What’s up with my toddler?

[User3962]

Can anyone help me work out what’s going on with my toddler? My instinct says something isn’t right with him but the GP says it’s normal. He’s 2.5 years and:

• Gone from 25th to under 2nd centile for height.
• Has loose sandy smelly stools.
• Has a rash on his cheeks.
• Is a very restless sleeper (tossing all night, frequently waking).

These symptoms have all persisted for months.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong?

I’m wondering if there may be a food intolerance so planning to try cutting some things from his diet individually (eg dairy, gluten, eggs, soy).

Not sure I can give much help here but replying to get you some traffic!

The only thing I can think is that you need to find another GP to talk to. A mother’s intuition should never be completely ignored.

Where I live if you call the out of hours service for help then you will be assigned a completely different doctor to look at it. Although people think “out of hours” is for emergencies, I’ve given sob stories about not being able to get out of work at the right time to call GP and that kind of thing. Also, you could discover some “extremely loose and sandy coloured stools” over a weekend and genuinely need the out of hours service.

Isn’t there a new rule coming in about if you go in for an appointment with a child more than a certain number of times for the same thing that they have to refer you for further investigation?

Failing that - go and chat to a pharmacist. This is my answer to everything, my local one is amazing, and they can refer (with comments) to the GP.

Good luck! I’d speak to someone before changing diet - purely because if you explain what you’re trying then the second opinion GP will just say that that has caused it.

Fingers crossed it turns out to be nothing but I would more medical attention for him if I was in your shoes.