Please help a stressed mama!

[MyGrassIsBrowner]

Firstly this is long and I apologise if I'm babbling..

So on Wednesday we took my 14 month old DD to the GP as she has been teething (molars) and started running a temp, she's been majorly irritable and started refusing any food, only drinking her milk during the day. Was checked over by the GP who checked her mouth and said 'oh, she has an infection' ..shoved me a prescription for penicillin and that was that. Got her home, gave her a dose via syringe then put her to bed. She woke during the night numerous times, absolutely inconsolable so spent the night co-sleeping with me whilst DH slept in spare room. The next morning I could just tell she wasn't right, not playing with her toys as she normally would and wouldn't concentrate on cbeebies like she usually would. I then tried to give her some ready brek which she loves, she refused and started absolutely crying her heart out. I managed to look in her mouth and straight away noticed her gums and tongue were bright red, ulcerated and swollen. (I've attached pic) the gums have become so swollen at this point that it's essentially burying her front teeth, top and bottom.
So in sheer panic I called 111, explained all to them and was told I'd recieve a call from out of hours. In the end she was in such a state and started refusing her drink as the day went on, wouldn't let me go anywhere near her mouth without really breaking her heart so frantic and upset once again I called 111 who told us to take her to A&E and they would send a referral over to them. DH turns up with a very inconsolable child, explains he's been sent and they tell him there is no record if any referral. That immediately sets the tone for DH. They then cart him into the 'quarantine' part of the A&E department and inform him they will be coming to do a PCR test on my DD to rule out covid. (She didnt have a temp at this point but was hot as it was a warm evening and she was totally worked up) DH was in A&E 4 hours before even being seen to so he walked out and brought her home. I have upmost respect for the NHS and understandably we're in a very volatile time r.e covid but my DH said she was the youngest patient in that waiting room and was informed by the receptionist 'they aren't prioritising children tonight' okay... 😳
We managed to get her settled and in bed once she had got home and she slept through. It's now Sunday and she hasn't had any food in maybe 3 days now? Wont take icecream, ice lollies, water, just wont have anyone go near her mouth without screaming. I'm 22 weeks pregnant myself at the moment so my head is a shed! And by the way at this point, im still non the wiser as to what is wrong with her.

Yesterday a last ditch attempt I called 111 AGAIN and basically cried down the phone to them. I spoke to a paramedic, triage nurse AND GP who all were very sympathetic and had seen on her notes that she hadn't been given any sort of diagnosis yet and apologised.. yeah, thanks I guess?
Anyway, the GP asked me to send photos over of her mouth, he then said he reckoned hand, foot and mouth.. (she hasnt got any spots on her palms or soles of her feet) he just told me he wasnt concerned by her not eating but the fluid intake needs to be upped. My frustration at the moment is she will have a bit of her milk, then the pain kicks in and she is absolutely inconsolable and it's breaking my heart. I was very VERY close to calling an ambulance last night as she was completely in distress but then I was torn between is it truly an emergency and am I wasting paramedics time? I'm at a total loss. I was also prescribed Nystan oral suspension but then told I shouldn't have been prescribed that as it's mainly used for oral thrush and would have little to no effect on her ulcers. The penicillin she was initially prescribed also got chucked as I was informed by the GP it is probably viral and the penicillin in that case will be pointless.

Thankfully my mother is over this weekend helping me out, DD loves her nana and seems to be settling more with her than me (im guessing she can vibe my absolute stress atm) she still isn't eating and getting her to drink is difficult. Is there anything I can do to take the pain away? Ive tried Bonjela, Anbesol and teething powder so far. I'm honestly one stressed out mama 😩
Thank you so much if you have read this far! Xx

Have you tried calpol?
It does look and sound like hand foot and mouth

Ouch! Poor thing. My only snippet of advice is to use the Calpol syringe or a bigger one if you have it to keep giving her little zaps of water. When my ds had a sickness bug and got dehydrated I had to do this every ten minutes. You can also give dioralyte if you think you need to. Sorry can't spell that! Hope she feels brighter soon!

@insancerre calpol and ibruprofen but trying to get her to take it now is a two man job and I hate having to pin her down to make her take it. She'll just gag and scream.

@Orangeinmybluelightcup
Thank you for your kind words. I will definitely look at using the syringe for getting some water down her x

I had issues getting mine to take Calpol /ibuprofen when younger but I think it's worth 5 mins stress if it gives her some relief. I used to approach it a bit like worming a cat, take advantage of a cry to fire the syringe in, shut their mouth by pushing bottom jaw up as gently as possible in the circumstances and rub under their chin to make them swallow! Was a bit mean but quick and worth it when they really are unwell imo.

