18 month old not eating. Any ideas?

[PavlovtheCat]

DD has been ill with a virus for over a week, with outh ulcers not been eating or drinking at all. Now she is reluctantly drinking some milk, nowhere near what she was, but some at least, she is mostly back to normal behaviour wise, but is refusing to eat.

She occasionally 'forgets' she is refusing, and will take a small bite of maybe a banana, then cries in pain. She walks around with food in her hand, wont let it go, but wont eat it, is interested in our dinner, or what we are eating, but wont eat. She tried a little fruit smootthy earlier and again cried in pain, this is what happens whenever she does try to eat.

I have given her paracetamol almost constantly, tried oragel, and also bonjela for the anticeptic to help heal the ulcers.

Is it the ulcers stopping her from eating? Could she have ulcers down her throat? Is there anything we can do to help her get better? Could it be anything else?

We are worried, she has los a lot of weight, and the Drs dont seem too bothered. Its now the weekend and we thought as she was feeling better she would start eating today but she hasnt yet

bump

Cook some vegetables & meat/fish together, add water & pass through the blender to make a nutritious soup. Give it to her bit by bit with medicine syringe, from the side of her mouth.

I hope your DD feels better soon. Viruses are supposed to get better in a week, maximum 10 days. If she doesn't start to eat in the next couple of days (total > 10 days) take her to a hospital. She might need to be fed intravenously.

just give her fluids as she needs, dont FRET, she ll be better in no time but prob needs a bit more time.
one thing thou i found was milk can fill them up and quench their appetite so give her water/diluted juice instead and her appetite might come back sooner.
lots of snack offering, a little often!

thanks for the advice. I agree Herm that milk can fill her up, but she usually drinks 20oz plus, AND three good meals and snacks, now she drinking around 10oz, no food. Little juice. She has only been drinking milk for last two days. I guess her apetite has reduced significantly, so wont eat/drink anywhere near enough.

Cote - she has lost a lot of weight, can now see her ribs, but she is lively and happy enough today...hosp? or Drs? if she doesnt eat by Monday?

First time mum, can you tell?!!!

Pavlov - We had a bad virus like this last winter. At the time we were told that if DD lost 10% of body weight, she would have to have IV at hospital. She lost almost 10% before we stopped caring about possible psychological trauma and started force feeding her with a syringe. I'm not proud of it but it kept her out of hospital.

If your DD is back to normal behaviour, seems happy etc, it's possible that she is recovering, and her appetite will be back soon. Do you know what she weighed before? How much weight did she lose?

If she doesn't eat for another two days, and especially if she looks sleepy & acts lethargic, I would take her to see a doctor.

Good luck.

Cote - thanks for this. Her behaviour is fine, she is happy and in good spirits for the first time in weeks. We have managed to gtet her to eat a banana by pureeing it with milk and ignoring her whilst she drank it.

I also find that once I have put gel on her gums she will drink something like smoothy, a mouthful or two. She is drinking a bit more milk.

I dont know what she weighed before, she was small, always has been just going into 12-18 months clothing. However bought a 9-12 month skirt a few weeks ago which fit her perfectly, its now loose. She has lost a lot of weight, but has a lot of energy and wet nappies, not dehydrated.

I hope she wont need to get IV, will try the syringe tomorrow if she does not eat by then.