubt, get her to the docs

Agree with not giving too cool baths because of the differential in body temperature might make her feel more unwell. DD1 is 28 months and I usually give Calpol if her temp is over 38 and she complains of being "cold". Agree that GP may tell you to give her Calpol anyway. Keep monitoring and good luck!

Thanks, the bath wasn't that cool, just her normal bed time bath a little cooler than normal. But half an hour later it was back up to 38.7 again.

I gave her some calpol and she has gone to sleep. She didn't have much of her bedtime bottle, so I think I may wake her at about 9.30 and see if she will take some milk and re assess her temperature then.

I wouldn't wake her. Let her sleep. It's the best thing for her.

I remember waking my Dd when she was I'll as I had to get antibiotics into her for a bad ear infection and she screamed the house down for 30 minutes spraying banana flavoured medicine everywhere! Never wake a poorly child!!

They say a temp over 38 is worth seeing a doctor about if it lasts more than a couple of days, doesn't respond to calpol and your LO isn't taking fluids. DS had a temp of 39 when he had tonsillitis and the doctor wanted to see him again if the temp didn't respond AND he wasn't taking fluids. LOs get temps for all kinds of bugs, so i think it's more about the other symptoms that accompany it.

I agree that sleep is the best thing for them to help their little bodies recover. As long as she's having some milk/ water to keep hydrated and calpol to bring her temperature down to make her feel more comfortable.