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Help with high temperature

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Granny Janet

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My 10 Yr old grandson has type 1. What can he be given to bring down a high temperature? My daughter gave him calpol because she was sure she'd been told it was free, checking the carbs it's apparently 50g for 50ml. Really appreciate any advice.
 
Granny Janet said:
My 10 Yr old grandson has type 1. What can he be given to bring down a high temperature? My daughter gave him calpol because she was sure she'd been told it was free, checking the carbs it's apparently 50g for 50ml. Really appreciate any advice.
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What’s the dose, though? Surely not more than 2.5 or 5ml? So minimal carbs in the grand scheme of things. I think you can get sugar free Calpol, but I must admit I haven’t looked for a long time as my kids are all grown up.
Edit. Sugar free Calpol is available, it seems to contain Maltilol, so it may appear as carb on the nutritional info, but it isn’t absorbed by the body, so won’t affect blood glucose.
Sponging down with a cloth wrung out in warm water and left to dry on the skin can also help with a high temperature.
 
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Sorry the 50g was for 5ml not 50ml. For his age he can have 10ml. She had only given him 5ml and his number reading was high during the night. He's only been diagnosed 6 months and this is the first time he's been sick, mum's just had positive covid result, fingers crossed he's not got it.
 
Granny Janet said:
Sorry the 50g was for 5ml not 50ml. For his age he can have 10ml. She had only given him 5ml and his number reading was high during the night. He's only been diagnosed 6 months and this is the first time he's been sick, mum's just had positive covid result, fingers crossed he's not got it.
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Has she been in touch with his Diabetes clinic? Most hospitals produce a sheet of 'sick day rules' for their diabetic patients, showing what to do when blood sugar levels go up during illness (it’s very common for them to do so). There’s usually a flow chart guiding you through the steps to work out if you need to give your child more insulin, and how much, and what to get them to eat.
Do you have Ketone testing strips? Either for blood finger prick tests, or urine strips? If not, contact your clinic or GP and get some prescribed.

I really can’t believe that there is 50g of carb in 5ml of Calpol. Where did you read that? I don’t think if you melted down 50g of sugar (that’s more than 3 tablespoons full) that you would end up with as small amount of liquid as a teaspoonful.
 
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Granny Janet said:
Sorry the 50g was for 5ml not 50ml. For his age he can have 10ml. She had only given him 5ml and his number reading was high during the night. He's only been diagnosed 6 months and this is the first time he's been sick, mum's just had positive covid result, fingers crossed he's not got it.
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I find it hard to believe Calpol has that many carbs in a teaspoon. I’ve just googled and MyFitnessPal says it does HOWEVER it also says it has 150g protein!! Obviously rubbish! Ignore that.

A spoonful of normal Calpol won’t matter. You can also buy sugar-free Calpol if preferred.
 
She's left a message for the support line to ask for advice, I thought asking here would help too. They do have the ketone testing strips. I think she was in shock when she saw the carbs in calpol, it's always a go to for childhood ills.
 
I realised I didn’t answer your question fully. Paracetamol/Calpol should bring down a fever. Sometimes doctors will recommend alternating Calpol with a suitable paediatric ibuprofen liquid, but stick to the Calpol for now.
 
Welcome to the forum @Granny Janet

You have already found that there is wealth of experience to tap into on here, so just ask away.
It is a lot to learn at the start, and each time something new happens there is more learning to do, but it does get easier. Do encourage your daughter to make use of her specialist support team. They are there for them and can help with adjustments as your grandson grows.

Diabetes UK runs family weekends which provides a programme for the children with T1, their siblings and for the parents. I don’t think dates have been released for next year, but these are a good opportunity to share experiences for all the family, and good fun too. Keep a watch for the dates for 2022.
 
Thank you. She does use the support team and can't praise them enough. Sometimes though they're obviously busy and take a wee while to get back.
 
