Doctors, can I ask re Dd16 returning from China trip

[dotdotdotmustdash]

I have a little concern and would appreciate any thoughts from Doctors, I do have a background as a staff nurse, but as a Scottish Mental Health nurse this is definitely outside my experience!

My Dd16 (5ft7, 8st, sproty and fit, slightly anaemic but treated) is currently on a 2.5week trip to China, in urban areas, not rural and she had all normal vaccs up to date and Hep A before she left. It's very hot there and on her 2nd day she spend several hours at the Great Wall in 40c temperatures, a temperature which she has no experience of (as I said, we're Scottish!).

We've had regular contact by wifi and she said for a few days in a row that she was feeling ill and dizzy. I had a call from her teacher on Thursday night to tell me that she had collapsed and they had taken her to hospital. The hospital did bloods, her teacher reported that they were all the 'low end of normal' and that she needed more salts. They said she probably had a mild virus and would be ok in a few days. She was sent back to the accommodation afterwards.

We've been in touch again and she now says that she feels fine.

My question is what to do now? She'll be home on Tuesday and we're planning to leave on Saturday for a weeks holiday in the UK.

Is it worth going to our own GP to have her checked out and the bloods repeated?. I'm not sure it was viral, maybe heat exhaustion but does that persist and worsen even days after the patient is living in an air-conditioned environment? Or if she says she feels Ok do we just go on with our holiday? I really don't want to end up with her ill in a strange town.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

[Bugsylugs]

When she gets home see how she, see how she feels check no temp. Obviously it is a long flight so won't be her normal self. Has she been in a malarial area?
If all ok I would just wait and see could have been so many things

[dotdotdotmustdash]

Thanks Bugsy. No, no a high risk for malaria - big cities, she went from Beijing to Tianjin by bus, lots of popular sight-seeing venues and no water-sports.

[dotdotdotmustdash]

*not a high risk

[PerspicaciaTick]

Everyone I know who has travelled in China has struggled with the food, just the unfamiliarity rather than it being bad. Could your DD have been eating less or maybe avoiding meat, leaving her a bit wobbly if active in the heat (esp. if she is already tending towards anaemia)?

[JeanSeberg]

Obvious question but had she been drinking enough in those temperatures?

[TickledOnion]

Or drinking too much water? Over hydration can be pretty dangerous too.

[lougle]

If she was sweating and drinking lots her electrolytes may have become unbalanced. Low sodium can cause the symptoms you describe.

[dotdotdotmustdash]

Thanks folks :-) I'm just a bit confused by the Chinese Doctors diagnosis of a viral infection, when it does sound like dehydration. I think I might just pop to our Gp with her within a day or two to see if everything is sorted. There's nothing worth than a call from thousands of miles away to tell you that your child is ill, it's very worrying.

[Duckdeamon]

8 stone seems low BMI for her height, 9 stone 2 or something is BMI of 20, could that be an issue?

[dotdotdotmustdash]

*worse - brain fail.

[specialsubject]

at a fairly low weight for her height she is vulnerable to dehydration in those temps, and I'd also guess she wasn't eating enough. (or losing it all....)

plenty of water and some salty snacks should sort it. Obviously if it doesn't go to a doctor. You can see any doctor in the UK as a temporary resident in an area.

[dotdotdotmustdash]

She is very slim, not skinny but lean and quite fit as she is a competitive swimmer. She's not good at drinking water and doesn't take more than a few sips even during a two hour training session. I think the dizziness symptoms started after the day she spent on the Great Wall of China and continued for about 5 days until the collapse.

I guess I'm worried that the dehydration has any lasting effects on her. I just read a report about a heatwave in Chicago in 1995 that affected lots of people and, of the people who treated for heat exhaustion, one quarter of them died within 6 months of organ failure directly related to the heat incident.

I am a worrier :-\

[Adarajames]

My sister was having similar issues with dizziness etc for ages, all in UK; was recently told was chronic dehydration - she is rubbish at drinking decent amounts each day, so from tht case id say yes, it is possible fr dehydration to affect you for days at a time, even in less hot / air conditioned spaces. Try and gt her to up her fluid intake generally, not good for us in so many ways if we don't drink enough

[specialsubject]

there you go - dehydration. Stupid not to drink enough (and eat a few salty things) in that heat.

tell her to stop kicking good health in the teeth. Then she'll be fine.

[Spydra]

Where are you visiting in the UK? Will you be within say 45 mins of a doctors/hospital if she does get ill again?

[dotdotdotmustdash]

We'll be in rural Herefordshire, but about 20 miles from a decent sized town. My DH is a senior nurse, and I'm an ex reg-nurse so we should be ok at looking after her. I'm just concerned that she'll have more after-effects that we aren't aware of, even though she feels well at the moment.

[ShanghaiDiva]

I live in China and it can be incredibly hot and humid here. Not a doctor, but sounds like dehydration. Also as you can't drink tap water here she should have mineral water with her all the time and drink frequently.
My ds is often dizzy due to jet lag and this may have bee a factor with your dd too.

[hellomynameis]

Whatever the blood results , they will generally self correct as she gets better.

I wouldn't worry.

(And a reminder to drink plenty in hot countries - coconut water is best)

[dotdotdotmustdash]

Just a follow up from this post a few weeks ago.

My Dd16 returned from China. It seems that she wasn't feeling well for much of her trip but she seemed to improve for a few weeks afterwards. About 3 weeks ago she started to feel poorly again, tired and not sleeping well. There have been several more fainting (or dizzy) spells, at least 3 in the past week.

Took her to the Gp last Wednesday and she had bloods taken and an ecg carried out. The results came back today and she appears to have and Overactive thyroid. I had a thyroid adenoma removed when I was 21 so I do understand thyroid issues, but I didn't expect this to be her problem.

She's decided to give up her competitive sport and cut down some of her school burden (she's in her final year) as she got such good results from this year's exams that she's likely to get an unconditional offer for a very good Uni next year (5 Scottish Highers, all at A grades). I'm sure she'll be fine, although we can't get an appointment to see the Gp for another fortnight.

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

Good to hear an update though shame it wasn't 'drank water & salts, was fine,!

Is she being referred to a thyroid specialist? Now the GP has the results s/he shouldn't carry on trying to treat themselves. I have noticed a tendency recently for GPs to try and handle even quite complex condition in house to avoid a referral, and it often seems to result on slower treatment and more risk of a dodgy diagnosis.

As you and your partner are both health care professionals you are probably much more in the know about these things but mentioned just in case.

[dotdotdotmustdash]

I hope they do refer her to a Specialist! She's only 16 and we really want to know why it's happened to her. If it turns out to be Grave's disease then that's fair enough, just bad luck, but I want other causes to be excluded. We will try to get a quicker appointment than we've been given because she really isn't herself at the moment. She's been an astoundingly healthy child all her life, she hasn't even had antibiotics before, so I really want to see her well again.