Baby Temperature

Ok I have looked on here far and wide, what is considered high for bubs temperature and when would you give him panadol?

Matty's was 38 earlier today and I gave him panadol then. It is now 37.4, is that still high?

37.4 would probably just be outside of normal, so another dose of panadol should see him right. I don't normally bother with doctors for fevers unless panadol hasn't brought it down or if it is really high.... never forget Kam and his 40c temp :-s

Love

I asked the GP this recently and she said if it was 38 it was a temperature and to try panadol, but not to worry if it was below 38. But I guess it depends on how long it goes on for, I go by the theory that even mild temperature should be checked if they go on for over a day.

I have heard that 37.4 is the start temp for a low-grade fever, and anything below that is normal.
Having said that though... when Aidyn was younger he had temps of 37.4 or 37.5 for days and weeks, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with him (and we had him checked for infections and everything).

Thanks for asking Shannon, we've had an up and down afternoon. We have just taken his temp again and it is 38.4 now... DH is starting to panic a bit but he is feeding well now (he wasn't before), now he is getting and bath, then we'll try a feed.

goota go, he isn't happy

Nell, is it teeth?

Nyah got 4 teeth at a time and going through that, she constantly had temps of 40-42 degress was her highest.

If it doesn't go down, just keep a close eye on himcoz they can fit if it get to hig, above 39-40.

Luke warm bath sounds good for him, with Panadol, he may even sleep for a couple of hrs.

Kisses on his forhead for me ok. O:)

Poor little sausage! I hope he is ok!!

thanks for your responses ladies

Nadia - teething actually ran through my mind so that may very well be it.

He is snoozing happily atm so fingers crossed he wakes well tomorrow

Nell - How is Matthew today?

I was given a baby book at hospital and in it it says that Babies have a high temp anything higher then 37 and when it hits 37.5 it`s class as a fever

Thats a great idea Kate. When I train vet nurses I have them take the temp of every animal they come across so they can find the right idea about what is "normal". With Matilda I've taken her temp so much and I was surprised to see it stay around 37 the majority of the time (maybe its because she's running around so much...)

Friday night was a shocking night, his temp come down a little but he just wouldn't sleep, in the end we ended up taking him to our bed and he slept there. I think we ended up getting 3 hours sleep that night.

Good news is that he no longer has a temp, just a really running nose and a bit of a cough. So he was just coming down with something. He slept well last night so all in all, he is on the mend.

Thanks for your help ladies!

Just a little DYN... Did you know babies are more prone to infections and bugs when they are teething? :)

I certainly didn't know that, I only thought it would be one thing or another!

Poor mite has a double barrel most likely, teething and cold.

Nell - Glad Matthew is slowly on the mend

That`s interesting to know Kelly, must be why Matthew came down with gastric last week while teething.

Poor little Bear :hug: I hope he feels better soon Nell.

LOL I am the biggest stress head when it comes to temps, I can usually tell my kids temps by touching their foreheads LOL. I have become very good, esp after having 2 children who had febrile convulsions (they can convulse if the temp gets too high too quickly, which is why people tend to be concerned when a child's temp is high) It's actually supposed to be not how high it is but how fast it gets there as to whether they have a convulsion or not. Jordan had her 1st at 13 mths and we had no idea what to do, She had another at 3. Josh had 2 within 2 days when he was 14 mths and then another a few mths after. So far Jemma hasn't had any and neither has jessica (touch wood)!

A dr told me over 38 is a fever, under is classed as normal, but if you know your bubs normal temp then you can sort of judge it for yourself after awhile. I give panadol at 37.5 or over. I figure they are a little up so why not. Of course my aim is to aoid convulsions. The other thing is to strip them down to singlet and nappy anything over 38. I actually hate the tepid bath, cos I find that when I get them out they shiver, shivering is the bodies way of increasing it's temp, therefore it is a vicious cycle of hot, cool, hotter IYKWIM. I prefer spongy the body. the idea too is to keep the child hydrated.

While it is a very scary thing, if your child does convulse the first aid, is to place them on their side and clear the mouth if they vomit. Take a look at the time it starts and finishes, and call an ambulance. Usually they sleep for awhile and by the time you get to the hospital they are fine. mostly high temps are caused by infection, teeth cause low grade fevers under 38.

I have spent hrs waitin in the ch'ns hosp while my "very sick" child races around the triage! Most children never convulse. My niece was 41 degreees and nothing happened.

Nell i hope Matty is better soon and if it is teeth they start to pop out. Is he off his food at all? That is usually a part of teeth too. I hope I haven't scared anybody!

