Fevers, Antibiotics... A few questions!

My little man (14 months) has been running a fever since (at least) 1am Friday morning. (He woke crying and vomiting) His temps without panadol/Neurofen are 39.5+ We went to Dr Friday arvo as I already had an appt for me. She diagnosed tonsillitis (the vomiting being attributed to the fever) and gave me a script for ABs but to wait until today to give to see if he was fighting it off or getting worse. He was worse overnight, fever raging and only dropping to 38.5 at the lowest, but mainly hovering around 39 even with the panadol/Neurofen tandem. He is getting steadily more miserable and eating less but still drinking well.

So my question, should I be worried about the fevers? How long should ABs take to show some effect? When should I go back to the Dr? I really need to work Monday, but its not looking likely at the moment :(

=( your poor boy.
abs do kick in pretty quick, usually notice a difference in the first 24hrs. my only concern is im sure majority of tonsillitis is viral? so abs might not even do anything. Someone else might have a better idea.
other things you can try for yhe fever is tepid bath etc.. (if your not doibg that already)

Most GP's would not mess around with Tonsillitis and give a Penicillin AB to take straight away.
Some fevers are good fevers as in fighting the virus, Tonsillitis is a different kettle of fish. It sounds like he has a pretty mighty dose of Tonsillitis so I would give the AB's another 12hrs to kick in before going back to the GP.
My niece just had it, her AB's kicked in over night.
Just make sure he is getting plenty of fluids, don't to be worried about not eating as he probably does not feel like it and it might be hurting his throat. Iceypoles may help.

Our eldest is prone to tonsillitis and can't take the good AB's. Our GP never messes around with it particularly when he has spiked a high fever. Our temp usually breaks withing 24 hours after the initial dose of AB's, if he still isnt finding any relief after that a check up certainly wont hurt. Because of the type of SB we use we usually have to go back in a week to make sure its helping anyway. Make sure you keep the fluids up to him where you can.

He has just woken with a temp of 39.9 :( I'm sponging him with a face washer... I hate this!

Unfortunately that is all you can do at the minute. Has h started the meds? If not, I'd start them now. I'm surprised your Gp wanted you to wait, tonsillitis is something to action straight away as it doesn't resolve itself.

The meds should kick in pretty quickly but it may take a couple of doses to see big improvement. Try to keep his fluids up any way you can. Ice cream, jelly, custard all count as fluids. And keep up regular panadol and neurofen for pain.

If he breaks 40 or becomes lethargic or hallucinates, I would recommend a trip to ED where they can assess if he needs IV antis or IV fluids.

Hang in there.

I just saw its 39.9, if you're happy at home, wait to see if it climbs to 40. Is he due for pain relief? If so give it but if it doesn't come down I'd go to hospital. If he's not due, I'd consider going in.

Thanks MG! He was due meds which have helped immensely, albeit slowly. If his temp goes way back up (it seems to be getting higher each time)ill try and get back in with my Dr.

The important thing is keeping them hydrated which can be tricky with tonsillitis. Cool drinks will help keep the temp down. Hopefully he improves soon for you. I would expect improvement by this afternoon. Xo

Thanks , I'm still breastfeeding so he's happy to have that and water. His temp after Panadol is much lower this mornings so hopefully on the mend.

Update! After a horror Saturday night I took DS2 to an "after hours" GP as my GP practice was booked out. She had a cursory look over him and said she didn't think it was tonsillitis, probably a cold and teething and to stop the antibiotics as they were pointless and he didn't look too sick!!! She didn't bother taking his temp.
When we finally got home DS2 had droopy red eyes, was unusually quiet and refused his lunch. He had a sleep and woke screaming with temps over 40!!! I took him to the hospital where they said they could see his infected tonsils and recommended a change of ABs. They took a wee sample which was all clear. The hospital staff were awesome, reassuring and supportive of my mummy instincts as opposed to the dismissive GP :(

So we've had two lots of the new ABs, his temp before the next lot of meds is still in the high 38s :( my poor little man... I think he'll need at least another day at home but my classes are running riot at work so DH will stay home tomorrow and I'm home Wed/Thursday anyway! It's been more than 84 hours of fever and I've had enough!!!

what a crappy gp!! glad the hospital sorted it out. fx it just keeps coming down for you and he gets better

I'm glad you went to the hosp and they have changed the abs for you. Hopefully you see a big improvement soon

:hug: My DD2 was admitted to hospital for 6 days when she was 4 with strep tonsillitis & glandular fever. We started the ABs for the tonsillitis, but gp was worried about glandular fever as both have vary similar symptoms. I was to go back 2 days later. By this time she'd stopped swallowing, was swollen in the face & neck, refusing abs & water, as well as any pain relief. Temps were only coming down to 38.8 with the rare dose of panadol/nurofen i could get in. We took her in to ED & it took them 5 hours to see her. She was drooling coz she couldn't swallow.
After 24 hours & lots of problems with trying IV fluids we went with the NGT & she FINALLY started to improve. Tests in hospital showed she def had both. So we had to change abs for the glandular fever & it took another 5 days of trying coke, ice cream, flavoured milk, juice... anything to get her to start eating & drinking.
It was heart breaking & I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I'm glad he's improving slightly & I hope he continues to get better :)

:hug: So glad you went to hospital. Hope he improves quickly for you, your pool little man.