# Underarm temp 38.8 what to do?



## sunshine114

Lo hasn't been right for a while, not eating properly for a couple of days, last night had temp of 37.9 and was sick. Had calpol but woke this morning with a cold. Has had calpol all day, is clearly poorly but his temp has gone up to 38.8 degrees c. Underam. What should I do????


----------



## Mrsmitch80

Hi, do you think it's the cold causing the temp or something else? As long as he doesn't have a rash or seem too unwell I'd strip him off and keep on the calpol to keep the temp down. As long as it stays under 40 he'll be ok overnight until you can see a doc tomorrow.

My daughter has lots of health problems and regularly has a temp, it's frightening but as long as you keep them cool it's just their body fighting something off.

If it rises to 40 overnight I'd go straight to a&e rather than an out of hours service.

Hope he's better soon xx


----------



## sunshine114

Thank you so much for replying He's not been ill before so it's worrying. X


----------



## Janidog

Have you got an ear temperature gadget? I found that they work better


----------



## Mrsmitch80

I know Hun, the first few times we were faced with a temp we'd go to the out of hours doc and wait for ages just to be told to give calpol! 

If you need to use a cool bath and you can give ibuprofen too to bring a temp down even more. 

You must be worried sick but just remember his body is doing a good job if his temp is up and it needs to be high to kill any infection.

Take care, think you'll be in for a long night xxx


----------



## tu123

You can also give LO 5mls of baby ibuprofen.:thumbup: 

With a temp like that the main thing to worry about is bringing it down. So calpol AND ibuprofen maybe needed. As well as taking any layers off, etc.

And try and get an ear probe too. Underarm can be inaccuarate if not done properly.

Edit. How much does LO weigh? When we had to go to Anad E after a febrile convulsion we were told to give her no less than 7.5mls per dose.


----------



## sunshine114

Thanks all! I've sent my brother to the big tesco down the road to get an ear thermometer to double check. I've stripped him down to his vest (but worried about him getting a chill as it's cold here today. He had calpol an hour ago - when can I give ibuprofen? Should I wait a little longer? He's so tired as well which doesn't help, but he can't settle. His nose is running and his eyes are watering and he is whimpering and moaning :-(


----------



## Janidog

sunshine114 said:


> Thanks all! I've sent my brother to the big tesco down the road to get an ear thermometer to double check. I've stripped him down to his vest (but worried about him getting a chill as it's cold here today. He had calpol an hour ago - when can I give ibuprofen? Should I wait a little longer? He's so tired as well which doesn't help, but he can't settle. His nose is running and his eyes are watering and he is whimpering and moaning :-(

I would wait another hr, so you can double check on his temp and also it means you giving him pain meds every few hours rather then in one go :hugs:


----------



## Mrsmitch80

The poor thing, prop him up it should unblock his nose a little. You can get karvol rub for his chest too, also lots of fluids, I find it's best to just use a normal lidless cup and let him take tiny sips. I always find my daughter can't suck when her nose is blocked

Xx


----------



## sunshine114

Thanks, I'm not sure his exact weight, I've just stood him on our scales and he's a little over 25lb x


----------



## sunshine114

Got the karvol rub and the capsules on a muslin too to try and help


----------



## sunshine114

His ear temperature is 39 in both ears


----------



## Janidog

Ok i would then give your LO the ibuprofen but double check how much to give him, and at the moment just cuddle him while keeping him in his nappy only.


----------



## Janidog

My LO had a high temp for about 4 days when we had a really hot few days in summer and it was awful, but kept him cool and just dosed him up :hugs:


----------



## polaris

I would give the ibuprofen now to try and get the temperature down. When Thomas had a 40 degree temperature recently (tonsillitis in his case) the Calpol alone wasn't bringing it down, he needed both. You don't need to leave a gap between giving Calpol and ibuprofen as they are totally different medicines. However check the bottles for dosage and how often you can give them as it is different for each.


----------



## jkbmah

yes whne my LO had a 40 degree temp over xmas we gave calpol and ibuprofen alternately every 4 hours or so. Also giving him a bath might help - leave him to air dry.

I would also call the out of hours docs (we did this in the middle of the night when it ws 40 degrees), he told us that so long as calpol and ibuprofen brings it down to 38.5 or lower then she would be fine until morning. We then rang up in the morning sand made an appoint for the middle of the day. turns out she needed antibiotics for a throat infection.

I would aim to do this if there is a service because he could have an infection of some sort and he might need antib's that cant wait until Monday


----------



## sunshine114

I've given him the nurofen now and he's just had a bottle and has fallen asleep. Will prob be up keeping an eye on him mOst of the night. He's just gone into a cot bed so we don't have the movement mat anymore so I'm ultra paranoid! Think I'll ring out of hours tomorrow if temp still high, just to rule out throat or ear infection. He's never been to the doctors before :-(


----------



## tu123

With a high temp give both. At 25lbs 5mls calpol should be enough for your LO.

We were advised to give calpol AND ibuprofen on waking, calpol 4hrs later then bth again 4hours after that.

My daughter had tonsillitus and had fevers on and off for three weeks. The peadiatric said it was totally safe to give them regularly if neccessary and not to skip any doses if LO is obviously suffering. 

After Lil had two febrile convulsions i now truly appreciate why keeping that temp down is so important rather than worrying about using meds all the time:thumbup:

I hope LO gets better soon and that you look after yourself too. Mummy often gets it first!


----------



## Whisper

My daughter has been really ill the last couple of days temp of just under 40 usually around 39.3, she has Tonsillitis so it turns out. 

I would give calpol and ibuprofen every 6hrs. So he gets a dose of one every 3hrs and just alternate, if that makes sense?

Calpol at 12
ibuprofen at 3
calpol at 6 
ibuprofen at 9
etc etc

Hope he feels better soon. Also baths are not recommended when they have fevers. Just make sure he drinks lots doesn't matter if he isn't eating much.

Trust your instincts. 

I've been sleeping on the floor in my daughters room the last couple of nights, its tough surviving on only 2hrs sleep but its what us mummys are made for! 

:hug:


----------



## tu123

Whisper said:


> My daughter has been really ill the last couple of days temp of just under 40 usually around 39.3, she has Tonsillitis so it turns out.
> 
> I would give calpol and ibuprofen every 6hrs. So he gets a dose of one every 3hrs and just alternate, if that makes sense?
> 
> Calpol at 12
> ibuprofen at 3
> calpol at 6
> ibuprofen at 9
> etc etc
> 
> Hope he feels better soon. Also baths are not recommended when they have fevers. Just make sure he drinks lots doesn't matter if he isn't eating much.
> 
> Trust your instincts.
> 
> I've been sleeping on the floor in my daughters room the last couple of nights, its tough surviving on only 2hrs sleep but its what us mummys are made for!
> 
> :hug:

Poor you and LO!

Lil had this before xmas last year. Lasted such a long time and then she got an ear infection with it. Poor little mites.

I second the drinking. If LO wont eat, dont worry about it, just push fluids.


----------



## Mrsmitch80

Morning, how's your lo now? Hope he's a bit better xx


----------

