To take 16 month old to A&E or wait for doctors tomorrow

How’s your little one now op?

I'm hoping Op got medical help this morning.
12 days is a long time for an adult to have diarrhea never mind a baby at 16 mths.

A &E could be dehydrated or anything, 12 days is an awful long time to have had diarrhoea and not seek any medical advice

Thanks I'm not one for going to A&E but this is a baby we are talking about. Small body who cant continue to loose fluids. Who's now holding his tummy.
He needs seen in person.

I remember one of mine getting sent to children's ward by the GP. His blood sugars were so low the nurses checked it twice using different machines.

I really wouldn't mess around with phone calls or waiting.

Maybe the UK needs to put out public awareness messages about what is and what isn't A&E appropriate.

How on earth can you claim that, just because someone has had symptoms for 12 days, it can't be an emergency? A grumbling appendix may go on for that length of time, for instance, before it perforates. It's grossly irresponsible to post this sort of thing based on one short message.

If you call 111 and ask about A&E, then they will send you to A&E, that's just their process. Ask to talk to the GP out of hours service first, as they may give faster advice without the grimness of A&E waiting rooms.

12 days is a long time, I hope your DS gets better soon.

As a HCP I am reiterating a&e/urgent treatment centre.

How does he seem in himself? Is he sleepy? Floppy? Does he seem ‘dry’ eg. Dry lips, skin, sunken eyes?

I don’t think you’d be unreasonable to take him to a&e seeing as it’s getting worse and he now seems in pain, which is new. The poor boy might be quite dehydrated. The cause of diarrhoea obviously needs investigating and whilst the GP could send a stool sample, it’s possible he needs bloods anyway.

Have you tried cutting out milk for a few days? A bug strips enzymes from the bowels so makes it harder to tolerate lactulose after illness. My son had a 5 day bug and after he recovered kept having explosive nappies even though he was well in himself again. Not giving him milk for a few days gave his body a chance to reset. You can get colief but HV told me easier and cheaper to just cut the milk out for a few days and it wouldn’t cause any harm.

A+e definitely

My son has been to a&e a couple of times for vomiting bugs, apparently some kids get stuck in a cycle and can't stop vomiting by themselves. Both times he's been on an iv drip and had anti emetics after 5 days of vomiting every 30-60 minutes.

I'd take to a&e if there's pain and he's not right.

@Pinkhats where are you at with him now?

A&E it should be quite in the morning and given his symptoms he should be seen quite quickly. All the best I hope your DS starts to feel better soon xx

111

I'd work on keeping him hydrated.

111 will talk you thru a checklist of what is 'normal ill child' and what isn't.
If you can't get him to a calm but still interactive state then I understand taking him somewhere to be seen.

This. He isn't lethargic or listless. It's not pleasant to deal with as a parent, but it isn't an emergency.

Please ignore those saying it’s not an A&E job, if your gut tells you that your child isn’t right then take them to the help.
TRUST YOUR GUT on this.
That is all you should know about this situation.

111 is best option - if it needs a and e they will direct you there and you may well be fast tracked.
in my experience minor injuries or out of hours gp have much shorter wait times too

A and e - need to check he’s not dehydrated, plus check his potassium levels etc are ok.

Actually an 16 month old with stomach pain and diarrhea could very well be an emergency who is in danger of being dehydrated.

Op should probably have seen the GP after a week but hey ho its 12 days and really shouldn't wait any longer.

He probably needs a drip to get his essential salts and electrolytes back in balance.
Nothing someone can do over the phone and I wouldn't wait any longer to see a GP who probably can't do much.

His sugar levels could also be very low and his butt must be sore.

I really wouldn’t take him to a/e.

my toddler had diarrhoea for almost a month (went to the go after 2 weeks) and then back at 3 and 4 weeks. They weren’t that fused as long as he was ‘alright within himself’ they finally did a poo sample after a month (just before it stopped) and it showed nothing was up eg ecoli or salmonella. They just wrote it off as a bug.

anyway I would go to go not A&E, it’s not serious enough for a and e

12 days is neither an accident or an emergency

Call the out of hours GP on the number supplied on your normal GP number answerphone ( which maybe 111 or another number)

As it's a Sunday, I would be tempted to call 111. 99% sure they will advise you to go to A&E. You could just get yourselves down there now. Things can quickly take a turn for the worse with little ones. Always better to be safe than sorry.

If it were a weekday I'd be contacting the GP to get a same day appointment.

I would take him to a&e

I would take him in now, and I’ve got a pretty high threshold for recommending a and e! It should be relatively quiet at this time, and the wee toot might need to be put on fluids and electrolytes (could be in pain due to cramping because of electrolyte imbalance). Hope everything is ok xx