To take our 12mo DS to A&E?

[Parkingmoan1]

We've already decided he's going so DH is getting ready to take him now but I would appreciate some feedback / WWYD? Also - does this sound familiar to any of you with your DC?

DS is 12mo and has had diarrhoea for the past 4 days. He isn't sleeping properly dispite being absolutely exhausted, I suspect something is hurting him which is stopping him from getting off to / staying asleep.

His temperature was last recorded as 37.7.

He isn't eating or drinking as well as he normally does which is a concern for dehydration. He's such a food baby usually and loves his milk. It appears (atleast to me) that swallowing liquid / food might be causing him some pain so I've asked DH to raise the possibility of tonsillitis. He is salivating much more than usual. I've had to put him back in bibs which we haven't used for months.

I might be way off but it's worth being queried right?

He's crying. Alot. He's usually such a happy boy but he's unrecognisable at the minute. Inconsolable.

So do you think we're doing the right thing taking him to A&E or do I sound like an anxious mum and it doesn't sound that serious to you? I couldn't get him in the doctors today hence the jump to A&E.

I'm going to feel like a massive idiot after all of this worry they come back and say something trivial like teething...

You’ve done the right thing x

This.

I've had 2 trips to a&e (on advice of gp) with my youngest, both for dehydration/no urine output (after prolonged sickness bugs). Both times they had my syringe 5ml of water or squash into her every 5 mins till she peed. Typically, after being listless at home for days. She cheered right up at a&e 🙄. Both of these trips were before she turned 1. Once she was peeing, they were happy for her to go home for monitoring.

And this is why no one can get seen at A & E even if they have been in an accident or have an emergency.

Oh is that right. All of those sick babies taking up space are they..

For a baby under 12 months, and you’ve tried GP and 111, and he’s been very ill for days, and you feel that he really is not himself then yes A & E (and I don’t usually say that). Very young children are different from older ones, I would not take an older child to A & E under the same circumstances it would be 111.

Utter nonsense
You don’t get to guilt trip a parent. The systemic issues in A&E aren’t habitually caused by 12mth infants with diarrhoea.

@TroubleOverBridgedWater no its not bullshit just because you have a different experience. I was trying to help to op by saying next time tell them you have a very unwell baby that needs seeing. My GP practice is very busy but will speak to us or see the child even at 17.30 in this circumstance. We are perhaps lucky, but also unlucky to have a child that's been very unwell many times. The gp knows when we are serious. The reception know what we mean when we say we have an unwell baby needing to be seen immediately. They have done this several times. I also find out of hours very responsive for babies.

Dehydration in babies under 12 months is an a&e trip. Yes it could be teething or a bug but he's a baby that hasn't drank properly for days, I'd bet 111 would advise an a&e visit anyway, they don't take chances with under 1s as they can go down hill very quickly. Hope it's just a bug op xx

I have reported you, that is completely out of line.

People diagnosing over a forum is dangerous. There have been multiple times in the last decade on here that there have been multiple people telling the op that they were being dramatic and it ended up being something awful.

You cannot, under any circumstance, tell someone you have not ever seen that there is nothing wrong.

I will say again. If a parent is worried enough to want their child to go to A&E then it’s usually not because they are teething.

@Parkingmoan1 don't waste your energy on those who are being rude and making silly statements. Deciding where and when to be seen is tricky at times, you and your DH are trying to do your best. LO is quite likely to be dehydrated and since he is refusing to swallow pretty much anything I'd have likely gone down the a&e route too. I hope whatever is wrong can be quickly resolved and that he is his happy chipper self again soon.

Same

I don’t know if I would have taken him or not. Probably would have, just to be safe. I took DS when he was only a few months old after finding blood in his poo. It amounted to absolutely nothing but the doctor was very kind to me.

I did actually take DS a few years ago when he became very dehydrated after a stomach that was lasting days. Like a PP, they had me giving him sips of weak cordial and he soon perked up! Why I couldn’t get him to drink at home is still a mystery to me!

That’s a really mean spirited thing to say,with no basis of truth
@Parkingmoan1 is a worried parent, have some empathy

It is tricky when one parent is more worried than the other…my husband was a rush to the gp kind of dad ( that was in the days when you could get an appointment) there have been a couple times when 111 advised immediate visit to a&e and I felt 90% confident it wasn’t needed but there was that 10% that felt negligent by ignoring them…what if they took a turn for worse and I had ignored them.
I did remained chilled out for four days with symptoms like op..then a none blanching rash appeared and I was instantly shaking like a leaf ..he had developed sepsis. All good now. OP agree that it is done now and 111 would likely referred you unless he is still weeing as normal

Really hope your little one is OK. Definitely no point going over now whether a and e or 111 was the right decision. It can be so worrying when they are little and seem ill.

Sounds like teething. Temperature isn’t high.

Some people don't think. November is one of the busiest times of the year for paediatrics as it's RSV season and they will have loads of seriously ill babies with bronchiolitis on their hands.
By seriously ill I mean, on breathing apparatus, at risk of dying. NICU likely full of these babies with barely a bed to be had up and down the country.
You ring 111 if you can't get a GP appt. You don't go straight to A&E. Especially if you haven't actually managed to successfully administer a dose of calpol - imagine the chaos if everyone did that.

Sounds like could be the beginnings of hand foot and mouth?

Well you've done it now but for the record you couldn't pay me to take my kid to A&E in RSV/ flu/ covid season unless it was the ONLY option.

Show me where I diagnosed or said nothing was wrong? It's not a case for A&E if you've not called 111 and took their advice first. If they say take to A&E after their questions then perfect. Of course there could be something wrong, no one on a forum could diagnose from a typed messaged without seeing a child and being a professional. I stand by that it's 100% not a case for A&E, it's a case for 111 to see what they say, and if they say A&E then perfect. Exactly what the OP now says she would have done differently.

But if OPs baby is fine then it’s not going to put any pressure on childrens wards is it? You can’t see this baby, you have absolutely no clue if the child needs a&e or not.

My friend is a paediatrician in a well known London hospital. She has always said trust your instinct and go if you feel like your child needs to be seen. The hospital would much rather see you than miss something because you weren't sure you should go.

Hope your baby is okay OP.

Op you are the parents. You need to follow your instincts. If it turns out he didn't need A&E then no harm done. At 12 months he can't tell you what's wrong. I don't think any decent doctor or even fellow patient would blame you.