Advice for vomiting toddler - please help

[RedHerring24]

Please bear with me, this may be a bit long winded but I am worried and am looking for reassurance or advice.

My daughter is 22months old and went down with what we thought to be a vomiting bug 8 days ago.
She stopped eating, minimal fluid intake and vomited a couple of times on the first day.
The next day was much the same, food refusal but taking on some fluids. Not as many wet nappies but still passing urine.
Come day 3 I called 111 for advice and they pointed me in the direction of a pharmacy for oral rehydration sachets.
That night she couldn't hold down water so I took her to A&E.
They gave an antisickness medication and said it was a virus and to go home.
The next 2 days were much the same, no food intake, some fluids including milk but still vomiting.
I took her to our GP along with a urine sample (as suggested by A&E) and she was diagnosed with a UTI and sent home with antibiotics and no examination.
This was on day 5.

She perked up a little but has still been refusing food and minimal fluids. Still vomiting.
Went back to the GP on day 6 explained the worries. She had lost alot of weight and wasn't eating still. GP again said viral, if worried go to A&E.
So I did.
Spent 5 hours with a vomiting child in paediatrics to be told again that it's viral and could go on 2 weeks or more.

Now, she hasn't eaten in 9 days. She will have the odd nibble on a dry cracker or a small bit of breadstick. She will take on some fluids. But that's it.
She has antisickness meds at home now but still vomits even with these in her system.

What am I doing wrong?
Has anyone experienced similar? I'm worried sick but feel fobbed off by everyone as I'm sure a virus doesn't make you vomit this long.
Can anyone advise at all?

I didn't want to read and not reply. That sounds horrendous. I think I would go back to a&e. Have you weighed her ? Could it be really bad food poisoning?

I hope she comes round soon,the poor wee girl,not fair at all

Not a medic. But I would go back. Is she still having wet nappies? It may be a bad case, but not keeping anything in with this medication seems to me to be a big problem... any idea if she has lost a lot of weight? Nappy size still the same?

This happened to us just before Christmas last year, when DS had just turned 2. It was awful, I was going out of my mind and like you just kept being fobbed off. I really sympathise as it’s so worrying.

DS did accept those fruit Ella’s kitchen pouches for babies when they are first weaning, if that helps at all. It meant he was getting some fluid at least.

this sounds incredibly stressful. I think I would go back to a&e. I’ve never heard of a vomiting bug lasting so long..and the fact she’s refusing food and struggling with water.
Is she retching when she is sick or is it effortless?

We've had a vomiting bug lasting that long at 13 months and it was awful. He would eat the apple Ella's kitchen pouches (normally hates them). We syringed Diarolyte into his mouth for fluids. And moved onto oat milk during and for a week or so after the vomiting stopped.

We were told not to go to A&E because very infectious, but did have to go one day and sit in the corner as he hadn't had a wet nappy.

Back to a and e.

I’m not a professional but my daughter once developed a temporary intolerance to dairy after a bug. Just a similar situation. I would go back to A&E too. I think you need to be really clear with them, in teaspoons and mls what she is eating and drinking and the number of wet nappies she has over a 12/24 hour period.

Is she having wet nappies?

BRAT diet might help if you can persuade her to eat a tiny bit of food, and she might find ice lollies soothing in terms of fluids?

Try small amounts of jelly to get some fluid in , if you can.
DD had this kind of thing at a similar age and got very weak. For some time while coming round, it was anything dairy (including milk, yoghurt, custard, etc) that could result in another bout of sickness. She went off it all for about 3 months.

I would strongly suggest you go back to the hospital. You know your own baby.
With fluids would you little one take an ice pole at all? They can be a good way of keeping fluids up without being as filling as a drink or a solid. For what it's worth you sound like such a good and loving parent and you are doing everything you can.
I hope your little one feels better soon and I sincerely hope they take you seriously at the hospital.
Is your baby lethargic? Any change to their pace of breathing? Any change to their colour? All these are things to keep an eye on but I'm sure you're already doing that. Hope you have a useful answer from the hospital soon as the meds are clearly not working.