Sick kids are a worry even without diabetes. As others have said paracetamol (calpol) and ibuprofen (unless he’s asthmatic) can both be used to reduce fever and treat any headaches. Look at the dosing guides for timings, generally ibuprofen is every 6+ hours and paracetamol 4+ hours so it can help to alternate them. There are melt in the mouth tablets things for kids too so it’s worth looking at the options available in sugar free formulations. I don’t think we’ve ever counted carbs in meds but then my kid is now old enough to take tablets so I haven’t given calpol in a while.

It’s normal for blood glucose to be raised during illness so lots of testing and if necessary extra insulin given - our team tends to have already talked through sick day adjustments on meters so you know how much extra to give but an email or call to the them will give you a refresh if needed. And has been mentioned check for ketones if BG is above 16.

Hope he’s fit and well soon.
 
Where did the carb content come from.
50 g of sugar is physically too big to be dissolved into the space of 5ml.

I am guessing it's the sugar free six+, as I can't find any with sugar in still, if it is.
from the manufactuerer
■ Sorbitol and maltitol may have a mild laxative effect. Each 5 ml of this product contains 1.935 g of sorbitol and 2.04 g of maltitol. Calorific values: 2.6 kcal/g sorbitol and 2.3 kcal/g maltitol.

 
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You’ve got the carbohydrate content wrong. 5ml of liquid weighs 5g, so even if the only content was pure sugar, it would only have 5g carbs per 5ml. In reality there are other things in there so it’s less than 5g carb per 5ml.
 
Lucyr said:
You’ve got the carbohydrate content wrong. 5ml of liquid weighs 5g, so even if the only content was pure sugar, it would only have 5g carbs per 5ml. In reality there are other things in there so it’s less than 5g carb per 5ml.
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To be pedantic, technically that's only true for water.
Oil is lighter for instance. It floats on water.
5ml of mercury weighs about 68g, but you wouldn't be drinking mercury, but it's oddly all I could think off.
(Actually, 1 litre of sugar solution 68 brix weighs 1.34 kg, which is about as high as you can get for sugar syrup - remembered my winemaking)

Maybe it's being a bit picky on 5ml, but if you are drinking a litre of something, don't assume it's going to be a kilo in weight.
If that is being over picky, sorry.
 
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travellor said:
To be pedantic, technically that's only true for water.
Oil is lighter for instance. It floats on water.
5ml of mercury weighs about 68g, but you wouldn't be drinking mercury, but it's oddly all I could think off.
(Actually, 1 litre of sugar solution 68 brix weighs 1.34 kg, which is about as high as you can get for sugar syrup - remembered my winemaking)

Maybe it's being a bit picky on 5ml, but if you are drinking a litre of something, don't assume it's going to be a kilo in weight.
If that is being over picky, sorry.
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There’s some variation yes, but you need to take into account the understanding of the poster and the context of the question.

In the context of someone thinking there can genuinely be 50g of carbs in 5ml of calpol, it’s best to give simple guidelines that can be used as a general sense check, like “more than 5g carbs in 5ml of liquid that isn’t pure sugar is unlikely to be true”.
 
Lucyr said:
There’s some variation yes, but you need to take into account the understanding of the poster and the context of the question.

In the context of someone thinking there can genuinely be 50g of carbs in 5ml of calpol, it’s best to give simple guidelines that can be used as a general sense check, like “more than 5g carbs in 5ml of liquid that isn’t pure sugar is unlikely to be true”.
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I entirely agree. I said the same thing in the post above yours.
But I didn't simplify it though?
 
'A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter' LOL - does still come in useful at odd times during quizzes!
 
Granny Janet said:
Thank you. She does use the support team and can't praise them enough. Sometimes though they're obviously busy and take a wee while to get back.
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Hope your grandson bounces back soon @Granny Janet

Might be worth asking his support team about ‘sick day rules’, they may well have a sheet you can print out and keep for reference?

Have you been recommended the book Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - considered to be the 'bible' for children and young people on insulin regimes. Might be a useful source of reference?
 
Granny Janet said:
He's just had a positive covid test so they've had help from the support team.
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Oh no! Sorry to hear this Janet

Hope it’s only a very mild case, and he recovers speedily.
 
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