Has anyone close to her had a cold sores OP?

@Orangeinmybluelightcup I have been trying to do it this way but the majority ends up coming out the sides of her mouth, I will certainly perserver with it though. I just wish I could take the pain away for her.

@TeddyBeans she was a lockdown baby and has only really been with me and DH. I do get cold sores but touch wood haven't had one flare up for years. Non of my parents get them.

It looks like she may have hand, foot and mouth. They look like the spots you get with it. I can see them on her tongue and above her lip.

Can you not get an out of hours gp appointment today?

@ItsSnowJokes but she doesn't have any spots on her palms or soles of her feet?
As I said in my post. Already spoken to the GP on numerous occassions and they've basically told me to ride it out. If it is viral then antibiotics wont help. I'm just desperate for something to help make her more comfortable in the interim

It looks like hand foot and mouth to me too, you don't always get the spots in all of the 3 places.
I remember having it as a child and remember it being very painful.

Persevere with fluids and calpol. Will she take juice in a calpol syringe? Or tasty milkshake, any fluids will help to keep her hydrated

If she's not improving, take her straight back to A&E and bypass 111. it's not a waste of time. Sending hugs, it's awful when they're poorly

@Bezzi if she does have that do I need to worry about catching it with me being pregnant? Bit worried now 🥺
Milkshakes are a good idea actually, I'd not thought of that!

@yellowgecko thank you, definitely keeping a close eye on her now and if she doesn't improve I wont hesitate to get her to A&E x

Suppositories? Paralink suppository if you can’t get calpol into her orally?

With hand foot and mouth you don't have to have spots on each place. I had it as an adult and I only had spots in my mouth. Towards the end I got one or two on my hands but it was mainly my mouth. If you aren't happy though take her back to a n e and stay until she is seen

@KILNAMATRA I have been thinking about this myself actually, good shout

Will she take an ice lolly? Just to try to get some fluids into her. You could get a lolly making kit and do them with squash with no sugar if you're worried about that, might numb the pain a bit too.

Its very likely hand foot and mouth. The spots or sores tend to appear in the moth first. She may develop them on hands and feet soon.
I would alternate ibuprofen and calpol for the pain and inflammation, and avoid giving her fruit juices.

@romdowa ahh I see! Looking at pics on google and comparing them to what my DD has, it seems that it's very likely. I wont hesitate now to take her back to A&E if she isn't improving

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion thank you! Yeah I'm just trying to stick to giving her just water at the mo. Also fully stocked up on calpol and ibuprofen!

Yes it looks like hand foot and mouth. Awful when my DDs had it.

When giving calpol have you tried putting it in a small amount of milk so she drinks it?

Also as pp mentioned, tickling under the chin can help or blowing her face gently to get her to swallow.

Will she hold the syringe herself?

Have you tried a spoon instead?

How about a cold wet flannel for her to chew?

Porridge?

Ice lollies?

It is horrible when you feel you can't help but she will get through it soon.

Good idea re syringing liquids into her.. and is she peeing.. she should produce 1.5 ml pee for her body weight per hour.. so 10 Kgs=15 mls per hour so weigh 3 nappies, and weigh her wet nappies. If she’s not peeing or peeing less than that she needs an iv drip..and tell the hospital staff she’s not producing urine.. bless you it’s hard when they’re sick

@Dogsorlogs frustratingly she wouldnt even take an ice lolly. She completely lost it when I tried to give her some yesterday. It broke my heart as surely it would have being soothing for her 🥺

Second PP’s suspicion of herpetic gingivostomatitis if anyone close has ever had coldsores, though i agree HFM also a strong possibility. Really would persist with the Calpol or ibuprofen (or supps) as no matter the cause it’s the thing that will help the most, far more than teething powders etc, and watch her hydration status in terms of wet nappies etc if her intake is still poor - though should improve with some proper pain relief on board. Good luck OP!

Also reiterating hand foot mouth. I’m not a medical professional but my daughter had them at a similar age but only on her hands! She recovered quite quickly. Fluids will be the key as she’s more likely to become ill from dehydration than the hfm

At the moment she cries the moment a spoon is even lifted to her mouth. Also, she is still having wet nappies. I've also been putting the calpol in her milk which she has been taking thankfully!

Thank you everyone. Feeling much more reassured with it now. Think it's my emotional state that I'm letting get the better of me at the moment. Obviously no one likes to see their little one in pain, it's just horrible. Guess it doesn't help being 22 weeks pregnant too, my head is all over the place as it is lol.
Thanks all for your kind words x