NHS Direct have diagnosed irritable hip - does this need to be confirmed by doctor?

[gnatbite]

DD aged 2 had sudden onset limping this afternoon, she doesn't appear to be in any pain but the limping is really quite pronounced. I rang NHS Direct and they have said that the limping combined with the cold she had last week lead them to think it is irritable hip which will go away by itself with rest. Being the Google-monster that I am, I have obviously looked this up and nearly everywhere (including old threads on here) say that you should go to A&E to rule out any other cause of sudden limping. So, my question (finally!!) is would I be wasting the time of A&E/Minor Injuries unit to go and get her double checked?

By the way, before you ask, she is indeed my PFB so if you think I am over-reacting, please say

Is it hot/sore?

Na, sod my question. I'd get it checked in person. There's alot of things that can follow an illness. This isn't normal small child behaviour. It's best to get it checked by a real person, not one on the end of a phone that can't see the range of movement etc.

dd had exactly this and we'd never heard of it even though she was 2nd born. She couldn't walk on it. Treatment was anti-inflammatories ie nurofen for 3 days and then return if no improvement. Unless she has injured herself try that first. dd was much better within 48 hours.

There is no external sign of anything wrong. She was laughing when we were pulling/pushing/pressing it to try to figure out what was wrong. I have given her Nurofen and she's now asleep so I guess I'll just wait and see how she is in the morning.

I would get it checked to be honest. There's an illness called oseomeilitis, which is an infection of the bone. It can get really nasty so it does need checking incase it's this. It may not be but I wouldn't leave it just incase.

Oops, meant to say thanks

Ahh, if it's not painful/hot then maybe the GP in the morning?

Thanks FBGB, my gut feeling is to go to A&E and I guess that is what I should go with (is that what they call mothers' instinct?).

Sorry cross post - I'll go to our local minor injuries in the morning - it's usually pretty quiet in the week (thanks again!)

NHS can't really diagnose anything, they can only suggest possibilities and recommend where to go/what to do next.

I wouldn't get her out of bed to go to A&E but I would take her to the GP tomorrow.

I hope she's OK.

Oops meant NHS direct not the NHS as a whole

dd was sent by gp to pediatric unit with it. By yhe time we had been assessed she was feeling much better it was pretty worrying at the time.

bloody nhs direct!
they cannot diagnose, they are nurses reading from a computer protocol. you need to see and examine a child to rule out a septic arthritis, and possibly take a blood test.

they do it all the time - i'm sure its not the computer telling them - but jumped up nurses thinking they know it all when they don't! (not all nurses btw, just the few that give out crap advice on nhs direct - i have a whole list of stories, including some dangerous ones with babies and rashes)

it could well be an irritable hip and that is probably top of the differential - BUT she needs to be seen by a doc. Gp tomorrow. or A+E tonight if it gets worse, she has a fever, it becomes red/hot etc

The lady I spoke to was really good - she said that her son had had it a couple of times and that it is pretty harmless (I should have left it at that and not searched the internet the second I hung up!!). I am sure she will be fine, it's just quite alarming to see her staggering down the corridor like an old drunk!

Thanks to you all though, I feel calm again now (and will not Google anything else!)

I was talking to someone on here ages ago, her daughter had a sore leg, the nurse from NHS direct told her mum not to worry as she'd got it stuck in the bars of the cot! I didn't know they were telepathic! Another diagnosed nightmares when a child showed signs of a fit.

Ahhh, cross posts with luvaduck (I take so long checking for spelling mistakes this tends to happen alot!) I am deffo going to go in the morning just to rule anything else out - thanks!

For future info if anyone looks back at this for advice.....boys can get something called Perthes disease which basically eats away at their hip. If NHS direct tell you not to worry, then take him to A&E anyway to rule this out!

I will update in the morning - thanks all

How is she doing today?

When ds1 had this a while ago the GP arranged for him to have an x-ray the following day.

Btw, girls can get perthes too - I had it when I was little - although it is more common in boys. Hope you went and got it checked out.

Well we spent the morning in A&E as they wanted to rule out any other cause of sudden onset limping. They x-rayed her hips to make sure there was no bone degeneration. Everything was OK so it seems NHS Direct were correct on this occasion, but both the Nurse and the Doctor we saw were very that they had not told us to come in as a matter of course to rule out more sinister possibilities. They have said to go back if she is still limping in 48 hours, if she develops a fever or starts vomiting. Just got to keep her dosed up on ibuprofen for the next few days.

Thank you for all your input - made me feel slightly less of a neurotic mother!!

I'm so pleased she's OK. It really is always best to get things like this checked, you never know.

FluffyBunnyGB, she really is fine in herself, that's what was so weird about the whole thing! Thanks for your words of wisdom last night, really appreciated