To be upset at A&E fobbing off my toddler?

[IWineAndDontDine]

I hate to be that person. I acknowledge they are overstretched and understaffed but I'm concerned about my daughter. Shes had diarrhoea for 3-4 weeks since covid. Lost her appetite around then, its got to the point she is probably eating 150 calories a day if that. Just a couple of mouthfuls of food. She's not herself, she looks gaunt, her eyes look sunken, she's gagging constantly as if she's going to throw up and occasionally does throw up. She's been warm for over a week. We haven't tested her temp with an actual thermometer but she's been clearly warm to touch and sweating. Just gradually getting worse since covid.

We have been told by everyone covid symptoms drag and drag so we kept thinking she would improve, but I just looked at her this morning and thought, this has gone on too long, you look super poorly and malnourished, so I called gp (my husband gets a private gp line through work). He said he wouldn't wait and get her seen before the day is up.

We took her to a&e as per drs orders and they checked her temp which was, 39.6. Checked to see if her tummy was tender, checked her lungs with stethoscope, and that was it. Said they weren't worried so long as she was drinking. Said the temp was worrying but only if it goes on for 5 days and as we havent tested properly they werent going to count it, despite it being over a week since we could feel she was clearly warm. No tests, no bloods, no advice. Am I being a paranoid mother? Have we been fobbed off or is this all I should expect from an a&e visit?

Yes I'm totally lying. Having nothing better to do

Now THIS is sensible advice.

Nasty piece of work

For what it's worth OP, I don't think you're being unreasonable. I am a GP, and I think regardless of how long her symptoms have been going on, if you felt it was just not improving, then you did the right thing.

Sepsis comes on very quickly, but just because your DD has been unwell for some weeks does not mean it's not sepsis at all. However it is a very reassuring sign that her temp is being controlled with calpol. I think this is what the staff at A&E would have meant, that there was nothing so concerning they needed to keep her in. But I admit it doesn't always get delivered in that way.

Sounds like you know what the worrying signs are to look for. I'm sorry she's so poorly, it is awful to see your child so unwell. I would always advise parents to trust their instincts, phone 111 for advice if needed. Hope she improves very soon.

Said they weren't concerned as calpol was bringing down temp to acceptable level
How do you know this though if you’ve not been taking her temperature? How she feels to you will vary based on how hot/cold you are.

Have you got a thermometer? Start taking her temperature and recording her fluid intake and urine output. Then contact the GP again.

Obviously if she gets worse go back.

Please monitor her temperature regularly over the weekend with a thermometer (every couple of hours) and phone your gp on Monday if nothing changes. If she gets worse in any way take her back to a&e

Hope she is ok OP. Some pathetic people have nothing useful to contribute to this site so just attack people when they're down.

I find bone broth is fantastic when they're ill. Boil bones (any bones) along with loads of veggies and a splash of apple cider vinegar for several hours. All the nutrients go into the broth.

Hope she is ok OP. Some pathetic people have nothing useful to contribute to this site so just attack people when they're down.

Agreed.

Hope your little one improves soon, OP. It's such a worry when they're unwell 😞

Thank you! I hadn't thought of broth... I'll give it a go 😁

I always take temp and write it down, write down when taken and what meds taken and when too. If she's still bad on Monday take her to the GP. A&E shouldn't really be for ongoing issues that could be sorted by primary care when she's been unwell ages unless she's taken a big dip and symptoms have changed (saying that I'd really be worrying too as a mum
And hope she's ok)

OP. Record her temperature every four hours. If she has a temperature, alternate calpol and Nurofen every four hours to get her temperature down.

If she's not drinking, feed her teaspoons of water at a time, not enough to cause her to vomit, but enough to rehydrate her over time. Use a syringe if she won't take a spoon.

If her tummy is tender after a stomach upset, she may be frightened to eat so to start with, try bland soft foods like wholemeal bread in a little milk, just a tiny bit at a time. Put a few sultanas on her plate. Keep encouraging her to try, even if that means going back to a baby bottle of milk.

This is basic nursing.

The gp 2 weeks ago didn't seem concerned with her temp and was putting more emphasis on the liquid intake (which is fine) and that she's not hard to rouse etc. Nothing was mentioned about temp carrying on

There are some nasty arseholes on here. You’re all so much better at being the parent of a sick child than OP is.

And not everyone has a thermometer. (When I was a kid - 80s/90s - my parents didn’t own one. They make fun of us now for obsessively checking our children’s temperatures with a thermometer when they’re ill.)

When you say she is drinking, does that include milk? Milk will do as a substitute food for little ones when they are poorly.

If she deteriorates take her back to a&e. But if shes just still not well on Monday then I'd take her too the gp and get them to check her over thoroughly- ears, throat etc. Ask them what to do next.

And yes, not meaning to have a go but get a good ear thermometer. It's really worth it.

My little one was similar after a tummy bug and we ended up floppy in A&E after 3 weeks of GP appointment & managing at home.
I had kept a diary of symptoms, temps, Calpol & neurofen so that was easy for the doc to see we had tried really hard at home.
Turned out blood sugars were very low and needed IV glucose, and due to the tummy bug needed to come off dairy to let the tummy recover. Once we did that for a few days he really perked up.
The weight loss was significant for a little one but they are getting there now thankfully. We stayed dairy free for 12 weeks in the end then introduced gently after hospital consultant advice.

HTH.

I really think you are getting a hard time on here. When my dd was unwell once it dragged on in a a similar way to your description and I kept pestering the gp and going to an and e only to be sent away. I kept telling them she didn’t look right and I was convinced she had something dreadful. Her symptoms were lethargy, screaming and crying for no reason and episodes of shivering plus some occasional vomiting, we thought she had a uti at first and we got told to STOP going to a and E as she was ‘fine’
24 hours later she collapsed and was rushed in it turned out she had DKA due to diabetes - her symptoms were NOT typical diabetes symptoms either which had confused things but I was still dismissed totally when I said I knew she wasn’t ok . Doctors need to trust a mothers instincts

The problem with these online private GPs is that they are really risk averse. They don't want to risk telling you she's okay and for her to not be said I want her to be seen face-to-face.

They have a fantastic purpose in taking some strain from the NHS. However, in some cases the default will always be get her seen face-to-face. It's quite frustrating but also understandable.

She can drink little bits of milk but can't keep much down annoyingly so we have been giving her little bits at a time. Yes agreed I will do that

Very interesting to hear. Thank you!

I hope she’s better soon, it’s horrible when they are poorly. Always follow your instincts though and don’t hesitate to take her back if you’re concerned. Little ones can change very quickly so I always think of it as I’ve been told my child is ok in that moment but will seek further advice if something continues for a long time or if my gut tells me something is wrong. It sounds like you’re well aware of any red flags.

A&e did this to my son sent him home only a few weeks back, 4 days later he was in diabetic ketoacidosis with blood sugars at 700 and extremely poorly and then diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
If you feel somethings not right ask for a second opinion.

Has anyone done her blood sugar? (Mum to a
type 2 diabetic). Always worth checking just in case. Also don’t understand why all parents don’t own a decent digital ear thermometer- ours has been used at least monthly since mine were tiny and they’re nearly adults.

Type 1 that should be.