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Children's health

When do you start to worry about a high temp?

18 replies

Marne · 21/10/2009 15:37

Dd1 has been poorly all day with a high temp, i have been giving her neorofen(sp) and calpal and she still has a temp of 38.9.

I suspect she has picked up dd2's virus (which she had last week/and over the weekend) which could be SW although they would not diagnose dd2.

I have opened all windows and doors to try and lower her temp (and mine but mines not as high).

Should i be worried?

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Bucharest · 21/10/2009 15:41

I posted this the other day, this is what my GP says:
36.5-37 is normal
37-38.5 is the body doing its job- ie fighting off some lurgy, don't give anything unless there is other discomfort- ie headache
38.5-39 give calpol etc
39+ give calpol, check with GP, but should still just be the body doing its stuff.

Great thing bodies!

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izzybiz · 21/10/2009 15:42

My Dd has been like this today too, I only have one of those forhead strip thermometers and it was showing nearly 40 degrees, I phoned the Gp and have been asked to take her in in a while.

I went on to the Swine flu website and was given a code for Tamiflu, dont think she has it though.

I would give your GP a call, they will advise over the phone or ask to see her.
I will always say if you get very worried go straight to A&E.
Hope she gets better soon. x

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Marne · 21/10/2009 15:50

Thank you, i am worried they will offer her tamiflu (i don't want to give it to her). So far she has not got a cough but dd2 and i have had the cough, sore throat etc..

I will phone the GP if it doesn't go down in the next half an hour.

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thisisyesterday · 21/10/2009 15:50

i would be worried if paracetamol/nurofen wasn't bringing it down yes.

i know that lockets was told that it isn't the cause of the temperature that's so dangerous, it's the temperature itself so really the cause it's the issue.
if you can't bring it down then get her seen.

i am sure that doctors would far rather see a hundred ok children than miss a sick one

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Marne · 21/10/2009 15:54

I cant get to the GP's until dh gets home, i have phoned dh to come home early just in case.

I feel like the gp will think i am over reacting. I panicked with dd2 at the weekend with dd2 and ended up being sent to the hospital where she turned out to be not as bad (after a drink and a biscuit).

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Marne · 21/10/2009 15:55

Her temp seems to stay the same but one minute she's playing the next she's led down and can barely keep her eyes open.

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overmydeadbody · 21/10/2009 16:03

I was just about to start an identical thread as DS's temp has been 40C all day

I am gettign worreid now.

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Rhian82 · 21/10/2009 16:05

GPs I've seen have always said not to take their temperature, go by how the child seems - that's a much better indicator of how ill they are. Doesn't stop me though!

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mom2ben · 21/10/2009 16:10

Hi Marne, my little one has just been given Tamiflu as he had a really high temp, runny nose and was vomiting for a while. I know it is frustrating that they won't actually confirm swine flu but my doc said that it is much more serious if they leave it and the risks associated with Tamiflu are very small. Last night his temp went up to 40 so we called emergency doc and we had to take him to the local hospital where they have also given him antibiotics. I thought I may have been overreacting but they obviously thought it was serious. How old is your daughter?

The signs the emergency doc told me to look for was tiredness (not normal tiredness) and a high temp that can't be controlled by calpol/calprofen. Apparently really high temps are very common with swine flu.

If I was you, I would call your doc, even if it is just to put your mind to rest. A doctor once told me that we all have our comfort levels and as a parent, as soon as we feel outside of that, we should ask for help even if we feel we are overreacting!

Hope she gets better soon!

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izzybiz · 21/10/2009 18:46

Hi, my Dd has seen the GP and he said it may be Swine flu or it may just be a virus she has picked up, he said he could pescribe tamiflu but the side effects in children can be worse than the illness itself.

Lots of liquid, keep the calpol doses up, and let her sleep it off.

Will still say as a parent you have that gut feeling if somethings not right, if you have that feeling don't ignore it for worry of being called neurotic!

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Marne · 21/10/2009 20:11

She's gone to bed with a temp of 38.5 , that was after i bundled her into dd2's buggy and took her for a walk in her pj's to look at the stars and another dose of nerofen. I have left her window wide open in her room (hopefully the rain wont wake her up). Hopefully she will sleep it off, she has managed to stay awake all day so i am hoping she stays asleep, i need my sleep so i can look after her tomorrow.

If her temp is still high in the morning i will be taking her to the GP (at the moment she is refusing to go).

She's 5.6 but very tiny, i worry about her not eating as she is like a twig .

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izzybiz · 21/10/2009 20:23

Pretty much the same age as my Dd shes 5.5
I'm sure she will be feeling better by the morning, I'm having my Dd in with me tonight, she usually shares with her little brother.
Mine hasn't eaten all day either, I think as long as they're drinking fluids its ok.

Try and get some rest yourself, let us know tommorrow how she is?

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Marne · 21/10/2009 20:26

Thanks izzybiz, i hope we both get a nights sleep as well as the dd's.

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winnybella · 21/10/2009 20:33

38.5 more than an hour after fever medication probably means that she's got a nasty bug, but it's not 40, so don't panic and just watch her.
May I just say that in case of fever it's much better to put child to bed naked/in thin T-shirt in a well aired room, but definitely not a good idea to leave her with a window wide open if it's quite cold outside. Drafts are not helpful.
Hope she'll be better in the morning, if your other DD is better now, she probably got the same thing and the illness will follow the same path.

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Bucharest · 22/10/2009 08:23

Marne- how is she this morning? Dd last week had one day of 39.7 (with calpol) and then one full day of 38.5 but after that the temp returned to normal, just cold/cough symptoms....

40 is scarily high....hope the 40s feel better today too!

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Marne · 22/10/2009 08:37

She's just got up, she woke in the night a few times as the fever made her have weird dreams, she's now led on the sofa with a temp of 37.9 so a bit cooler, her lips have been bleeding in the night and she looks so poorly.

I'm going to see what she's like at 9am and if she's still hot i will try and get her to the doctors.

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pigsinmud · 22/10/2009 08:38

My dd1 had a virus the other week - temp was regularly hitting just over 40 and peaked at 40.6, when she was delirious!

The swine flu website will offer you tamiflu as it's so bloody vague. My gp came out to see dd1 (we hardly ever go to gp - in fact gp has not seen dd1 since she was one day old and she's now nearly 6!) on the 4th day and it turned out to be tonsillitis.

Temp carried on for 6 days - we were told to give calpol and ibuprofen - iboprufen was much more successful than the calpol in bringing her temp down. She didn't move from bed for 2 days and I had to carry to loo.

Hope she's feeling better today.

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izzybiz · 22/10/2009 14:11

Glad to hear shes a bit better today, my Dd is up today but led on the sofa, temp is pretty much down, and shes stopped being sick.
Still no food, but trying to keep the water going in.

It must be horrid for them poor little things. x

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