Should I worry after my son fell into stagnant water?

[Ljh1014]

Yesterday we were at at country park with some friends and my SW11 and two friends with their same age boys. This country park has streams and waterways lots of ducks/swans. No swimming but seen kids paddling etc. My DS and friends go paddling in clearish water less than knee high in a stream/pond that used to flow but in his heat has dried up. Being silly they went deeper until lost their footing and fell. My DS went up to his shoulders the others went fully under v murky brown water. My DS face got splashed from their submerge. Took them a good 20mins to get out due to mud etc but they did and I wiped DS down with some baby wipes but it was another 2hours til he got home and showered off. I blame myself for even letting him paddle. My husband has been so rightly cross with me about stagnant water diseases etc I just feel sick to my stomach. My DS had some scratches too so now I'm looking into all sorts of horrible nasty diseases and panicking. What can I do? Should I take him to hospital? I know I'm looking at upset stomach, infected scratches but what else? I get a bit spiralling at things like this and haven't slept or eaten since yesterday lunchtime out of stress and worry.

This was roughly the area they slipped in nearish the bridge to see water. Normally water would flow through under bridge but dried up

Lymes Disease?
I would ring 111, tell them what happened and ask if there is anything further you need to do. Even if they say no, be aware if he gets flu-like or possible glandular fever symptoms that you should notify the GP and insist that they take the possibility of LD seriously.

You know that kids used to drink water out of dirty hoses right??

I'm not suggesting you start trying to do that now - but seriously - your kid just fell into some dirty water by accident - these things happen and I'm sure your son will be fine.

I might be applying some savlon or similar to the cuts and grazes - but I wouldn't worry more than that.

It sounds like your kids all had fun while out on the walk -lets hope thats what they all remember rather than everyone panicking about the fall.

I would be more worried about the water safety aspect of what was happening here.

I would think they’ll be fine OP.

A good opportunity to talk about water safety and how river beds or the sea bed can drop steeply and people can get into trouble.

Your DH had unnecessary freaked you out about Weils Disease. Your DC is unlikely to have it, but know its symptoms just in case.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/leptospirosis/

If it didn’t smell, and wasn’t bright green on the surface (blue green algae looks like paint) then there isn’t much to worry about. Sibling and I spent half our Summers as kids doing stuff like this, no problems. Including thick and sulphurous seaside mud…
Weill's disease can be a slight risk from still water if it’s shallow, it’s spread by rat urine. So if your DS develops flu like symptoms then inform your GP, but wading in shallow water and mud is a normal childhood thing to do, and cases of Weill’s are rare.
I am not quite sure why you are so worried. Did you not do stuff like this growing up ? My brother was once covered in such thick and stinky mud that he had to be hosed down outdoors like a Labrador.

50m from the bank and 20 mins to get back out....I think they were foolish tbh.
It's unusual for a country park to have no toilet facilities.

You'll soon know if he's got something nasty, but as I said earlier, it's most likely he'll be OK.

I know they were paddling and other people were in too with dogs. Admittedly the boys went further than anyone else but probably only by a few metres. I feel so stupid. They were just paddling but obviously just kept pushing their luck and i didn't think at all I'm so ashamed

Lyme disease is from tick bites not paddling in muddy water!!

Honestly OP you need to work on your anxiety and so does your husband by the sounds of it.

Don't ruin a perfectly nice day by calling 111 or any of that shit.

In the unlikely event that your ds becomes unwell, that is the time to seek advice. Poor kid, I hope he isn't aware of all this mithering on his behalf!

That doesn't look that stagnant tbh, its not like smelly brown water. I wouldnt worry

There's a small risk of illness from swimming in stagnant water, but if he's not unwell theres nothing to do. If he does become unwell take him to the Dr and provide context

I assume he fell over! A dried up river isn't going to be shoulder deep I don't suppose

I do have awful anxiety but I mostly keep it in check but anything illness/hospital stuff sets it off and I catastrophise. It's the face splash and scratches I'm mainly worried about. He had a full splash of water to his face when friend fell

Yes he did fall. Lost they're footing luckily he managed not to go fully under but could easily stand up

OP says it went from knee height to very deep very quickly.
Sounds very dangerous imho.
But…a lesson learned hopefully!?
Talk to them about water safety OP.

weil's disease?

@Morelovelyandtemperate
Reported your post.

I think they possibly mean Weil's disease.

its weiles disease op

https://share.google/aimode/epbc7HTY4uaPHbKnk

You can get lepto from any water or damp mud or soil! It’s carried primarily by rats and some livestock. It’s not common at all, google suggests 40-90 cases annually in the UK.

Yes weils. How likely is this does anyone think? Panicking about this now I've read link

does he have any open cuts? did he swallow any water? its a slim chance so unless he starts showing symptoms he should be ok, but to put your mind at rest you could call 111

Your husband sounds like an arse and you are worrying about nothing. Water safety is important but this was fine and something you can chat about. Weil’s disease is unlikely and treatable.

Moments like this are the fun parts of the chaos of childhood. My kids quite often came home wearing towels or my coat after something daft but fun.

You need to get a grip on your worry and anxiety for your sake. It sounds like it will involved getting to grips with your husband.

There's no point calling 111 if he has no symptoms. The early symptoms of Weil's are a sudden high fever, headache and aching muscles so just keep an eye on him for anything flu like. Weil's is not common.

Get your husband doing a tough mudder.