Cheers michelle

Hey Michelle, thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate you sharing your experience and if he did convulse I know I would have panicked big time! Luckily its just a cold and if it is teeth, they haven't popped yet.

He isn't off his food, the way he gobbles it down I think he'd rarely be off it if at all!

This sounds bad - but I have never taken Jennas temp. I dont even have a thermometer! Something my mum always told me, dont buy one cause you will always be checking their temp, and will panic if she goes over!
So we do it by gut feel. If she feels super hot, we take some clothes off. If she's cranky as well, we consider giving panadol, but usually I try bb first, as that usually calms anything.

Our MCHN really pushed home that fever is actually a good thing, and it is part of the bodies reaction to infection. AS long as its only slightly elevated, the body is actually doing what its supposed to, so why mess with it by dosing with baby panadol?
Unless of course there is other problems too.

Each parent to their own though!

Fi

Same here, Fi. In fact, I was talking to Mum about it on Sunday and she said that she never owned a thermometer with 4 kids. She said you just know when the temp is too high. I am of the same mind... if I had a thermometer, I think it would make me a little paranoid and I would be checking all the time. In saying that, I bet I run out the door to buy one when Gabby gets really sick, LOL.

Cause we are all sick here Deb, I actually looked at the pharmacy today for a thermometer. The one I wanted (Omron) was $80, and its an instant ear one. The cheaper one, $17 takes a minute under the armpit to get a reading, and that just seems impossible for a sick baby to stay still.
I'll see if I can find one that does less than that for a reasonable price, but I just dont see myself paying $80 for the other one. Oh - and the replacement earprobes are $25 for a pack of 40.

Fi

It's so funny how much info is conflicting. It is supposed to bring the fever down 1 deg in the 4 hrs and yes it will go up after the dose, which is why 4 hrly doses. I guess the trick is that it's no good just giving panandol constantly and that if you are continuing to use panadol you should see a dr, IYKWIM? If your child has a fever there must be a reason for it and that may need treatment. But when I take kids to the drs and they are unwell the dr wil say panadol 4 hrly so go figure.

I brought the thermometer after the feb convulsions, cos for my peace of mind I need to know, but I don't run around after them all day LOL, don't have time.

I have seen them brand new on ebay so maybe if you do want one you could look on there.

Cheers michelle

okay i must admit with my first dd i used to constantly take her temp whenever her forehead felt warmish - i was a bit obsessed there, and i used a digital under the arm one - which of course she hated to keep still and got so upset and even hotter 8-[

have totally relaxed alot about it now - when my dd had her brain tumour one of her first things to go was part of her brain that controlled body temp and i never took her temp once.

i just generally go for a feel of the tummy, forehead and legs etc - when they have a high temp they feel different. i did buy a braun ear thermometre this year and it has been invaluable, only about 1mth ago ds had a temp of 40.9 and was hallucinating and vomiting - thank god no convulsion - off to hospital we went and i never give panadol before taking them to see a doc and his temp had dropped back down to 38 within the hour.

it is scary when it goes that high - have never had that in this house before but i generally go buy if over 38 then panadol and i check it four hrs later and give panadol if high again or if they are asleep i don't wake them i just wait until they wake.

the doc at the emergency dpt told me not to bother too much with panadol if ds temp was high and his general manner was normalish (if thats a word lol).

on the vaccination thing - when dd was getting her vaccinations it was quite routine to give panadol before the vaccination back then it was called triple antigen shot - i had a good friend in the medical field who said it would be wise to try the infanrix which back then cost around $50 - there was less side effects and panadol was generally not required - since then infanrix is the normal they give you (for the whopping cough, diptheria and tetnus) and i have only ever had to give lani panadol around 4hrs after her first lot of shots at 2mths of age as she was quite upset and distressed.

Yeah... my MCHN said they used to advise people to give the baby some panadol before injections because of the types of injections they were getting. She said it is no longer necessary and to only give panadol if the baby's temp. goes up as a result of the injections.

Hi Nell,

Hope little Matty is feeling better.

Could it be hand, foot and mouth (dont worry, sounds much worse than it is)? Aidan had it about a month ago and his symptoms were high temp and a nasty cold. It is called that because towards the end of the virus they get small blisters on their hands, feet and/or.... their mouth. It is a virus so best treatment is fluid, food, sleep and lots of Mummy cuddles!

Aidan passed it onto me and it is pretty horrible in adults, mainly because we develop whopping, sore, horrible, yucky, gross (i think you get my point!) blisters in the mouth and it is honestly impossible to eat or drink. But they say most babies dont develop the blisters in their mouth so they might not even know about it!