A&e or calpol??

[destinywidow]

Ok I've posted in Child health but posting here for traffic.

My 9 year old Ds has a stabbing pain in his hips, we saw two gp's yesterday, first had no clue, second thinks pulled muscle and to give him calpol.

He's woken up in agony, he's had calpol and still in pain, we avoid nurofen due to asthma but may give that a go once the chemist opens and I can get some.

He is a drama llama, low pain threshold but he's my baby and I hate hearing him crying in pain.

Would I be unreasonable to take him to a&e? We don't have a minor injuries unit where we live. Or should I continue with the calpol/nurofen and hope it works??

xrays have risks, they aren't benign. Xray won't show soft tissue problems.

How much does he like school?

(why did his appendix come out @ 6m old?)

can children get sciatica?

could he like on the floor?

He loves school, it's the last day today and he's not happy he's staying home.

He can't lie on the floor, he is leaning to his side on the sofa, whincing quite a lot too.

He had meckels diverticulum when he was 6 months, the surgeons decided to remove his appendix at the same time as the scar would be in the same please and to avoid confusion later on in life.

have you tried a hot water bottle?

Not a&e. Walk in centre or gp appointment. Request to see a different gp.

OP you have a young child who had a sudden abuts onset of pain in his hip which is making him cry and disturbing his sleep. If your GP doesn't know how to manage it then you need to find someone who does. Either go to a walk in centre today (who will advise taking him to A & E if they think necessary) or go and wait in A & E. I think the walk in centre is the best option but I can say as both as a nurse who understands the pressures of busy A & E departments and as a mother who wouldn't want to see her child in unnecessary pain that this is what I would do personally. You can get post viral problems with the hip in children, it's quite common. Just go and get him seen, just because he's a drama llmama sometimes doesn't mean he's not in a lot of pain now.

• acute onset of pain

Sounds like the pain I get when my sciatica plays up.

I don't even know if children can get sciatica??

Sounds most like a trapped nerve. In which case a physiotherapist is good first port of call. In some areas you can self refer to an NHS physio - try asking your GP receptionist if that's possible in your area and if so do they have contact details for some physios.

(it sounds very odd to have a completely unnecessary procedure on the appendix)

I just wondered if he had a chronic health condition or unusual history. Is he generally fit and well?

I suppose I'm lucky, I've never waited around at A&E with my kids. The thing is, A&E stabilise life-threatening issues, and an X-ray won't show something like sciatica. Uncontrollable pain is a big reason folk go to A&E. R you sure GP can't prescribe muscle relaxants or stronger pain killers?

(GP here) my advice would be to ask for a GP appointment this morning, yes, this is exactly what GP emergency slots are for. As you'll have been seen 3 times, getting worse without firm diagnosis, then I'd be very surprised if they don't send you up to your local paeds ward for assessment and that will cut out some of the A&E wait.
IMO this needs bloods +/- X-rays, there are various diagnoses possible here, some very mild eg irritable hip or muscle injury but some more serious eg septic hip or slipped upper femoral epiphysis (though he's a bit young for that, it's where the growth plate in the hip 'slips').
All the best hope he gets seen and sorted and it's nothing too serious.

Irritable hip (otherwise known as toxic synovitis) is the first thing that comes up on Google - my ds had it two years ago, similar symptoms to your ds. He woke up one morning with pain, was limping and then suddenly unable to weight bear. Go and get it checked out properly op.

And the NHS patient info website recommends getting any hip pain in children assessed urgently so I don't think it would be unreasonable to go to a walk in or A & E in these circumstances.

ibuprofen is the main treatment for toxic synovitis, from what I'm reading. We presume OP has tried that already?

She hasn't because he can't have neurofen due to asthma.

exactly, going via your GP op will cut out any middle man, ie the wait in A & E,

My 8 yr old dd woke up this morning with pain in her back on rhs just above the hip, which subsided with pain killers. She has a temperature. I was told by 111 to monitor and go to the minor injuries clinic if I had concerns as there are no out of hours drs the area we are staying this week. She's had ibuprofen and calpol, which I know your ds can't. Just something to think about if you still get no resolution today. Hope he feels better soon. Good luck x

Is his a bit overweight or very sporty? He could have a slipped upper femoral ephyisis. Where the growth plate slips from the head of the femur.

I think I will ring gp back, he's just got up and can't weight bear on his left leg at all. I'll run him a hot bath first and see if that helps.

Gp didn't think any meds except calpol/nurofen would be any good as she couldn't make a clear diagnosis

It can be a chronic problem but it could also be an acute slip. If it came on after playing football that may explain it.

He plays football twice a week and most lunch times, not overweight but not slim either. The pain came on around 10am yesterday so before he had a chance for any playtime. I took him to school and he was fine.

Phone your GP first try and get him seen this morning. If not possible at all the A&E if not weight bearing. Best wishes.

If the pains getting worse despite pain killers and you're worried about him (which it sounds like you are) then its totally reasonable to get him seen. I think its good advise to try the gp first and be quite firm if they say there's no appointments that you feel he needs seen today. If they absolutely can't see you and there's no walk in centre etc then a and e it is.

In my experience of going to A&E with a child(as opposed to going as an adult), you get seen very promptly by the triage nurse and fast tracked through if deemed necessary. If you are in doubt and he is in constant pain ring 111 and get an opinion from them about whether to go.

Hope all is OK