Illness/fever in children

[lou 26]

My daughter (who's 3) has had a recurring cold since the beginning of December. Last Thursday she started being unwell again and had a high temperature over the weekend, which i treated with calpol. On Monday this week she was still unwell and full of cold but her temperature was normal. By Tuesday evening her temperature was high again (around 103) so yesterday morning I took her to the doctors and he checked her thoroughly and couldnt see any problem. He said he could tell she was unwell due to bags under her eyes and lack of colour in her face but other than that he said she may have a recurring viral infection and gave me some Amoxicillin to give her if her temperature went back up again (her temp was normal when she got to the doctors as i'd given her calpol). Her temp went up again yesterday lunchtime so i started her on this course of Amoxicillin. She seemed a little better this morning but as the day has worn on shes gone downhill again and she's gone to bed tonight with a high temperature again (100.2). Im worrying myself sick about her to be honest, I hate keep giving her calpol as shes been on it nearly a week now. The doctor said to keep giving it to her and Im not sure what else I can do under the circumstances. Its the fact that she's has had this high temperature for almost a week now. She keeps saying her tummy is hurting although she has been off her food so that could be one reason. yesterday she was complaining that her eyes hurt but the doctor didnt seem unduly concerned about it. Does anyone think im worrying too much? What would anyone else do in my situation? im not sure how long the antibiotics take to start working but she has been on them for over 24 hours now.

Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

[curiosity]

Try ringing NHS direct, they will give you an assessment over the phone, and you get to speak to a doctor, who advises you, they are very understanding, and at least you are getting a second opinion. The 24 hour NHS direct line is 0845 4647. Good Luck.

[lou 26]

thank you curiosity, ive just been sat with her and her temp has come down again now (98.2) but thats probably only the calpol keeping it under control. Shes fine in herself, sleeping more, but still running round in the day although not as much as she would be normally. Think im in a panic because shes had it for soo long now and maybe i was expecting miracles from the antibiotics, i dont know! I will give nhs direct in the morning i think, i will see how she goes through the night tonight, unless she gets any worse of course. thanks again

[tigilou]

O bless her if it was me and i had done everything you have doctors etc and she was still no better me personally would take her to the hospital just to be on the safe side and have her further checked out. I hope she gets better soon have you tried baby nurofen i find this better than calpol its longer lasting as well but im sure when her antibiotics kick in she will pick up again x

[lou 26]

hi tigilou, thanks for you reply, i have thought about taking her to hospital to be honest, im just not sure what to do. Shes trying her best to be normal, bless her, but shes struggling with it although on saying that she has been better today than the last few days so i was hoping that the antibiotics are starting to take effect, until tonight and shes gone right downhill again. I havent tried baby nurofen so maybe if she needs it i will get some tomorrow and maybe ask the pharmacist for some advice whilst im there. Im sure youre right and she will improve as she has more antibiotics its just so worrying when theyre so young. Im still pondering on what to do for the best at the moment,

[tigilou]

I no its really worrying when they are ill. I had problems with the drs when my daughter was ill when ringing them for advice they couldn't help anymore (i had taken her in the morning to the dr) they were not to bothered but she was floppy and not well at all in the end i told them i would ring an ambulance and take her to hospital if she didnt improve. typically she bounced back about an hour after but i seriously would take her if she gets no better at least your mind will be put at rest and you have a second opinion at the end of the day you know your daughter and i say go with you gut feeling i really hope she feels better soon (and you) give her a kiss from me

[curiosity]

I'm sorry to hear she is still not well, my 5 year old two weeks ago had a cold and needed calpol exactly every 4 hours or her temp went up, she recovered and was good enough for school for 2 days, then again same symptoms & high temp, sleeping etc for 2 days. However because mothers are usually the best person to know, and it's says on Calpol bottle don't give for more than 3 consequetive days without consulting a doctor, you have done the right thing, and will continue to. The last time this kind of thing happened to me, was my son, and a doctor told me that 99% of the time a continually high temp is caused by a urine infection. My son had been desperate for a wee in a traffic jam one day with his aunty and didn't make an issue of it, two days later his symptoms were high temp and lethargy, generally unwell. When the NHS direct doctor told me this (5 days later) I asked my son about pain on weeing,( he didn't have any symptoms at the time) but told me about the traffic jam &said that initially it had hurt and had the symptoms of a urine infection (burning, stinging, tummyache) all that went, apart from the malaise & temp, so 5 days on we found out, only because the doctor felt that high temps continue with urine infections. Check it out, despite all the bugs flying about it's worth a try. Urine or Kidney infections do make you feel generally unwell & achy all over. Anyway, despite feeling unwell, she's lucky to have a mum like you.

[lou 26]

thank you very much curiosity and tigilou. Didnt manage to get on here yesterday but just thought i would let you know that my daughter was a lot better yesterday. Her temp has gone back to normal and shes been calpol free since Thurs night!!! lol. Joking aside, she still doesnt look well and is full of cold but shes playing normally again, so whatever it is/was it looks like the antibiotics are doing their work. Its great to have her arguing with me again! lol. Thank you very much again for your help, advice and kind words. Best wishes to both of you xxx

[gin&tonic]

i have had four children and a lot of these so called colds are actually inflammation due to teething which can cause runny noses, earache etc, try soothing ice pops to suck - but not recommended all the time due to being bad for the teeth.

[joloudav]

hi i love nurofen, it works wonders with everything, i swear by it, my son is a different boy 10 mins after giving it to him. All you can do is try.