Illness longer than a week?

[Neverendingillness5]

We've never had illnesses last any longer than a day or two in this house but last week we were struck down with what I guess may be the flu.

48hours of constant fever then left with lingering fatigue and cough (DH, DS7 and me)

DD4 however struggled for a few more days still with temperature at night, not eating, needing some naps in the day, but has been gradually improving.

However I would expect her to be fully back to herself by now (day 9 since it started) but she is still skipping meals (says she feels sick), being tearful at nursery (very unlike her) and clingy at home. She gets irritable early evening and asks to go straight to sleep after her bath. We also need to wake her in the morning. This is not every day though, she may have an OK day, then a bad day etc.

Is this still within the realms of normal? I feel so sorry for her and am starting to worry.

I’m a nurse. Maybe give it a few more days, say up to 2 weeks after the start of the initial illness and then book a GP appointment if still not better. She’s probably just taking a bit longer to recover-she is still really little, after all-, but she might need a bit of extra help and the doctor will be able to see if there’s anything they can do to support her recovery or if it’s just one of those things. In the meantime, make sure she’s getting plenty of fluids, rest when she needs it and eats little and often if she’s feeling sick. Bugs can really impact little one’s digestive systems and it’s going to take some time for her microbiome to be exactly what it was before the illness, she may even be a little constipated. Yogurt and fibre can help with this, plus maybe a multivitamin. Don’t worry too much, hopefully she’ll be much better soon, it might just take a little while x