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Children's health

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Original poster

22 month old vomiting and lifeless

24 replies

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 13:12

My DD has been throwing up since Thursday. Took her to OOH yesterday who checked her for dehydration and said not to worry as she seemed fine. OOH doc said no solid food, just sips of water for a couple of days. He said to take her to GP if she got any worse.

Now, this morning she has been very lifeless, drifting in and out of sleep on my lap. (She normally never sleeps anywhere but her cot). She can't keep down more than a couple of sips of water. If she takes a big gulp she's throwing it up before she's put the cup down.

I've taken her to our GP this morning and he's diagnosed gastroenteritis- I'm not convinced. She has no diarrhoea and no temperature. Also, we're a family of 5 and no-one else has a stomach bug.

What I'd like to know is- when do I worry? She's really not herself. Can anyone advise?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

pookamoo · 13/02/2012 13:13

Take her in to A&E.

Sorry, but if she's that poorly, she needs to be seen.

Let us know how you are getting on.

Lulumama · 13/02/2012 13:13

i think you mean listless rather than lifeless, but all the same, take her to A&E now and you are worried anyway so get off t'internet and get to A&E

pookamoo · 13/02/2012 13:14

seen again, I mean.

Combinearvester · 13/02/2012 13:16

Ring the GP and say you are not convinced its gastroenteritis, is there anything else it can be. Stress listlessness and she can't keep water down etc. Has she gone significantly downhill since the doc saw her this morning?

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 13/02/2012 13:21

A & e hon x if u think doctors are wrong and ur worried just get down there x better safe than sorry x

Original poster

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 13:24

Maybe I do mean listless. No, the GP saw her like this, she hasn't gone downhill since. He's adamant it's a bug. He says they 'look distressing but are rarely dangerous'. I've kept her nappy off now so I can time when she next urinates.

The thing putting me off taking her to A+E is the fact that she's seen 2 doctors in 24 hours who say she's fine.

What should I be looking out for? GP talked about signs of dehydration- but tbh I'm more concerned about what might be causing it.

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TheCunningStunt · 13/02/2012 13:25

My dd had this and no one else caught it because she had eaten something off the ground. We took her to minor injuries as she as as you describe(diarrhoea not always a symptom). She could not keep fluids down. We had to keep her in hospital for a little while and give her diarlyte(spelling?) in about 10 ml doses and see if she kept them down. She did and we got to come home. Had she not she would have been given a drip to give her fluids. Let us know How you go.

TheCunningStunt · 13/02/2012 13:27

Ps you can buy that dioralyte stuff in boots. Maybe get her some, it helps them rehydrate

Original poster

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 13:32

Glad your DD is ok cunning. The gp did suggest dioralyte, I'll send DH to chemist in a minute. She's just had a drink- about 3 mins ago. So far so good.

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frasersmummy · 13/02/2012 13:35

our ds was like this at around the same age.. 2 doctors told us .. so long as he keeps drinking he will be fine but he was throwing up more than he was taking in.
The doctors didnt see this as they werent with him all the time . The first was our gp on the friday and an emergency gp on the sunday

We took him back to our gp on the monday .. who sent us to the hosp and he was admitted and put on a drip...

it can happen really quickly so better to keep taking dd back

Original poster

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 13:41

Thanks frasersmummy. What was causing it with your DS? Hope he's OK now.

They're so very little to be taking chances with, aren't they? I am going to give it a few more hours and take her back if no improvement.

That drink has stayed down though.

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OxyMoron · 13/02/2012 13:42

A&E. When my dd was like this it turned out to be diabetes.

summerskye · 13/02/2012 17:43

There are some bugs that toddlers are prone to, which are like norovirus but are I think adenovirus's , wher vomiting is the only symptom and they go on for a few days.

Good news on the drink staying down, hopefully once she gets more energy from the diaryolite she will perk up.

slug · 13/02/2012 18:25

Aged 19 months DD managed to force an emergency landing at Singapore Airport with exactly the same symptoms. She just went floppy an unresponsive. It scared the beejezus put of me and the air hostesses who are usually quite calm in the face of vomiting babies. There were no doctors onboard so the decision was made to radio it in as a medical emergency and down we went.

