3 year old not eaten anything in over 24 hours - A&E?

They do, and a teenager for a sibling!

I agree with a previous poster, he could still be constipated. GP appt tomorrow would be a good idea, they can palpate the stomach to see if he feels constipated. They can also check weight and height. If he's struggling with constipation and weight gain, they should refer to a paediatrician or at least start movicol to resolve the constipation. My daughter was a very poor eater, and constipated at that age, and struggled with incontinence (both kinds). It's been a long journey but now at age 10, we are finally getting there. Low dose of movicol daily, and lots of exercise has helped the constipation and given her an appetite finally. She's waiting to be assessed for autism.

Lucozade's original purpose included giving energy to ill people who were off their food. Children were often given it to pep them up while ill/ recovering.
Until it was ruined by taking the glucose sugars out and dumping useless artificial sweetners in removing the point of the product

There's not really much A&E can do if your child isn't eating, but is drinking and has no red flag symptoms. Believe me, I've been there done that and got the T shirt.

I have a child with ARFID who survives off sunlight and vimto.

He occasionally won't eat anything for over 24 hours, although when he reduces drinking it's usually a sign of an illness yet to come like HFMD, that doesn't usually bother him but does affect how much he can tolerate.

The advice I have always been given is find something calorific they will eat or drink and give them that. If its milkshake, then provide that on tap, if it's ice lollies or ice cream or icecream soup then you just give them that.

If there's red flag symtoms like a fever that cannot be relieved with paracetamol, diaphragmatic breathing, or excessive drowsiness or inability to rouse, then it's an A&E job.

Did you stop formula under medical advice? If not I would keep giving it to him, especially if he isn't eating well and needs to gain weight. Or something like pediasure.

Hi OP, have been in a similar boat with my autistic son when he was age 3.

He had reduced eating and vomiting on and off for 7 weeks - as in he was unable to attend nursery for 7 weeks because he was never 48 hour free for vomiting (!!!). He too had constipation but was doing poos during this time.

We attended the GP many, many times in this period so much that one of the GPs said that I was the ill person and NOT my son. We attended hospital twice including to have IV fluids.

on the third hospital visit they did an abdominal xray which showed he was severely constipated despite pooing - basically his bowel was nearly completely blocked but some poo was getting around the blockage (sorry for details). He was examined by many GPs and hospital doctors in this 7 week period and no one had suspected constipation until the xray.

long story short, please don’t rule out constipation as the cause for him going off food.

My child has been through a huge amount of medical trauma, is tiny for her age, currently under the care of two dietitians into two different hospitals etc.

If she didn't eat for 24 hours I'd be worried that she was coming down with something but I wouldn't go to A&E or anything.

I'd see how it he is tomorrow, focus on things that are high calorie, milkshakes are good (you can always blend ice cream in them), things like apple juice, and if you're got concerns that he's poorly book a GP appointment.

24 hours of not eating wouldn’t concern me me.

AFRID? My oldest has it and trying to get him to eat has always been painful. He’s 18 now and still eats very little. Autism and eating issues go hand in hand.

I’m guessing they don’t have teenage relatives!

Another one saying try formula - DD had real issues with food (still does) and was drinking it until she was 5. At your DS's age it was where the majority of her calories came from; encouraging her to eat alongside formula is what worked for us.

Give him a bottle of formula, there’s nothing wrong with that at all!

When they aren't eating, calories are calories. My youngest is autistic and often has days off from eating. It's best not to act like you even notice. Leave stuff out he can graze on like babybel, chopped veg with dip, even chocolates if it's tempting enough. And yes, I give her coke, lucozade etc. I calorie load her drinks if she isn't getting them from food.

I once gave her a large scoop shake from an ice cream shop every day for a week to try and put weight on her. It's not an A&E job, they won't do anything until bmi drops dangerously low. They won't force/tube feed a child unless it's absolutely necessary and usually these non eating phases pass in a few days.

