Mothers intuition or A+E???

[Angeliz]

Hi all.
My dd (3.11) is quite poorly.
Yesterday she threw up all day, had a headache, tummy ache sore knees(?) and a temparature and slept away most of the day.
Today she's a wee bit better, no throwing up, has eaten toast, drinking and weeing, no headache or knee ache, (but has said once that her neck aches), but her eyes are red and streaming and she's asleep now on the settee. Not confused or anything, just very tired.
OBVIOUSLY with all these classic symptoms i was worried about meningitis, (or onset of measles), but my instinct is it's a very nasty bug that she just needs to sleep off.
At the same time i'm terrified that i should have her rushed to A+E!!!
What would you do?

BTW, local G.P's surgery is a nightmare and my lovely G.P has left, i just don't want to put her through unneccassarry outings!

Is it worth ringing NHS Direct?

hi what about calling nhs direct for a little reassurance tey will let you know whether you need to take her to see someone...mishi

Poor dd.
You could try calling NHS Direct 0845 46 47 - you'll be able to speak to a nurse and go over dd's symptoms (you may have to wait for a nurse to call you back but if you mention meningitis you'll probably be put straight through).
Tbh, meningitis usually develops fast so if she was ill yesterday it's probably not that (would have happened by now) BUT I'm not a doctor (or a lawyer, ho ho) so do call NHS direct

nhs direct are fantastic - ive used them twice

Poor her. But she seems better today does she? I think I'd be inclined to see how she is when she wakes up. And ask GP for an emergency afternoon appointment if you're worried then. It's horrible isn't it?

NHS direct will just tell you to go to A&E anyway. They have to to cover their a*e.

Neck ache could be dodgy. I f you are still worrying you probably should take her, set your mind at rest.

May give them a call in a bit, (i have the phone off at the mo so no-one wakes her).
Meningitis scares the hell out of me. It leterally got my Uncle overnight last year. Went to bed fine and didn't wake up!
DD was in with me last night!

Plainflum, that's what i thought!

yes they may tell you to go to A&E but they can forward all the details etc so you dont have to wait to be seen (or they bloody well should anyway)

We're all scared of that Angeliz. If you're worried, go straight to a&e and get her seen.

when i have used nhs direct was only one time they told me i needed to get help for DS cos he had a temp and they said cos of his age he needed seeing...but they dont forward any details

IME, if you ring NHS direct and mention the sore neck, you'll be up at A+E pdq....they have a stock list of questions, and if you give the "right" answers, they ring you an ambulance!

I once wanted to speak to a GP out of hours about my daughters asthma, and how much ventolin to give. The deputising service had no doctor (!) so i was put through to NHS24 (Scotland), who listened patiently to me, then when I was finished went through a list of what were obviously "stock" questions. One of the questions related to difficulty talking and she was having to breathe mid-sentence, so they then said "an ambulance is on its way!". Luckily, working in the NHS, I was able to put off the ambulance, but we ended up spending hours in casualty before getting to see a paediatrician who thought we were wasting his time .

Would your GP be able to visit?

cant you get the doctor out to you? i was lucky, maybe, mine would never worry about coming out on the few occassions it was necessary.

my dd used to get tonsillitis and or ear infections very frequently. high temp, being sick and floppy. no way was i taking her to the doc... he'd come out, confirm tonsils, give anti b's, and that was that.

i could never get calpol down at the start of these bouts so would cool her with flannels and let her sleep until the anti biotics kicked in.

i agree that NHS direct are likely to say take her to A & E, so doc may be better option.

Angeliz, NHS direct will hear about the neck ache and send you to A&E, perhaps unnecessarily. I find it sad/infuriating that so many mumsnetters feel they can't go to their gps because the practices are so bad; FFS this is exactly what the gp is for.

Having just had an awful experience whereby ds was hospitalized with septicemia a few weeks ago in NYC (he recovered well after days of IV fluids and antibiotics), I'm inclined to say go to the doctor. HOWEVER, your dd sounds considerably less poorly than my ds was. The fact that she's drinking and weeing and even eating a little is fantastic. My guess is that she has the flu (proper influenza) but you never know. If it were me, I'd get it checked. But A&E sounds far more a nightmare (to me) than a trip to the GP, which is what I'd advise.

angeliz, imo i would take her to a&e, wouldnt take no risks, its worth the agro of a&e to put your mind at rest, and to get her checked out properly, nhs direct will tell u to take her anyway. with bangs on the head etc (my dd) they just say take her, and with your dd having a sore neck they will say the same.

The thing with the Docs is, at least 2 Dotors in that practice just prescribe thing willy-nilly IMO. DD was once prescribed antibiotics for a ear and throat infection when she hadn't even looked at her throat, she said it was probably an infection. I'd have to see a certain Doctor and with emergency appointments, you get who you're given. It's not that i'm putting that before dd's health i promise, just that i don't actually 'trust' what those g.p's would tell me.

Think i'll see how it goes this afternoon and then if she's still bad, ring anyway.

(expatcat-it could be that as DP has been poorly since before Christmas with what he beleives was flu- and is still knackered from it)

I totally understand your point, Angeliz. My point is why do some practices have these crappy doctors who prescribe antibiotics without examination? It's not fair on you and other patients like you.

Angeliz, if it's any help...there is a tummy bug going around that comes complete with achy joints. My ds and dd have just had it and my friend and her ds have it. When she went to the gp he told her that her achy joints were part of the bug. It sounds to me like your dd is probably ok if she's feeling better today. Anyway, if your a&e is anything like mine, it might be a waste of time going there. I went once to our local a&e when ds was under 12 months and had an ear infection and a fever of 104. I knew it was an ear infection as he'd already had 4 or 5 of them and got one with every cold and always had the same symptoms...however it took 4 hours before they could come up with someone who knew how to look in a baby's ear for an ear infection.

What did you decide to do, Angeliz? How is dd?