Violently sick 24 hours after swimming in a river

[CrazyHorse]

21yo DS went kayaking (and I assume swimming) in the river, according to DD (DS isn't up to talking atm, I'll ask him later)

He's now being violently sick, repeatedly, even though there is nothing left to come up. His body, really, really doesn't want what ever is in him to be in him! Does this sound like something caught from the river or just a general sickness bug? Does it make a difference in how I can help hiim? I've asked him only to only have sips of water.

The same thing happened 5 years ago when he swam in a ford which is now well known to be polluted.

OP, when the dust settles, have him get some bloodwork done to check kidney function and any other tests the GP might suggest. Definitely follow up.

The art of not taking everything literally seems to be being lost. Not everybody’s style is to be super serious when they post about an issue that is making them worried. A degree of humour can ease anxiety and make for a calmer time and better decision making for a lot of people.

Looking at previous threads on MN and you will see that 111 are well known for advising A&E whenever there is nothing else in their script to track down what is going on. OP’s son, an adult, did not want to go and OP, who was actually there, did not see an immediate need to panic over that decision. So her reaction was concerned acceptance and an attempt to cope with symptoms in as lighthearted but helpful manner as she could.

Having a go at someone because they don’t do exactly what you would is narrow minded, a bit nasty and totally unhelpful.

He was writijng in pain. Which is why I went to 111 online- the first person we spoke to wanted DS to go to be seen at hospital for the pain. The second person who called was the booking person and could book him in at rhe walk in at the hospital, and I said it would be difficult to take him, so she didn't book him in. The third person who called diagnosed wind, which then made sense to me. Initially I was panicking about his level of pain. I'm still worried about him, which is why I'm still up way past my bedtime.

None of this is made up, but whatever.

That's right. No NSAIDs if you have tummy trouble. They can irritate the intestinal tract.

The info about river pollution is so interesting! I didn’t know.

OP I’m thinking that the beans will have caused trapped wind/pain. Hope that he’s over the worst now.

Last time I tried to be helpful I shared a valid link which OP ignored. What have you done, other than wave your Pom Pom?

And I’m not having a go at someone for doing something different. I’m having a go at someone who’s having a wind up. Unless 111 really have called three times. See, in my experience they call once and either recommend urgent care, make you an out of hours appointment (my parent had this last month), refer you to your gp sometimes with a back up email (my DH had this). Do you really think 111 would diagnose anything over the phone in these circumstances- let alone wind!!

The intermittent name changing is hardly adding to the credibility. Nor is the drip feed which has gone from urgent situation blind panic and now he threw up Tuesday. Can’t even unscrew a Lucozade bottle by the way, poor lad. So mollycoddled he is. Can kayak in a river though, phew.

But hey, you crack on. I’m quite happy doing me, thanks.

When the dust settles?????
Blood tests at the GP can take weeks

Kidney injury can lead to kidney failure!

@Aiiiighhhhht - sorry, I'd missed your post with the . I've now scrolled back and found and read it. My apologies for not acknowledging it earlier.

Jesus Christ. Don’t ‘shout’ at me using question marks. 😆 I’m just some 52 year old fucker on my phone, way past my bedtime.
I’m in total agreement with you. I am. And I’d have been hauling ass to A&E from the moment he got ill. But OP is really soft pedaling this and hasn’t prioritised her son at all. That’s my opinion. So I’m approaching her in a way that might make her listen. Because she seems reluctant to do what the majority of us would. I don’t want her to overlook blood work (which won’t at all take a month. Don’t be stupid.).

I said the blood tests will take weeks (for an appoitment) and im not sure where you live but i cant make an appoitment for blood tests for atleast 3 or 4 weeks and i have kidney failure

@Aiiiighhhhht -I have already apologised re the name changing. I'm on the app and if I forget to correct my each time it comes up as the one I'm logged in as.

I honestly didn't want the two names linked, but oh well.

I'm actually sorry I posted at all now, I don't expect this level of unpleasantness on a health topic.

Re-read your first post. The not able to bring anything more up, DS not able to talk, violently sick etc. You’d take him in but you’ve had a drink, that’s how worried you were.

Now consider what you’ve said about him not being sick since Tuesday, having lunch today, 111 say it’s wind, he’s off to mend a car or something tomorrow.

You’re contradicting yourself.

I get so frustrated that people aren’t truthful, especially when you genuinely try to help.

If you think the poster isn’t genuine, report the thread.

This sort of taking potshots at an OP because you don’t like the OPs response to your post or cant read a thread with any amount of good faith is ruining MN.

