What could be wrong with my daughter?

[hellymelly]

A month ago my dd (5) had a virus,not sure what,high temp,rash,vomited a couple of times,lasted about five days.She seemed ok afterwards,aside from a bit tired,and was back in school for a couple of days and then she suddenly started needing to wee really frequently.She said it didn't hurt at all,she just felt all the time as though she needed to wee.The doc checked her urine and sent it off for testing but it was clear of any infection or inflammatory cells.Still she was going to the loo all the time apart from at night when she was sleeping well.Then I rang the out of hours Doc and the nurse suggested she could have thread worms,apparently in girls they get into the urethra and vagina and cause a lot of irritation,so just in case I treated us all with worm pills.A few days later she seemed a bit better so back to school,but she was very tired,and still going to the loo more than normal,so I kept her home.She had one full day last week in school,(she has missed nearly a month),and that seemed ok,saw the doc again on Friday who thought she could be a bit anaemic hence the tiredness as she's had a growth spurt,but today the weeing is rather worse again.She is also fiddling around with her pants a lot as if she is itchy or uncomfortable,but she says she just feels like she needs to wee.No sign of redness anywhere.I am not sure now if she is just worrying about needing the loo,or if she really does,but it is getting me worried.Any ideas anyone?

any thoughts?

Retreat for threadworms, they can recur.

What can happen when you have a major virus is that the white blood cells get decimated and that lays you out for about six weeks. But you do recover in time. A healthy diet and plenty of rest will help.

Its a week and a half since she had the threadworm treatment,so I think the second pill is due towards the end of this coming week.Can they recur that quickly? I haven't seen any signs of them either,should I have checked her poo? (uggh emoticon needed).She does wear pants and pyjamas to bed anyway,as advised,but I don't wet dust my whole house daily or hoover everywhere daily and change all the bedding,I don't even have a tumble drier so that would be impossible.Does that mean we may be getting re-infected? No-one else has any symptoms (I have a 3 year old too,and a DH).I have been trying to make sure she gets lots of rest and good food and have bought her a good multi vitamin as she is a vegetarian mainly and so ggod be low in iron.GP was reluctant to send her for blood tests at this stage as she thought it would be traumatic.

Hang on, you mean you haven't treated the whole family? Yes you are probably all infecting her. Adults with threadworms rarely notice them - they will be on the towels and all sorts. Yes do the second treatment. Also treat everyone else. GPs normally prescribe for the whole family as a matter of course, believe me, if she has them, you'll have them or have had them. They are the gift that keeps on giving.

Get her tested for diabetes - tiredness and weeing are key indicators.

i would recommend getting her tested for diabetes.

x posts with neenook. i agree that the symptoms warrant testing.

I did treat the whole family,just that the second dose isn't due yet,and I just wonder if she even had them as there were no other signs.Any way of telling if we have them or not? The GP did test for sugar in her urine,that was clear,is that enough to rule out diabetes? She's not drinking more,and she's not weeing more in terms of volume,I don't think,just frequency.

Don't worry though - no blood tests involved just a urine dip. Is she drinking lots too?

You can see threadworms. They come out at night and you can sometimes see them arund the bottom. Tiny little white thinsg , they look like pieces f string, wriggling about.

I checked her bottom at night with a torch (rather freaky,poor child)after the nurse suggested them,but couldn't see anything at all suspicious.I will do that again tonight,can you always see them ?(have never had to deal with worms before!!!)

You can also put a bit of sticky tape on her bum and they will get caught. (Yes v icky)

Don't think she would agree to sleep with sellotape on her bum.Think she would throw a total wobbly at the mere idea ...
how does anyone manage to get rid of them completely ,or am I just particularly slatternly in my habits? .

IME the sensation from threadworms isn't really like wanting to wee - it is horribly itchy, enough to make you want to cry. Also it is generally worse at night (they like the warmth and come out to play), but you say your DD is sleeping well.

You mention that she may be worrying about weeing, and that could make her visit the loo more often. Could she also be a little worried about returning to school after a long break (for a 5yo)?

Constipation can cause the sensation of needing to wee more often.
Changing your DDs posture on the toilet might help her empty her bladder fully, if she is retaining a little urine.
Has she been drinking more caffeine-based drinke while she's been at home? these can irritate the bladder.

Once you get into the habit of weeing frequently it can be quite hard to reduce the frequency again. Could you try doing some really fasciniating activity with DD to see if she 'forgets' about the weeing for a while.

