to take my son to A&E

[kat088]

Completely freaking out at the moment because my son has a large hard painful lump on his leg that is getting bigger and more painful, pain worse at night. A quick google shows that this is not good news, saw doc on Thurs am who made urgent referral for an X-ray. Nothing has come through yet and I am beside myself with worry. A lot of me just wants to take him to A&E to get this xray, but I am also aware of the pressures on them at the moment and that there is a referral coming. WIBU?

[CrazyGreyhoundLady]

Phone the doctors and check on the referral, tell them it is getting larger! I fear even if you take him to a&e they may just make another referral and not actually xray the lump because it isn't an accident or emergency. Sorry you are going through this and I hope it is nothing serious.

[LTBforGin]

I think I'd try ooh gp first . They may be able to chase up the x ray?

[GreenTureen]

My sister had something similar when she was about 14...a hard lump on her knee/just above that grew over a period of weeks that was fairly painful.

The GP also 'urgently' referred her and my mum was freaking out. She went for an Xray and the results were 'mmm, yeah, it's a lump' . Just one of those things that they do nothing about.

It stopped getting bigger, the pain went and is only slightly visible to the eye, mainly when you feel it.

Don't freak out, just go with the treatment suggested, it may well be nothing

[SoupDragon]

If it has got worse since Thursday I would go to an out of hours clinic or walk in centre. If it is the same, I would just chase the referral on Monday.

i wouldn't go to A &E for this unless it had got far far worse and my child was in agony.

[kat088]

Thanks all

[LotsoNumbers]

A&E isn't a fast track service, so yes you would be very unreasonable since this is not an accident or an emergency

[GahBuggerit]

is it one of those gangelon things? my mum had one near her knee, v painful and she had to wait ages for referral to get it drained. i think the more concerning lumps are softer?

id try ooh first to see if there are any stronger painkillers that they can give. a&e wont do anything......mind you i was told to go to a&e over an abscess, i thought it was an overreaction but they stuck a drip in me immediately and was kept in overnight i thoughttheyd send me away for wasting their time!

[HicDraconis]

Having read this thread on chat, yes I think you would be unreasonable to take an issue that is neither Accident nor Emergency to A&E because you want an X-ray.

X-ray of the leg isn't going to show much if it's a soft tissue lump anyway, he'd need an MRI for that. If paracetamol and ibuprofen aren't controlling the pain well enough then ooh GP for extra analgesia is definitely worth a try. Calling your GP on Monday to chase up the X-ray request is also not a bad idea.

[Bitlost]

Do you trust your GP? Do you know the referral has actually been made and is not sitting there waiting to be typed?

If the answer is no, I'd go to a&e and see if they can help. If you go there and it's super busy, you can always go home.

At my local hospital, we have a children's a and e - is that the case for you too? I think in your situation, I'd want to talk to a paediatrician rather than a GP...

[3luckystars]

Follow up witI the Gp and tell them how worried you are, but if the situation is changed and your son is unwell then GO BACK to the Gp and if your gut feeling is that he is deteriorated and it's serious then definitely go to a and e. Only you can get assess the situation and it could be anything. Good luck and I hope things improve soon.

[Iwannabelikecommonpeople]

Has there previously been an injury or something to cause this? ie. playing football a pulled muscle could actually be torn causing a hard painful lump. How old is he? I think if pain is so bad he can't sleep I would def consider a+e. Good luck.

[thatdearoctopus]

Yes, YWBU.
This is not an accident or an emergency and you have seen a GP and have been referred.

[kat088]

Thanks everyone. It's on the bone, hard, painful and now warm. To me it feels like an emergency but I'll wait until Monday.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

Ultrasound is the best imaging modality for lumps. Most of these turn out to be lipomas , which are harmless.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

If it's warm it could be a cyst brewing.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

Have you given pain relief. ( so many people rock up to A&E with painful something or other and when asked if paracetamol has been taken they say no ! )

[SoupDragon]

To me it feels like an emergency but I'll wait until Monday.

There are other non emergency options though.

[thatdearoctopus]

Wait until Monday for what? To try A&E then? Or the GP again?

[WeAllHaveWings]

111 or ooh doc if you are worried.

[SparklyLeprechaun]

How does the referral work in your area, are you actually expecting an appointment from the hospital? I'm asking because my local hospital runs the x-ray department as a walk in service, you just turn up with the form from the GP.

[Chocolatecake12]

Yesterday in the hospital I work in they were flat out - over a 4 hour wait, no beds for patients needing them and people who were obviously very poorly waiting in corridors.
To you your sons lump seems an emergency but honestly it's not. He's seen the Gp - Give him regular pain relief and rest it. Keep an eye on it. Wait for the x-ray appt to come through.
Try not to worry!!

[mumblechum0]

What chocolatecake said

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

My worry is that an X-ray isn't the best way of finding out what the lump is. You need an ultrasound .

[reallyanotherone]

It's not the x-ray you need though, it's the specialist to interpret it.

A&e dr's expertise is not in that area, and it's unlikely there'll be anyone in on a wekend to look at the x-ray, so you'll wait until momday for the results anyway.