Tonsillitis help please (long sorry)

[isleangel]

Hi
My DS (5) has had a bout of tonsillitis now since the last week of June. Doctor says his left tonsil is swollen badly and has glands are up really big too. He has been treated with calpol, which I have to give him every day due to sore head, sore neck (glands) or sore throat.

He is also back on his inhalers as he had problems with bronchiolitis when he was small( but he has been off them a long time since) and it is making him wheeze and cough.

He has had 5 days of erthomycin, which calmed everything down, but 2 days after finishing them he was back to the same thing.

His doctor says he won't treat him again until he finds out the cause (understandable) and last week he had bloods done - full blood count and lots of other general ones and an allergy test which will not be back for 3 weeks.

this week they say his blood tests are normal (haven't had the allergy one back yet) but the doctor has requested that he needs more bloods done - iron studies, vit B12, folic acid, and stool samples for blood loss through the bowel. I know this is all pointing towards anaemia, but an still a bit confused if his results were fine.

Anyway last Sunday he developed diarrhoea and it has been getting worse and last night he was up 4 times with it.

My question is has anyone else had these kind of symptoms, what can I do to help him recover, how long will this go on for and what else should I be asking the doctor? He is now living on toast and bananas btw, and is feeling generally unwell most days and goes back to school next week.

Any words of advice appreciated

Oh forgot to mention he also had 3 nosebleeds last week and I'm phoning to speak with the doctor at lunchtime

Worth asking for an ENT referral here I think.

I di try that the last time I was down with the doctor beautifulgirls, but was told that he had to have 4 bouts in a year and be off school because of it (which is going to happen very shortly!) otherwise the ENT people wouldn't want to see him and we would just have to 'muddle through'

He has had tonsillitis before but it was may of last year and he was given antibiotics and got over it quickly. Feel like I'm banging my head against the wall. I had thought that if we got the blood tests back and he was still unwilling to do anything, then I would go and see another doctor for a second opinion, but he seems to be getting worse.

I also told him that Ds had tummy pains 2 weeks ago and was told that in children that could mean anything, so it wasn't a symptom

Phoned the doctor yesterday, but he said it was probably just a bug.

Today he has come out in a red bumpy, itchy, rash, all over his stomach and chest and his arms, but when I phoned doctor he said it was probably a virus, and the rash should go away by itself and to give him more calpol . and nothing else. His tonsils are now covered in white spots, he has more diarrhea, though not as bad, and he has white spots in the roof of his mouth, but doctor seems very uninterested, and he hasn't even seen him.

He also said to increase his brown inhaler to 6 puffs a day

What should I do now - really at wits end and he seems to be getting something else every day. Has anyone had DC with this long term tonsillitis?

Is there a walk in centre you could take him to?

I could take him to the after hours care, would they do anything for him?

I had thought of getting a second opinion from the other doctor in the practice, but she is off this week and next and then is fully booked for the week after.

Ok, you need to get him seen.
A and e if necessary.

After hours care is a good first step to a second opinion. Dr surgeries don't like us using it as they get charged for your visit (in a kind of 'well your patient came to see us so you pay). It'll also have the benefit of him being seen independently and assessed again. I'd take him first thing tomorrow.

Thanks for advice - going to after hours tonight as he's no better - he could hardly sleep last night due to itchy rash, pain, diarrhoea, and I had to give him his blue inhaler as well as it sounded like he was filling up with fluid, blue inhaler did clear him though.

Today he still has the rash and his diarrhoea has got worse, so decided there was no point in talking to doctor again, I definately need a second opinion, so fingers crossed I will get that tonight.

If they don't do anything either, am thinking of talking him to the children's A and E 50 miles away.
My mum says she thinks he has glandular fever, as my brother had it when he was younger, but when I mentioned this to doctor he said glandular fever only lasted a week even though my brother had it for months.

thanks for advice and I'll let you know what happens. any other advice grateful as well

Well I had GF and I was ill for months!
I would go to a and e if I were you.
Get some bloods done.
Your poor ds :(

Back with an update. Got seen by out of hours on Friday evening. His tonsil had swollen up so much by then he couldn't swallow and was leaking from his mouth when he was drinking.

Dr says he has chronic tonsillitis and gave him 5 days of penicillin, but says he will probably need 10 day course to get it cleared. He has been on it a full day now and tonsil has decreased in size, diarrhoea has stopped and rash has improved too.

thanks for your help, now have to try and get my own doctor to give me another 5 days penicillin.

They should prescribe it if you ask for a phone appt...will save you going down to the surgery.
They will see from his records that he was seen by oh gp - although why he just didn't give you 10 days is beyond me...
Hope he feels better soon...tonsilitis is a vile illness.