To be freaked out after farm visit

[Janel85]

Went to petting farm yesterday with three-year-old son, was religious about hand washing due to e-coli and various infections, signs up everywhere warning to wash hands. Son is very accident prone in the sandpit he managed to jump forward and somehow get loads of sand in his mouth. I tried not to go into worry overdrive and washed his mouth out best I could with water. He has been complaining of tummy ache all day and I’m now very worried. No upset tummy today, but I’ve read up on it and it’s normally 3-4 or as many as 14 days after. What has me crazily worries is that I saw sandpits at farms are often a source. I want to take him gp tomorrow but I don’t know if that’s over reacting and if they could even reassure me this early?

It honestly wouldn't register with me that illness would result from that.

I don't think it warrants a GP visit since he's not yet ill. Nothing for them to do, they will just say to monitor the situation.

Try to relax, nothing you can do about it now if he has caught anything but if he does come down I'll I'd be surprised if that was the source.

If he was already playing in the sandpit with his hands then although sand in the mouth is unpleasant it's not an extra issue. You'll be extremely unlikely to catch anything like that. There's little point taking a well child to the GP to ask about E. coli or similar.

You sound a little over anxious about health related things. Have you spoken to anyone about your anxiety?

I mean this very gently - you need to get you anxiety under control.

When looking after my nieces and nephews I would have brushed the sand out and that would be it.

This national obsession with germs is contributing to so many serious health issues. Children need germs to build up immunity.

I grew up on a farm. I am 50. Clearly I survived. Stop fretting.

I don't think there is any point in taking him to the GP if he isn't ill. Not only will they not be able to do anything, he might catch something else from ill patients waiting to see the doctor.

it's very unlikely that he will have caught anything, and I really don't think you should worry. Keep an eye on him as you would normally and try to relax

No point in taking him to the GP unless he's been vomiting for the last week/can't keep water down. A preemptive check up won't achieve anything.

Toddlers fall over and eat sand mud and dirt on a regular basis. It helps build a healthy immune system.

There’s no point taking him to the GP if he’s not actually ill

You’d be better of going to the GP for your anxiety to be honest

Even if he were to get e-coli, there’s no real treatment apart from preventing dehydration. You just manage the symptoms (anti-diarrhoea medicines are not usually recommended as they can prolong exposure to the toxins)

It's very unlikely he will have caught any illness from sand, kids go to the beach and get sand in their mouths everyday without getting ill. Sand in a sandpit at a farm may have animal faeces etc in there from peoples shoes etc but sand on the beach is also exposed to all sorts from people's shoes and dogs etc. It really isn't an issue, he will be fine.

My toddler licked a sheep and lived to tell the tale

Thecatfrom that is the best thing I've read all day.

What do you expect the GP to do? If bacteria aren’t at high enough levels to cause diarrhoea then they aren’t going to be at high enough levels for the doctor to detect through a stool sample.

Most kids complain of sore tummy’s, it’s their go to “pain” even if it’s not their stomach that’s hurting. I think your anxiety is making this into a bigger deal than it is. The chances of him contracting anything is extremely small and taking him to the doctor would just be wasting their time.

I used to eat sand out of the sandpit when I was a child if no one was watching. My mum used to say my nappy was full of sand sometimes. I was fine. I'm sure a small amount will do no harm whatsoever.

Don't worry OP, he'll be fine.

@Euphemism, you do realise that it is the sand that she is worried about?

It ISNT the sand she is worried about.

Are you getting any treatment OP? you need support. It's hard parenting with health anxiety.

I would have been actively encouraging my DD to roll in it

And she has barely ever been ill...

Please don't take up a GP appointment when your son isn't actually ill. Have you been asking him if he feels alright? It is possible he's picking up on your anxiety. If he has e-coli you'll know about it.

I used to eat grass.

Are you getting any treatment OP? you need support. It's hard parenting with health anxiety.

Lovely patronising remark there.

Sometimes, someone worried about something doesn’t actually need therapy but human beings on a forum to just say “it’s fine, don’t worry.” And the OP can peel herself down from the ceiling and use it as a marker for future mishaps that perhaps it isn’t that bad, like the time with the sand at the farm.
Anyone would think that forums like Mumsnet were created for just that.

But no, an innocent thread asking for advice turns into “You need therapy.”

Nice.

I agree your DS is very unlikely to become ill from this. I think every parent has a tale of something horrible their child has eaten and been none the worse.

Mine is that when my now late teens DD was about three we lived in the countryside and kept various livestock. We were outside when my DS. then about five came to tell me that he had fallen over. I commiserated with him, looked round and DD had crawled into the chicken pen and was drinking their water.

I was horrified and was sure she would have given herself gastroenteritis. Was she ill? Not a peep.

I have four kids and we spend a lot of time outside. The kids wash their hands before tea but that’s about it. In reality, they must get lots of poo, dead bigs, general muck and mud on their hands. They are very rarely ill. When they are at school I suspect they literally never wash their hands.

I wouldn’t worry about it.

It's super immune system building stuff. Don't stress. Not sure what you think a GP visit would accomplish?

What do you expect the GP to do if he remains well? Genuine question.

Is now the time to mention when DS2(precious preemie) aged 10 months old age dried cat poo in our garden?