DD would go off he’d food whenever she was coming down with a virus, that and a slight vinegary smell that apparently only I could smell were my sure fire signs she was about to get a high temperature. We always took the approach that whatever she would eat was good food during those periods even if it meant for a couple of days she lived on ice cream and jelly. As long as that doesn’t become their diet day in day out it’s fine as an occasional means to an end.

I think as long as he’s drinking enough to mean he’s weeing every few hours it’s unlikely A&E would be able to do anything to help, but keep an eye on him check his temperature and look at his ears and throat to see if there’s any signs of an infection.

I completely agree about moderation but at 3?! My 3 year old doesn’t even know what fizzy pop is.

Yes, my son was already pretty underweight and by the end of the 5 weeks of very, very little food was obviously far more so, but they still weren’t overly concerned as long as he was drinking.
He’s 7 now (he was 3 when this happened) and if he’s remotely under the weather eating is still the first thing to go. He’ll often go an entire day/night with no food, and he only drinks water so no calories coming from there either!

I wasn’t going to comment as my situation seems unbelievable compared to the op and people commenting, but we’ve gone two weeks with only half a piece of toast during the entire two weeks, doctors and a&e not interested apart from keeping an eye on potential ketosis. If they’re drinking it’s fine. And for the pp horrified about offering a small child ‘fizzy pop’ or whatever they said, we’ve been by health professionals told on more than one occasion to give them a glass of coke or lucozade.

Yep! Well, not a whole can, a small glass with a crazy straw is good.

We had a special goblet which took about 50ml which was our treat glass when needed, and a packet of coloured crazy straws for them to choose from.

As something to help them start eating again if it's a big enough treat helps. Dd (as I do) finds it very hard to start eating/drinking again if she hasn't for a while, so we needed something that was enough of a treat for her to overcome that.

If it stays as a treat then it's fine.

But, you know, my parents acted like you - as though giving fizzy drink was only just down the rung from offering a cigarette, and I drink far too much fizzy now. My dc, who I let have the odd glass from 3yo and didn't worry about restricting it when older are now adults: #1 only drinks water or sometimes an orange juice, #2 drinks an occasional fizzy but mostly not, and #3 does like a fizzy if we're out but would prefer a cup of tea most of the time.
None of them have rotten teeth either.
So I'm very much of the opinion that giving them fizzy as an odd treat may well not do any harm in the long run.

Can you tempt him with an ice lolly? Juice? squash?

Make sure he drinks

stop offering now as 3 year olds can be tricky control freaks

I wouldn’t worry about the lack of food but I’d be concerned he’s unwell which is why he’s got no appetite.

I don’t want to advise not doing anything as you know your child and I’m not a medical professional but if it was me, I personally would wait until tomorrow.

A&Es are not nice places and he’ll probably be exhausted.

I wouldn’t force him to eat but would offer a plate of yummy picky bits but the biggest thing is that he is drinking.

Milk is great because it has fat and protein in it too so even if he has a couple bottles/glasses of that it will do him a lot of good.

If you’re concerned ring 111 and see what they say.

Agree with everyone, if he’s having liquids he’s fine, mine went without food for 24 hours albeit she was slightly younger and it was a battle of wills (as in me putting food in front then if they didn’t eat it taking it away again, a bit like a dog!). It worked as I didn’t let them know it was an issue and they were back to normal after about 36 hours, ravenous in fact. Unfortunately 111 default tends to be ED because they want to cover themselves so I’d leave that for a bit.

If he’s drinking I’d not go to a&e but call the doctor tomorrow.

Separately I’d call them for a thyroid test for him - from the mum of 3 kids with thyroid failure. Makes them very picky with food, constipated, slow growth and development.

As others have said, if he's drinking plenty and weeing, I wouldn't worry too much. He might be coming down with something so keep an eye and give calpol if he seems feverish. Ring the GP tomorrow if he's still not eating, but a couple of days without food won't harm him.

As you're worried, call 111 and ask if there's an out of hours GP service in your area. You may get a call back.

Also start keeping a record of drinking etc.