OP first posted Wednesday morning, that’s not at all inconsistent with her later post saying he was first sick on Tuesday, continued to be sick on Wednesday. Nor with later posts saying the vomiting has stopped since, however, he is in a lot of pain.

111 phoned after OP contacted them online on Friday - quite normal. She turned down their suggestion of an in person consultation at a hospital walk-in centre as they couldn’t drive him (and DS didn’t want to go). So 111 had someone (presumably a nurse with some actual healthcare training rather than a script) call her back who said it sounded like Wind and made suggestions that OP has followed. I have had similar happen with 111 when I couldn’t easily get to a walk-in centre too. With a suggestion I follow up at a walk-in centre the next day if things did not settle down or called back/called 999 if things worsened.

I’m not sure where you get this third call back from, though I could have missed it.

Many posters on MN try and change names for a thread where they talk about things they think their friends might recognize in order to try and keep other posts somewhat anonymous. And MN being what it is, it is easy to revert to a previous name without intending to. OP isn’t using different names to try and deceive. It’s more difficult to follow, but nothing about the posts suggests it’s in bad faith.

OP is still worried about her son. He’s a 21 year old lad with an adventurous spirit who gets into quite a few scrapes by the sounds of it. She knows he’s likely going to come through just fine. Most mothers of older kids can recognise the conflict between the horror of seeing them in pain (even while they’re improving) and the knowledge they’re playing into the child/parent dynamic (as, no doubt, is she). Many parents mollycoddle their kids when they’re sick and vent about it. Some use humour. The venting and humour is a release. Because having a child in pain, even one who is an adult and is on the mend, can still make a parent feel helpless and scared.

E-coli can kill. It can trigger other conditions that cause internal bleeding. I know a healthy young man who very sadly died within 48 hours.

E-coli must be taken seriously.

Seriously? you cant imagine what I mean by angry? Wouldn’t you say to a 21 year old I’ll change your sheets if you get out of bed. And here’s the cloth to mop your own brow! My oldest is 9 and I wouldn’t change the sheets with him in the bed?
and afterwards you say ds. I’m fed up with this, you’re an adult, if you want to engage in silly bugger behaviour that makes you miserably ill, I’ll take you to hospital but you will be running your own bath? you say this happens a lot and it sounds like he needs a bit of a reminder of natural consequences not babying.

My 17 yr old caught Weils disease a couple of months ago from our local river, he started off with flu like symptoms for a week and then ended up going to A&E with a nose bleed that wouldn't stop. He ended up in intensive care for a week because his body was shutting down, he's fine now thankfully, I hope your son gets better soon.

I just want to add, we took the 17yr old to our gp because of his flu like symptoms, because after a week he hadn't been eaten and was skeletal, lethargic and could barely stand up, we were told just give him fluids he'll be fine. A day and a half later we were at a&e and he ends up in intensive care.

I hope he is okay now? That must have been frightening for you.

That's true.

I was going to add that it's too late now for ill ds (although flat lemonade is good for settling d and v) but taking and drinking a bottle of full fat coke can stop this.

He is thankfully, but it was very scary. x

@RawBloomers - Thank you so much for your post at 2.20am. it's actually made me cry You totally get it. x

Spot on. 111 are notorious for referring to ED. I suspect they cause most of the overcrowding issues. MN are the next big source of hysterical claims of death and dying if you don't go.

People have lost the ability to sit things out OR judge when to go.

I wouldn't have gone to ED with a tummy upset either

'The idea we should be able to dive into any body of water with no risk to health is a bit daft. And the idea only water companies are to blame if you get sick is also daft. There's a reason swimming pools were invented. '

Yes this is true. Rivers are generally disgusting, at various point there will have been sheep drinking from and shitting and pissing in there. Fertiliser runs off from nearby fields, boats sail through with their diesel fumes. I tried outdoor swimming a few times in a lake and I spotted rats and dead fish bobbing about, and had to brush the leeches off my legs when I got out

Anyway it seems you weren't the only one on the Prosecco last night OP going by this thread hope he's feeling better this morning!

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/16/how-to-stay-healthy-while-wild-swimming/

Have swum in rivers and the sea for years and years. I'm choosy about location and prefer running water to anything still. Never ever had any sickness

Agriculture and polluted storm drain water is a literal drop in the ocean compared to the sewerage the water companies pump in. Our rivers are dead. From the BBC "According to the Environment Agency, there were 3.6 million hours of spills, compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022."