Can you help???

[NIE]

Hi girls.

I have a question that I would like your help with.


On Friday my son had a low grade fever of around 38.2 and was eating and drinking well, and generally seemed ok.

Yesterday he had the runs twice and was off his food but fine.

Today he has had the runs once and is not eating much again but still a very happy wee boy.


I believe that we are going through another bad teething stage, but a family member is insistent that there is something else wrong and that I should take him to my GP.

What you you think? I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall....

 

[Sherlock]

If he seems bright in himself and isn't running a high temp continuously then I'd probably take the wait and see approach. If he had a high fever and was unhappy then I'd be off to the Docs. He may have had a tummy bug for 24-48 hours and that will just need time to get out of his system.

If he is taking fluids well and does not seem to be suffering dehydration from the runs and so on I'd keep a close eye and take him to the Doc if things seem to not get better or get worse. But if he continues to improve then I"d not go to Docs.

Of course, every Mum will treat this situation differently. You know your child best so go with what you feel is right for him.

 

[Jollypops]

As Sherlock has said you know your child best, however if it was me as long as LO seems happy, fine and peeing normally then i wouldnt run to the doctors just yet. If started to seem unhappy, temp continued they i would.

As i dont no what age your child is could there be a chance that he could be teething??

 

[purple13]

i posted on monday cos connor was really poorly sunday night - temp of 40.4 (underarm) and screaming. on monday his temp was up and down (high of 39.4) so i kept on with calpol, and he's had a bit of diarrhoea over the last 3 days. although i called the out of hours doc on sunday night and asked for a phone consultation with my gp on monday (they never bothered calling me back! ) i haven't bothered actually taking him to the doctors.

fever isn't actually a bad thing - it shows that your baby's body is functioning as it should; for every 1 degree above normal, your body creates 20 times more T cells which fight infection. treating a low grade fever with paracetamol etc can actually hinder the body's natural ability to heal itself. a temperature above 41 is life-threatening, above 40.5 is serious, but below that is much less of a concern and quite usual when the body is fighting infection.

(bear in mind that mouth/ear temp is the most accurate - underarm usually shows .3 - .5 degrees lower than actual)

you know your baby. if you think he seems happy enough, then trust your instincts.

 

[NIE]

Hi and thanks for the replies.

I was right. It seems that it was teething after all. We now have the 7th tooth through at 11 months old. (That shut up the annoying family member)

Some people think they know best.....and I agree that no one knows the baby/child better than their mummy.