Fever - When to go to the hospital?

S

spockey

Registered User
My little man has had a temperature between 37.5 and 39.5 degrees C dependent on when he has taken baby panadol.
I'm not one to usually panic. Especially since he is still happy. Only thing abnormal is his lack of appetite.

I'm wondering when I should start panicking and head to the Emergency Room of a hospital?
 
I would take him to see your doctor if he has had this temperature for a little while and is also off his food. It might be just a virus, as you say he still semms happy, but it's better to get these things checked. If it tips 40 degrees and won't come down with panadol and sponging down with tepid water-then it's time to take action.
 
i'd follow jools advice.
has he had a cold recently? if so, he may have an ear infection. my son gets them EVERY time he even gets a runny nose. so at first sign of a fever, i'm off to the dr to get ear drops for his inevitable ear infection....

good luck!
 
Thanks Ladies!

I discovered the efficiency of HK's public health system today... which for mums not in the know is important.

Here it is:

When baby is ill with high temperature, ring the hospital first, inform the receptionist what's going on and she will transfer your call to a nurse. The nurse will ask you gazillion questions and by the end of it, you would be able to ascertain if you should still proceed to the A&E.

This was invaluable for me today as bub started throwing up along with the fever and we (hubby and I) couldn't agree on whether to go to the hospital or stay.

I also have a list of all public and private hospitals in HK and Macau with numbers and information on whether A&E is available.

If you need this info sheet, please PM me and I'll send it to you.
 
Do all private hospitals run 24 hr clinics? Was just wondering what to do if needed to take baby to a hospital....if we headed for a private hospital, would we have to call a pedietrician to meet us there, or do they have them on call?
 
I don't think all the private hospitals run 24 clinics. Will check and we'll list them in the Directory for future.

We had an emergency when D was around 8 weeks. He had Bronchiolitis and in the middle night he started wheezing and gasping for air. We rushed him to Canossa's out patient clinic. There is a jr Dr there in the evenings and he stabilized D. First thing in the morning, the hospital called our Pediatrician, and she came to see him. He was fine by then and she discharged him.
 
Spockey, hope your little man is feeling better today. Did you end up going to the A&E?
 
Spockey
we had the same thing with our 10 month old a few weeks ago - i took him to the doc as i had never seen him so quiet (and the throwing up was scary) but it was really just a case of panadol and fluids and he got better in a few days - i hope was the same for you. always makes you feel better to get medical opinion (especially for first time mums!)
 
When my lo was 9 months old we had gone to Zuhai for a holiday. The very night we reached there she got fever... The doctor on call prescribed baby medicine. The next morning she was beter but as the day passed she developed fever again and the temperature reached 40 degrees. We were asked to go to the local hospital immediately. There the non english speaking doctor managed to convey that she had developed infection in her blood after a test. We were damn scared. We were advised to stay in China that night and not to travel... the next morning we rushed to hong kong.... All this while her fever was under cntrol due to the medicines... but by afternoon she started developing fever again. We rushed to the hospital...

She was admitted immediately as there were some rashes appearing as well.. She was kept under observation and after the blood tests the doctors told us that she had developed Kavasaki disease.

We had never heard of this. But if not treated on time....within 5 days of fever... her heart could have been affected. There are many symptoms of kavasaki but not all develop so many a times family doctors cannot diognize it on time.

Its been almost a year now. But she still has to go for regular heart check up. Thank God all times the reports are normal.
 
Hi ladies.
We waited it out til morning then took him to Tsuen Wan Adventist.
He has been hospitalised for today.
I think the doctor has recommended that he stay for two but bub is so uncomfortable there that I am insisting that he goes home tomorrow. Otherwise I am insisting he goes to another.

I would like to know though what your private hospital experience has been. I am quite disappointed with Tsuen Wan Adventist because of the following reasons:

  • afternoon shift nurse seemed quite amatuerish when dealing with bub e.g. couldn't get drip needle in properly... took three tries! You can only imagine my screaming son. They didn't even want us in the room to observe or comfort him but I stood my ground.
  • 5 babies in a room - we would never have had this in a private ward in Sydney... maybe at most 2.
  • Junior doctor was sent to examine him and take his blood... again took several tries!

Is this the norm in HK private hospitals? Or should I have simply headed to the a private hospital on the island? Coz to be honest, it felt like I was paying private fees for private service.
 
Hi- I have never had to take my son to hospital yet (thank g_d) but have myself have been admitted to the Matilda, Adventist (HK Island) and Canossa and my experiences at all of them don't fit with your experiences in Tsuen Wan/. I have never had anything but fantastic medical service and general patient care at each hospital.

Although once at the HK Adventist I also had a nurse that couldn't get a drip into my arm....and another nurse had to come and do it...your poor little boy, it must have been agony.
However HK in general is sufferring from a nurse shortage so a lot of hospitals are hiring inexperienced nurses out of desperation.

For adults the number of patients in a room depends on what class you pay for- we had friends whose baby has been admitted to the Adventist, HK several times, and as our insurance only covers semi private their baby had to share a room with one other baby. However the last time they were there they made a fuss and insisted baby had its own room, which they got given.

My private hospital experiences in HK have been nothing but fantastic.
 
Thanks Beckyboo. I know now that we will not be returning to Tsuen Wan Adventist. I am insisting that my son gets discharged today or transferred to another hospital.
 
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