HELP - sick toddler, 39.3 temp and rapid breathing

[Firstimemam]

I've come home from work, played, bath, milk and bed. He was quite unsettled so went in at 10:30 before I was going to sleep and he is so hot - 39.3 temperate and he's rapidly breathing, whinging, crying etc. We've given him calpol and on the phone to 111 but nobody is picking up, should I go to A&E straight away or wait for 111?

Sorry FTM panicking :,(

Fuck that, go to a and e

Right, thanks everyone for your messages. I had 111 on the phone, completely useless wanted me to wake him up asking silly questions that didn't even make sense for a 1 year old, does he cover his eyes with his hands when you turn on the light?

I am waiting for them to call me back, I suppose that'll be the doctor, He's currently sleeping next to me, breathing was 70x per minute but calmed down a lot, almost halved. As hes sleeping I'm trying to close my eyes for a bit as well, not sure I will be able to sleep but may as well try,'phone is on vibrate for the call back.

Thanks everyone, I know I didn't go to A&E but I probably would have if he hadn't gone to sleep.

Honestly it sounds like start of a virus, we've had temps that high many a time. If his breathing has calmed down def wait it out til morning but keep an eye on the temp. Ibuprofen works better for temperatures I find.

This happened to us last week. We went to see a GP in the morning and he advised to only take Nurofen/Calpol and said that he can’t see any issues. The following day her temperature went to 41!! We rushed to A&E and they concluded she had acute tonsillitis! She never complained of any pain and has been eating well and drinking. She was put on penicillin for 10 days! So definitely see someone as soon as you can x

That's good about his breathing, did his temperature come down? Is it worthwhile trying to stay awake for call back, you were obviously concerned enough to consider A&E.

Keep watch for any signs he is struggling to breathe eg as a pp said ribs flaring or skin pulling in at sternum or above clavicle

Use nurofen if calpol doesn’t help with temperature, you can alternate them as they don’t interact.

Hope you're OK, op

Thank you so much ladies! He slept then until 5am, gave him another bottle and woke him up at 07:30 (we have to wake him every morning, he loves a snooze) & the nanny came at 8. His temp was 37.4 which I thought was quite good but gave him 2.5ml of calpol to keep it under control. Daddy is home alone with him tonight - praying for him to be ok 🙏🏻

If it helps, it is common for children's respiratory rate to increase when they have a temperature. If the rate doesn't come down with calpol or nurofen, or they are struggling to breathe, that is when it's def time to get help.

Some dc get high fevers when sick. I wouldn’t rush to A&E just bc of a high fever. We did that w our first one and doctor said give them calpol or ibprofen and if they act normal after it’s fine (but obviously keep an eye on them). However, if the fever is accompanied by other serious symptoms like very drowsy, sensitive to lights and not able to wake etc then bring them in. My dc would get fevers up to 40.5 sometimes!!! And when I gave calpol would bring down to 39, but they would be able to drink fluids and were okay. Thankfully, they would recover just fine every time.

It’s scary when little ones get high fevers.

My DS has had a few high fevers. Every time I've rushed him to the out-of-hours & it ends up just being a virus. It is alarming but some children do get very high temperatures when they're unwell. Just watch out for other symptoms.

OK, so if he has a resp rate of 70 again, please call an ambulance, that's incredibly high.

How's he doing today? Sounds like he's on the mend