3 hours later, after the ambulance rush to the airport hospital, the child perked up. She sat up and started burbling at the nurses. We were able to go on on our connecting flight. I felt a bit at the ruckus we had caused but with children that young you just can't tell.

GRW · 13/02/2012 19:57

Did the GP check her urine? Vomiting and listlessness can be a sign of urinary tract infection, and not having a temperature doesn't rule it out. If she doesn't pick up soon I'd take her back and ask them to check that.

beautifulgirls · 13/02/2012 20:23

Get her re-examined if you are worried. Please be safe not sorry. DD#3 had seen 2 doctors in 24hrs who both said viral, sips of fluids etc and things turned out to be very serious though I will not scare you with details. Thankfully I did take her to A&E and didn't take no for an answer.
What is the worst that can happen if you go to A&E and you didn't need to? At least get her checked again to put your mind at rest.

ZhenThereWereTwo · 13/02/2012 20:38

Sounds like she needs dioralyte for the salts, if drinks are not staying down I was told by A&E when I took DD on Christmas Day with D&V bug to syringe in 5ml every 5 mins but slowly so as not to irritate the stomach. Also ice lollies and jellies are good for getting fluids in slowly too.

After 4 days with no food I would be pretty listless, but no A&E is going to tell you off for taking her in to get checked out if you are worried. Better safe than sorry.

Original poster

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 20:43

Thanks for all responses. She has perked up quite a bit this afternoon/ evening. She has kept a few drinks down and a couple of bites of dry toast.
She's also had a (big) wee! Which is a very good sign that she's not dehydrated I think.
Hopefully she's on the mend now- she's sleeping, but I will try to get her to have a few more sips of water when I put her brothers to bed and before I go to bed.

Hopefully the GP was right and I'm just being neurotic!

OP posts:

Original poster

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 20:45

Oh, and just to add, she has had dioralyte. She seems to like the taste, amazingly!

OP posts:

Original poster

abbierhodes · 13/02/2012 20:46

I agree zhen, I think the listlessness is down to lack of food. If she can keep breakfast down in the morning then hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

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ZhenThereWereTwo · 13/02/2012 20:51

Don't rush the food, with DD she tolerated toast after 5 days of D&V so I progressed onto other foods quickly and she went back to being sick again after two days of being fine as her stomach was still tender and recovering. Milk products are particularly irritating. I found rice noodles in chicken stock a good starting point after toast or chicken soup with potato.

sneezecakesmum · 13/02/2012 20:56

Glad to here things are looking up. The listlessness is down to being attacked by a virus, dehydration, a lack of food and the imbalance in the blood's salt levels caused by vomiting. so a major whammy!

Its unusual for vomiting to last more than 3 days, so I would have looked into the possibility of a wee infection too, but if shes on the mend tons of fluids, especially the vile dioralyte as it replaces the lost salts (particularly potassium)

margoandjerry · 13/02/2012 20:56

My DD had gastroenteritis at Christmas. She was throwing up for four days - at times every half hour - and didn't stop. Just green bile on days 2, 3 and 4. She was probably sick 25 times over the period. Didn't eat a bite and was barely keeping water down - over 4 days she got weaker and weaker. We saw the GP twice and then by day 4 got sent to hospital in an ambulance when she was as you describe your DD - almost unresponsive (she's 5) and drifting in and out of sleep. They were very thorough (tested urine which was negative for urine infection) and were able to check that although she wasn't taking in much fluid she was managing to stay out of dehydration. It was gastroenteritis - she had no fever or diarrhoea either. And then suddenly on day 5 she wanted toast and was immediately fine!

Anyway, it sounds as though your DD has reached the same point so I am sure you are feeling much better. But you weren't being neurotic - yes in the end this was just a stomach bug but for a little person it's a big deal and they do need to watch for dehydration. I was also worried about a urine infection because my DD has a history of this (often shows as vomiting) and I wanted to be sure it wasn't going to affect her kidneys. So just to say don't worry about being neurotic. Glad she seems to be on the mend.

sneezecakesmum · 13/02/2012 20:57

PS follow instructions re dioralyte I think its only for when vomiting and diarrhoea, rather than the aftermath..

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