At 19 months my son has started exactly the same thing. Now, in his case, he was never a great sleeper, but was sleeping through the night most of the time. Now, all of a sudden he is waking up screaming. I go in to check, and he seems fine. The only thing that really consoles him right now is to be brought into bed with my husband and I. I am assuming he is just needing the closeness, so that is what we are doing. He will almost immediately go back to sleep snuggled into one of us. The reading I did on night terrors suggested he was a bit young for them (as this is what I initially thought as well), but who knows. That could very well be the case. Also, could it be teething? Or perhaps just that he is still not feeling well. This started for us during a minor virus...no fever, just diarea and an off appetite. He is over that now, but still sleeps better with us.
Anyway, just a few possibilities. Good luck to you.
good thoughts there from abigail has your son been put onto a course of meds, that would indeed cause some night terrors/ dreaming
Sounds like night terrors, my son had these for weeks at a time- then they would stop- then all of sudden they would start back. It turned out after going to several doctors, he was experiencing night terrors as a side effect from his ALLERGY medication. The reason they would stop and start is he didnt take the meds regularly, since they were relief for seasonal allergies. I would see if the doc could write a new script if they just started and nothing else has changed
Has his fever gone down how does he seem in himself could he have any tummy pain ? There is such a thing as night terrors ,does he sleep in his own room or is another child sharing, any TV in the room may be on before he goes to sleep. Try having soothing stories and music before bed, no loud or stimulating cartoons . good luck