@RedHerring24 when my DD was a similar age she had the same/similar things happen. After a few days she was able to keep down enough liquid (diorolyte) to stay hydrated but she didn't eat/drink any calories for more than two weeks and the doctors just weren't interested because she wasn't dehydrated. Eventually I insisted that they weigh her and compare it with her Red book/centile line - she had lost SO much weight, they admitted her immediately!

Our DS had a bad bug at 1. Syringing in teeny amounts of fluid every 15 minutes helped to keep him hydrated. Those baby food pouches are a good idea.

Thank you everyone so far.

I'm toying with the idea of A&E again but both times they literally have not been interested. Even the consultant paediatrician said virus and sent me away.
She has lost approximately 1.2kgs in a week.
She will take on fluids during the day and keep them down. She has still been having some milk once or twice a day.
On the food front she manages a cracker or 2 at breakfast, then it's mainly been picking at things like a mouthful of ham, or a wafer but nothing substantial.
Every health care professional we have seen, and that's 5 of them in 6 days, have been given all the info, my worries about her weight etc and they have all said, as long as she has fluids, food isn't important!

For the last 2 days she has been relatively bright during the day but begins to hit a wall at about 6pm. Refuses dinner then vomits. Will then go on to have a bath, maybe some milk then bed.
She is still wetting nappies, maybe not quite as much as normal but they are indeed still wet and she is weeing on the potty a little too. Her urine is dilute so not dehydrated.

I just feel so upset sitting watching her being this unwell. I'm literally trying everything I can and I'm getting nowhere.
I just feel like the doctors/paediatricians aren't bothered because she isn't dehydrated yet.

How stressful.
We’ve had this with our littles a couple of times and it’s so worrying. You have just got to be careful with dehydration. She may need admission for IV fluids at some point if it goes on much longer.
The thing that made the difference for us was avoiding any milk or dairy at all until completely better and sticking strictly to very dry carby foods (sounds like you are doing that already though). In my experience the actual virus goes after a few days but the stomach is so sensitive after a bug like this that you have to treat it very very gently for at least a week or two after that or you keep activating it again. Good luck @RedHerring24

@picturethispatsy thank you. She has a milk protein allergy so is completely dairy free which is a bonus I guess.
Shes never been like this before and it's just so stressful. Just keep feeling like uts my fault.

@RedHerring24 oh no it’s not your fault! Kids get poorly all the time. It sounds like you’re doing your absolute best for her. My best advice is to listen carefully to your instincts. You will know if she needs to go back to a&e.
Re the milk, could it be something you could avoid for a few days anyway? What is it made of? I don’t know much about non-dairy milks but is it kind of ‘creamy’?? Iyswim? We’ve found after these kinds of bugs that their tummies need a complete break from anything ‘heavy’ or rich…

@picturethispatsy her prescription milk is pretty vile to be fair! It's not creamy or anything, pretty watery if I'm honest. She gets nothing else that is rich either, her diet can be pretty dull until such times as she grows out of her milk allergy.

@RedHerring24 ah ok, not sure my advice applies then. I just know from bitter experience that giving their tummies an almost total rest except for water and things like nibbles of dry crackers or dry toast with jam etc for a few days made the difference. You may need some more medical advice if it goes on much longer. I hope she gets better quickly and you can put this behind you!

@picturethispatsy thank you. I just want it to be over with too.
I've never heard of a vomiting virus going on for 2 weeks. It's just madness!

@RedHerring24 we called it the bug that kept on giving the year all 3 of our DC had it on and off for about a month 😬

@picturethispatsy did your children just have vomiting or did they have any other symptoms? Sorry to ask.

Was she given trimethoprim for her uti? It doesn't work and she may need a different antibiotic to clear the infection,

Mainly vomiting but also some diarrhea too. Definitely not utis

@dearanon yes she was given trimethoprim. She had a few doses before A&E told us prob not worth giving so we stopped. Although my better judgement now says to give a e day course and see if it helps?

@picturethispatsy she has no diarrhoea at all which is why I'm questioning if this is even viral. Also no temperature

@RedHerring24 how is she today? I think you should question everything. Kids can hide things that might otherwise be in on an adult. What tests did she have for a UTI? Was it just a dip test or a full culture? What did they say?