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And I don't know what to do!

Ellis is NEVER ill.....OK, he's had an ear infection, and the sickness and runs bug (which lasted all of about 2 hours before he was running around like an eejit again)...but other than that, he seems to have to constitution of a concrete elephant.

He was fine yesterday....this morning he woke up grizzling, brought him downstairs for his breakfast and he was shivering uncontrollably - must admit, I didn't pay a lot of attention to that, as this shuddering is something he has started doing just prior to a full-blown tantrum; but over the course of the morning his temperature shot up (don't actually have a thermometer, but he was roasting...) and his breathing was fast and shallow, but no wheezing or grunting or coughing...he was just laying on the floor in front of cBeebies, not his usual over-exuberant self at all..

Up to the GP (now THAT is a rarity), buggy all the way (another rarity)....GP spoke to me in that 'You're being a paranoid mum' type of way, and has given us Paracetamol and a pretty high (IMO) dose of Amoxycillin (5 x 5ml doses a day of 125mg) 'just in case it is a bacterial infection'.

I don't know what to do....I HAVE given him the paracetamol (Medinol, which seems to be one of the better of a pretty bad bunch IMO) and he slept for 5 hours this afternoon. Temp still raging so I've just given him another dose. I'm pretty loathe to give him the antibiotics 'just in case', to be honest....his chest is clear, nose is clear, no signs of anything like a urine infection, and if it IS a virus then the antibiotics are going to do nowt but strip his gut and do nothing for the illness.....I thought I'd wait two or three days and then make a decision.

I don't want to 'rely' on the paracetamol too much, but I've tried all the usual tricks of bringing his temperature down but to no avail...he's sitting here in his nappy with the windows open, lots of water, been giving him satsumas and wiping him down with a cool wrung-out cloth (I understand the cool baths are no longer recommended as they just make temperatures soar again once they start to warm up)........any other tips? He just wants cuddles, and they just make temperatures worse too....I feel like such a rotten mummy because I just want to cwch him. Of course, he's so young he can't really tell us where it hurts, either.

Please send us some good vibes...we're supposed to be going camping on Saturday, but I've got a niggly feeling that this might be the start of chicken-pox (although GP says they've had no cases reported here for about 6 weeks, but we were mingling with other children at a wedding in Ayr on Friday...would an illness start quite that quickly??).....

Thank you from me and my poorly wee chap xxxxx

homeopathic remedies ... if they don't help they wont harm ...

I would get him some belladonna 6c for the temperature and if it is chicken pox ... Rhus tox tablets and cream ... you might find the cream comes as a cream for rheumatism .. and Rhus tox is brill for the itching have recommended it to loads and they are always amazed so much nicer than calamine. You can get them from chemists as well as health shops.

If he has trouble with sucking the tabs you can crush them between to clean dry spoons for him ...

Give both hourly for about six doses ... and don't worry its not like giving him conventional medication ... you wont over dose him ... best of luck flower ...

oh another thing if it is the pox once the spots are out he is not infectious

ah poor lad

personally, I would not give alternative medication, whilst he is on the ones from the gp.

do understand your reservation re antibots.. but in my experience they don't give them casually, so gp might have a hunch? either way, now you have started.. finish the course. otherwise you give the lurgies the chance of being immune to amoxycillin, and thats a bad thing.

to help control his temp, as well as the paracetomol, you can do afew things. dabbing with damp facecloth, going out into the cool air (my son ran such wickedly high temps i was often seen running around him him in my arms at night... running so i didn't get cold.. but bringing his temp down from scary) and drinks. plenty of drinks. ice lollies an jelly both count too.

keep an eye for rashes, ask around, and if you are still really concerned, go back to gp,

hope he is feeling lots better soon

I didn't think the antibiotics were being given ... and you can take homeopathic stuff along with conventional meds anyway ...

but you would not know what had cured ...

You're right, I've not started the antibiotics as yet. Thank you for the homeopathy tips, much appreciated.

He rallied last night once daddy was home, was very chatty and smiley though not overly boisterous; gave him a bedtime dose of paracetamol and just laid him under a fleece blanket rather than his duvet and he slept for 11 hours. Still not himself this morning, but temperature is under control and he has eaten his breakfast (barely ate anything yesterday) and he's not as grizzly as he was.
No sign of a rash, his nose seems a bit snuffly (though what is coming out is clear, so that's good) so I'm hoping that it is just a cold - one of the children he was playing with in Ayr on Friday has developed quite a nasty cold so I'm hoping that it is just that.

My 14 year old used to get bouts of this kind of thing every 4-6 weeks when he was around 3 or 4 - we were just about to get an appointment with a specialist when they stopped. We gave him paracetamol, flat cola and kept him dressed lightly - shorts and a tshirt generally and just a sheet as a cover at sleep time.

Glad to hear that your little one is on the mend - it's awful when they are poorly.

oh glad he is perking up a bit. hope he gets better soon

phew ... glad its passed ..

E was like that a few months ago (though hers was coupled with violent vomiting) she got back to normal after a few days... I am all for sleep, as much sleep as you can get them, and then some more. I have occasionally used paracetamol just to help get E asleep, knowing that her body will cope much better after the rest.

Glad to hear the wee man is a bit more chirpy - trust Dad to liven him up.

Hugs and get well vibes coming your way

Arrived late as usual!
Glad to hear the wee chap is feeling lots better now. I was also going to say belladona for his temperature. When my two now teenogres were wee and had chicken pox - if that's what it turns out to be- I gave them it and it worked a treat! I also put lavender, eucalyptus and bergamot oils in their bath. They sooth, cleanse and lift the spirits and they work really well. Their spots were cleared up way before they became itchy and sore. It also worked amazingly well on my Dads shingles - better than the Doctor stuff!

In our family, we've always used leek juice for chicken pox and shingles. Stinks the place out, but it is amazing!

Thanks for all the tips, I've got them all saved!

Well, we seem to have a full recovery....it would appear that one of the children at the wedding did indeed come down with a humdinger of a cold on the Sunday - I was holding her for a while and she was very grizzly and snotty and warm, but she's only 16 months so we just assumed it was teething or general crabbit-ness. Ellis' nose is still running slightly, but he was trashed my living room, filled the washing machine with toys and posted several megabloks out of the letterbox this morning and is now standing on the coolbox dancing away to the radio (we're going camping on Saturday, we don't normally have a coolbox in the middle of the living room); so I think it is now safe to assume he is no longer at death's door!
Haven't given him any more paracetamol since that first day, haven't touched the antibiotics; he's eating and sleeping well and is, frankly, driving me bonkers. But that's the way I like it!!

glad to hear he's on the mend. soph generally gets a "no reason" temperature a day or so before she breaks out with thrush. she just seems to have a susceptibility to it.



And not all alternative medicines can be taken with conventional meds. for my own part I'm not suposed to take iodine, despite what a herbalist told me; it can mess with my medication.
I am, however, supposed to eat lots of pineapple because it not only boosts thyroid function in a way that doesn't harm the medication, but it is also a mood stabiliser and endorphin stimulant which helps with depression too. HOWEVER, pineapple can mess about with cimpramil, cilex and citalopram anti depressants (same drug, different names).

be careful with ALL medication and ALWAYS seek advice before mixing them.