Sorry I can't be more specific, hope your DD feels a lot better very soon.

Agree with Piprabbit, Make sure your dd is sitting upright on the toilet , not hanging her bottom into the toilet iyswim? it stops the bladder from emptying properly and you get a constant feeling of needing a wee.

Also, try spatone for iron replacement in case she is low iron, its natural iron rich water and its suitable for children. Available from boots. HTH

She isn't constipated,but I will check how she is sitting on the loo.We have a step but she has stopped using it so maybe she is sitting lower on the loo than before,although we have a child size seat.I did think it might be partly stress at being back at school,although it started on a Saturday (so she's been doing it for a fortnight now).The worrying thing is that she can be doing something she really likes or watching her favourite programme and she will say "I need a wee" and have to run off to the loo.She doesn't have any caffeine at all ,only drinks water.So it could just be that the habit has set in? She never ever wakes at night needing to wee,and she doesn't seem restless,she sleeps next to me so I am aware of her moving around etc.Her little sister is very restless at night but she hasn't mentioned any itchyness and she's never been a good sleeper.

Is she having accidents, where she doesn't get to the loo in time?
Does she always wee when she gets there?

Has she been drinking orange juice? Its a bladder irritant.........

I think your Gp would have tested for sugar on the urine dipstick (it tests lots of things) so diabetes not likely unless drinking really abnormal amounts of drink (you always get sugar in the urine with diabetes). I have heard of similar bladder irritation (inflammation) following wee infections but not straighforward viruses? I think youve covered the threadworm possibility. It may well be habitual now. You could try cranberry juice (jury still out on that but wont do any harm) and increase fluid intake for a week or so. Dont pay any attention to her use of the loo as this may focus her attention on it. Tiredness is very common post viral. If the symptoms continue or she worsens see GP again.

She doesn't drink juice at home,so not that.Last night she woke up in the night needing a wee which she never normally does.She usually goes quite infrequently during the day,but she is weeing a lot again now after a few days last week where it seemed to have improved slightly.She isn't having accidents, and although when this first started she wasn't always managing to produce any urine,she just felt the need to go all the time,now she does wee almost every time she goes.There was no sign of any infection in her urine,and they have cultured it twice,and also no sign of inflamation either.I suppose I am left with threadworms that have come back,or some mystery ailment.Anyone had their daughter do this with worms? Would I be able to see worms if I checked her poo?

Sorry, but at this point I would ask for a referal for your dd to have this checked out properly. She should have a kidney / bladder scan to rule out anything untoward. I don't want to worry you, but with what you have said this is what I would do. I would do it tommorrow, and I wouldn't take no for an answer.

Good luck.

Gosh I hadn't really thought of a kidney/bladder issue as the doctor seemed to rule it out when there were no signs of anything in her urine.It came on so suddenly that at first I thought cystitis,as we had a new bubble bath for the children that seemed a bit over fragranced and I thought maybe this had caused irritation,Then when the nurse suggested worms I thought ok,maybe that's it,(she's in reception),but it is going on and on.

Precisely. Its going on and on. Be pushy get her checked out. Push for an ultrasound.

There are such things as a sterile infection too, they don't culture. Go back. Push for a scan.

I'm taking her back to the GP tomorrow.This will be the fourth time in the last couple of weeks,so hopefully they will check her more thoughroughly now.

I have just read through the thread. In my experience what you are describing is not thread worms. In any case, the treatment you have been given will kill the thread worms and not eggs so you retreat exactly 2 weeks later to get any that have hatched since but are not yet old enough to lay more eggs. If you retreat at the right time you should knock any infestation on the head. They suggest encouraging pants to be worn at night to reduce the chance of worms getting onto the bedding, but washing in the machine as normal will kill them anyway on towels and bedding. If she does a poo in the evening the chances are you would be able to see them, at other times of the day they can be more difficult to spot, but at night they can be seen too, wiggling out!. I have only ever had them as an adult, when I was teaching, and they do itch and irritate adults as much as they do children....believe me [definite need for a grossed out emotion]

I believe you can get something called an irritated bladder when there is no infection, or not one any more, but the bladder continues to send messages that it needs to be emptied. Either way I would say you have successfully ruled out worms, and it is time to go back and get them to investigate other things, a scan sounds a very good idea. Poor dd can't go on like this. I hope you get somewhere tomorrow.