DD poorly - please can I have some advice from experienced mums

[Daffodilly]

I'm rubbish when they are ill as it is (thankful) quite rare.

DD is 3.5 and complaining of tummy ache. She's been off colour since Sun PM (no tea and early to bed Sun even). Seemed better on Mon AM, ate normal breakfast and went to nursery as usual. They commented that she seems hot and off colour at pick up. She ate a small lunch and went downhill. Complained of feeling sick all afternoon and was actually sick once (brought up most of lunch). She was sleepy and just wants to be on my lap dozing all afternoon yesterday and same today. Still complaining of tummy ache, but no signs of upset tummy. Drinking sips of water when pushed.

She feels hot to me and looks flushed, but thermometer doesn't show a fever. She wants to be curled up under a blanket, but I am worried this will make her hotter.

Should I give Calpol, is this OK for a tummy ache? Is blanket ok if this is what she wants?

Assuming it is a virus (poss start of chicken pox as it is going around?). Don't see much point in taking to docs - or is that wrong?

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

As long as she's drinking lots of fluids, doesn't have a fever and isn't going downhill or becoming non-responsive, then she's no doubt fine, just a bug / virus of some sort.

Calpol couldn't hurt. My old gp always used to say you could give them a glassful and let them drink it like pop! ( his way of saying it's not really very strong and not likely to hurt them, not an actual suggestion to give them a glassful!)

I tend to not take mine to doc for stuff like this unless they have a fever, can't keep fluids down or are all floppy and don't really know what's going on, iyswim.

But you have to judge based on what you're seeing, and it's better to take than not, if you're worried.

[Meglet]

I'd try and get a gp appointment TBH. But you could phone the doctors and get a phone consultation appointment if you don't want to drag her out the house while she feels bad. If they are concerned they might want you to go down there.

I wouldn't give calpol for a tummy ache though. I'd guess that something in there needs to come out.

She needs to be drinking enough though, she could get wiped out if she's dehydrated.

[PrimroseCrabapple]

paracetomolyup - she might be feeling cold with the fever.

see what happens keep checking for a rash.

[Meglet]

ah, I love MN. 2 totally different posts there!

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

indeed. As many different views as there are members of mn.

I do think calpol is good to take because the parecetamol reduces temperature. I know the thermometer doesn't show a fever, but if they feel hot, they're hot!

[Daffodilly]

Thanks for all that. Don't worry about conflicting advice. It is helpful to have other opinions anyway.

Think I will try paracetemol. Sure she has a fever as I can tell be feeling her (though obv not high) and that can make you feel rubbish can't it.

Never like to go to docs if I can avoid it as am sure we leave with more than we arrived with

[PrimroseCrabapple]

nhs nurse said yyy to calpol for tummy ache, she gave me a scathing look and said"it is for pain relief" in very measured tones lol.

[belledechocolatefluffybunny]

You should take her to the GP, she needs checking over for appendicitis/UTI. The longer you leave it the worse it will get.

[Poledra]

6-yo DD1 had something very similar last week - 3 days off school curled up under her duvet reading books ( have I been had here d'you think??). Sore tummy, forehead felt hot, she said she felt cold. Treated with heat on tummy, lots of drinks and left to her own devices in bed (DH was looking after her and he had the same thing, so was not too good on the nursing stakes ).

I'd use Calpol for a bad stomach ache also.

[tabouleh]

FFS - Paracetamol is a terrible thing to overdose on - an overdose can kill - this happens after a few days due to liver damage.

I am sorry Hecate but your GP was a complete twat to say that you could drink Calpol by the glassful (even when said as a joke) and I don't think that you should repeat this advice.

There may be other less well informed people reading this thread.

[stealthsquiggle]

As long as she is getting fluids, and still responsive, and the fever is controlled with paracetamol / ibuprofen then I would not bother taking her to the doctors, TBH.

FWIW, DD(3) got up grumpy and complaining of aches and pains this morning - when I finally noticed she was fully clothed and shivering, I took her seriously (I had been ignoring it as normal morning grumps ) and she definitely has a fever. She went back to bed after school run and slept until 12pm. She has had a tiny amount of toast and a little bit of soup, and is now eating an ice cream. No way would I take her to the doctors.

[stealthsquiggle]

I take the point, Tabouleh, but unless a DC is very small for their age, the doses given are well below the max dose per kg (NOT that I am advocating exceeding them other than on direct, child-specific doctors advice) - so Hecate's point is that, sticking to the stated dose, calpol is not going to do any harm.

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

It wasn't advice! [boggle] You think I was advising the op to give her child a glassful of calpol? GP was not advising me to give my child a glassful either. He was using the "glassful" thing to indicate that it is very safe and not a big dose at all.

When I say I have eaten my body weight in chocolate I don't actually mean that either.

And when I say it's raining cats and dogs...

Honestly. I am laughing my arse off here.

[stealthsquiggle]

OP - how is DD doing now?

[tabouleh]

my post should have said: I don't think you should repeat his "advice" -

yes I know it was not advice and not literal etc etc but I stand by my viewpoint that it is an irresponsible thing for a GP to say and a strange thing to post on here

TBH I would rather I made a complete twat of myself here (which some of you clearly think I have) than for someone reading it to think that they could let their child swig freely out of the Calpol bottle.

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

tbh, if someone reads "My old gp always used to say you could give them a glassful and let them drink it like pop! ( his way of saying it's not really very strong and not likely to hurt them, not an actual suggestion to give them a glassful!) and thinks "oh, right, well, in that case I'll give them a glassful because not an actual suggestion to give a glassful obviously means give them a glassful" then they are far too stupid to be allowed to be in charge of a calpol bottle, much less a child.

[beammeupscotty]

Pixie
quote "you will not dangerously overdose a child when giving them Calpol - it is almost impossible, and if children are admitted to hospital, the can be given more paracetamol quite safely than is contained in a whole bottle"

Please dont say a whole bottle of calpol can be given and they would still get more if they go to hospital!. I used to work in A&E and I can assure you we would be doing blood tests to see if the child needed detoxifying
For everyones information a bottle of infant calpol contains 2,400 mg - the same as nearly 5 adult paracetamol. The Poisons Information Service reccomend :-

Risk of overdose

Based on the dose of paracetamol ingested (mg/kg body weight):

Less than 150 mg/kg Unlikely
More than 250 mg/kg Likely
More than 12 g total Potentially fatal

An average 3.5 year old weighs around 15kg.
Therefore a whole 100ml bottle would equal 160mg/kg for that child. Falling between 'unlikely and likely'

Not a risk any sane parent would take.

[seeker]

And anyway, why give them calpol at all unless they are really in pain? What is the point?

Duvet, stories, hot water bottles, cuddles and Cbeebies. Much better for vague, unspecified illnesses than calpol. Save it for when you really need it - my children have only had it a few times in their lives, but my word it worked!

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

because paracetamol reduces a temperature.

[seeker]

Unless it's really high, you don't need to reduce a temperature. A fever shows that the body is dealing with an infection - if it's not massively high it's best left.

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

Thanks seeker, that's good to know. (serious not sarcasm - I always worry that typed words are open to misinterpretation ) Drs always (well, the ones I've taken my kids to!) tell me to give parecetamol to reduce their temperature. It's always give them some parecetamol, give them some parecetamol... so whenever they feel hot (during illness!) it's the first thing I do. When you say massively high, what sort of temperature do you mean?

[MarthaQuest]

WoW I'm really impressed with your maths beammeupscotty