So worried about my daughter's health

[MotherOfDragonite]

Really just posting here for traffic. I ended up taking her to see a paediatrician privately and to have blood tests as the wait on the NHS was so long.

She has had fevers four times since October three to six days in length and going up to 41 on a few occasions and no other real symptoms other than a headache and chills. I took her in to A&E when it when up to 41.5 and they checked urine and she didn't seem to have a UTI so they sent us home and said it was likely viral.

I am just so worried about her. She is very pale compared to her usual skin tone and doesn't look right and doesn't want to do any of the things she would normally do, like cycling to school. She says she doesn't feel well all the time and still has a slight headache pretty much all the time and her "mouth and throat tastes funny", which everybody seems to think is irrelevant but she mentions constantly. She has shot up 5 cm since the summer but has lost 0.4 kg so she has gone from the 62nd centile on the NHS child BMI calculator to the 25th centile now. She's been properly sick (fever) for 18 out of the last 53 days, and missed 9 days of school since October. She has just moved to a new school in September which she absolutely loves, so it's not that.

I could tell that our GP (well, not our GP but the random GP at our practice -- we never seem to see the same person twice) thought I was just being an over anxious mum. And obviously they didn't think it was important as we still haven't heard back from them about being seen by anyone or having blood tests done on the NHS. I could also tell that the private paediatrician thought I was being silly and he also reassured me that she looked 'bouncy' and very healthy. She doesn't to me though, at all.

I'm so worried about the blood test results. I'm scared it's going to be something awful.

I kind of want to be told that IABU. That the GP and paediatrician are probably right. And that other people's children have had things like this and it was just a run of weird start-of-school viruses.

She's 6.

Well, I would also find this very worrying. But am marginally encouraged by the private paediatrician who seems less worried. I think it's good you're getting blood test. ~Are they checking for things like glandular fever and the like which can be difficult to spot but have these sorts of symptoms?

Hello, I don't have any advice but in your place I would have done the same thing and gone privately. I hope all the results come back well and that your daughter gets better soon. How old is she? All the best!

You know her immune system might be down and it might be nothing but if you aren’t happy I think I’d advise you to badger everyone you can until you get some answers. The blood tests should put your mind at ease or help to show what the problem is, if any. Sometimes you need to make a fuss to get proper care. Good luck.

When my ds was 4 he had a bout of illness, over a 6 week period i only had 5 days when he didnt have a temperature. I ended up at the gps, who after checking ears, throat, chest, urine concluded with me that this wasnt right and referred me instantly up to our local hospital for blood tests. They came back all clear and resulting conversation with the consultant was that he was seriously run down and he was just picking up viral infection after viral infection. This was 18 months ago and he has been fine since, but when he gets ill he goes south pretty quickly and does need extra recovery time.

If she's shot up in height fairly drastically over a short period of time, her system will be shot - hence why she's picking up so many viruses. The blood tests are a good precaution, so wait patiently for the results. Kids do this - they put on weight, shoot up, and it takes a while for their bodies to get back into synch. If she's genuinely happy at school, eating ok and happy within herself, chances are she's maybe just picking up new bugs from a new school. Wait for the bloods to come back - if the doc was worried, he'd have speeded things up. Sometimes you have to trust the expert.

Hi OP. You know your daughter best and hope the bloods will come back with a solution.

What you could do is write down a printable list of dates when she went in to gp or A&E and what her temperatures/symptoms were. And possibly keep a daily record of the headaches/furry tongue etc without worrying her.

Good luck

My nephew’s been going through something similar. It turned out he has had glandular fever, but months later he’s still not right. He’s eventually been referred, and the blood tests that the GPs dismissed as normal are seen as concerning by the consultant. They may be borderline normal, but a boy his age shouldn’t be borderline normal. Unfortunately, you may need to keep pushing.

Lupus?

Sounds a lot like my 12yo who caught glandular fever, also called mono. It’s a virus and causes recurring fevers, fatigue, appetite loss, brain fog. Most recover over several weeks, but some it can persist for months to years and can trigger chronic fatigue syndrome in children and teens.

The blood tests should test for antibodies to the virus. If not ask about glandular fever if only to rule it out.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/glandular-fever/
www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-

Thank you.

I've been freaking out about things like leukaemia but the glandular fever thing is very interesting and could actually explain a lot. I'd ruled it out because the GP said she couldn't have it as she was too young. But what you've said, plus a bit of Googling, suggests that's not necessarily the case. Hm.

I think the blood tests would have covered that? I rang up the hospital and they will be back by tomorrow so I'll find out then I guess.

How’s your dd? Does sound like glandular. Hopefully blood tests have shed some light

if it was lukemia she would be seriously unwell by now. My ds used to spike when growing.

How is she? Why did the tests say? Hope it was good news

My nephew was five when he had glandular fever.

Hope she’s ok.

Did they check her blood sugar levels? Unlikely but tiredness and weight loss with suggestion of a uti can indicate diabetes.

Is she thirsty or going to the loo a lot?

I have a type one child so always on my mind

Sounds a little like my friends child, who was eventually diagnosed with Periodic Fever Syndrome.

Did you get the results OP

Iv had GF twice and been awful

You’re the person most likely to notice if she’s unwell. That she is not normal for her is important. Try to make appointments with the same gp if you can. Ask the receptionist for who is good with children if possible. Sounds like you need someone thorough to get to the bottom of things. Be persistent and don’t feel bad about it. How’s her sleep?

It was glandular fever! I'm incredibly relieved.

She's still feeling quite tired and wiped out.

Ah, the symptoms can last for months.

The first time i had it as a child, i was sleeping constantly for about 10 weeks, i missed about 3/4 months of school. All my organs were inflammed

As an adult, this year, i had it again bad, was in hospital for two weeks and it affected my liver

GF is not nice at all

Hi. Well, whilst obviously it’s not great that she hasn’t/had GFever, I’m pleased to hear you know have some clarity and it’s not something more sinister. Must be a relief to know you can now just help her recover and not worry you are missing something.

I meant ‘has/had GFever’

Nice guidance on feverish illness in under 5’s (although I see that she’s actually 6) has recently been updated to reflect persistent fever as a possible indicator of Kawasaki’s disease, might be worth having a look at the symptoms on NHS choices and see if any of those tally with hers, so you can at least ask the question the next time you see the paediatrician.