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...

Possibly ear infection.

Unlikely to be Hand,foot ,mouth no prominent red blister
no reported rash
the blisters are really evident in hand foot mouth

the blisters are really evident in hand foot mouth

Not when DS1 had it at 9 months. We saw three doctors before one could diagnose him. He was screaming in pain and thumping his mattress, but there was nothing to see. When DS2 had it, yes he was covered in rash!

maybe epiglottitis if swallowing is an issue -

Ideally you would have called 111 first but I have never had them say anything other than A&E for a baby so no diff really.

I hope your baby is ok - it's so stressful when they are ill

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.

This with bells on!

I was one of those people, postpartum with my middle DC. It turned out to be sepsis from Invasive GAS disease. I was lucky not to lose my limbs, and life.

I had some twat telling me I couldn't be that ill if I was posting on mumsnet...

My kids both had it - one was covered and the other had one spot which we could easily have missed

Yes could be hand foot and mouth. DS has had it three times and every time he's been so unwell. Took a while for the blisters to come out, but the dribbling, constant crying and refusing to eat/drink /dummy are sure sign for us!

That said I don't blame you for going to a&e you're likely exhausted and fed up and need help. Yes 111 was probably better but you can be forgiven for not thinking straight! I've never been made to feel bad taking a baby to a&e and like PPs said most the time 111 just sends you there!!!

Hope all is ok

I'd have gone OOH GP first but clearly your baby needs to be seen sooner rather than later so YANBU.

I'm glad you've gone, babies can't communicate brilliantly or with nuance.
I almost didn't take ds when he was a baby - I thought it was maybe teething, he wasn't quite right. The deciding factor was that I didn't have any other plans (which makes me go a bit cold really) so we went to A and E.
Bacterial meningitis.
So, I would always say to go because we had a lucky lucky escape. (Drip, inpatient, follow up but no lasting damage).

There are plenty of people that don't need to go to A&E. but not op. So don't blame her for the queues.

Hope your baby boy is treated soon and on the mend op.

That was my experience with our first.

We'd call 111 to get an Out Of Hours appt for even the mildest issue and they'd send us to A and E.

The state of this place where someone is getting grief for taking a baby to A&E

Hope the bairns on the mend OP.

Glad to hear he is gone to A&E.
Some of the advice on here is so dangerous. If he's refusing any liquids he could very quickly become hypoglycemic. This is life threatening in a baby his age.
Always go with your instinct and don't take chances with small children.
Well done and I hope he feels better soon.

At the end of the day you done what you think is right by your son and that's getting him medical attention. Any paediatrician always say they'd rather check a child than miss something.

People on MN get their backs up over people using A&E when quite simply it's up to you what service you chose to use.
People try to wrongly diagnose with their PhD off google.

He's in the right place and I hope he starts to feel better soon bless him.

It's too hard to judge illnesses, especially in babies and toddlers, on sites like this and social media. Two cases in friends children:

1. Rash that doesnt disappear, being sick and sleepy. You think urgent A&E trip. We were out with mum when she got the call from dad but when we went to drop her off noticed that the rash matched exactly a jumper she'd been wearing. Stomach bug and fine the next day.

2. Chicken pox - most people think no big deal and not even worth a doctors visit. In hospital for over a week with complications. God knows what would have happened if they'd posted here and had decided 'not to waste A&E time'.

OP you need to listen to your instincts here. We can't help.

OP no one on this thread is in any position to diagnose your child. He clearly needs medical help, yes you could have called 111, but they in all likelihood would have sent you to A&E anyway.

Hope he feels better soon.

Just to add, I brought a dc to a and e for very similar reasons at that age, he was admitted, put in fluids and kept in for 5 nights.

I can’t believe some of the comments on here. If you are worried OP take him to A&E, they are always more than happy to see babies even if it’s nothing. I took my 10 month old up two weeks ago who had mottled skin, 39 temp, freezing hands and feet and he was shivering - turned out to be tonsillitis which needed antibiotics to shift, in and out within 2 hours.
Hope your little one is ok x

You’re absolutely right to Thame your baby to A&E if you’re worried.
Dont listen to the pp’s calling you selfish, nobody wants to sit in A&E if they can help it.

They will always be happy to check over an unwell baby in A&E. Don't let the sanctimonious posters get to you.

You’ve trusted your instincts, I hope he’s okay❤️

He could be teething and have norovirus. Ask them to do a stool sample. There’s a lot of norovirus about at the moment. We all got taken down with it a couple of weeks ago. Some people only present with diarrhoea and no vomiting

We also took our eldest to OOH when he was about 18 months, and the doctor said he didn't really know, his chest didn't sound quite right and it could be nothing or it could be something serious, so it was up to us whether to go to A+E, he couldn't decide

Needless to say we went and it turned out he had pneumonia.

111 would have been a better first route but you know that now. Hopefully you’re DH won’t be waiting too long. your GP practice should have seen you. Mine has always prioritised sick kids. I’ve been in within 30-45 mins of doing the online consultation on many occasions with mine. There is no way they wouldn’t have seen a baby in the circumstances you’ve described.