Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Long lasting Tummy Bugs

33 replies

KatieMac · 15/02/2005 20:05

My DD (7) has been poorly now for 2 wks + with diahorrea. She is fine for a few hrs then goes down hill with a temp, tummy pains and general unwellness. Her normally large appetite is tiny and she only eats bland food. Today she refused Calpol as it would 'make her sick' - I gave her a paracetamol. (hope that was OK)
At her swimming lesson last Thursday she was fine and swimming one minute then she collapsed, started shaking, went white and was disorientated.
The DR said that this bug lasts for 2-3 weeks and she should be off school this week and go back gradually next week.
I'm really concerned - I have ME and her reactions look very "post virally" to me.
Any help or comments (or reassurance) gratefully received

OP posts:
Original poster
KatieMac · 15/02/2005 20:53

Sorry to bump this so quickley - but I'm in a real tissy about this.........

OP posts:
beansontoast · 15/02/2005 21:00

umm..dont know if this is atall helpful but last november i had a bug like that ,that started slowly [2-3 days]and lingered for two - three weeks
hope she improves soon xx

Original poster
KatieMac · 15/02/2005 21:01

Thanks beansontoast (btw thats her fav meal at the moment )

I just get worried

OP posts:
beansontoast · 15/02/2005 21:02

umm..also it was rather like the complete fatigue of morning sickness

Original poster
KatieMac · 15/02/2005 21:02

That makes sense - she fine then she just sort of crumples

OP posts:
Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 21:57

She was really bad again today.....I just don't know what to do.

OP posts:
CountessDracula · 16/02/2005 22:04

katiemac has there been any blood or mucus in the diahorrea? If so go and see the doc as could be colitis type thing

Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 22:06

No - It's either runny with bits or just dissolves when it hits the water.

She really down with it

When she has a bug - she usually is back on form within hrs (like her dad) - I can't do anything

OP posts:
bobbybob · 16/02/2005 22:09

Try some probiotics to get some healthy gut bacteria restored. Work up the dose gradually until you notice an improvement.

Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 22:10

Like Yakult (type) do you mean?
I started her on Tescos version yesterday. Should she have more than 1 a day?

OP posts:
Snugs · 16/02/2005 23:13

Katiemac - has your GP not arranged for a stool sample to be tested? I used to work in Public Health and it was the norm to test after 4 days. Surprised it has been allowed to go on for over 2 weeks.

Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 23:17

Aparantly all the local kids have had it and it has hit the adults quite hard too....I'm surprised I haven't as my digestive system is very poor (IBS)

Poor DD - she doesn't know what to do with herself, even watching tv is too much

OP posts:
Snugs · 16/02/2005 23:26

So have they said what it is? Normally they would do some sort of investigation, especially if the problem is that widespread. IME they only wrote it off as simply 'viral' if the individual duration was under the 4 day mark.

Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 23:29

So another visit to the Dr is probably a good idea, he'll think I'm fussing as he said 2-3 weeks was normal - but she is upset at the idea of going back to school for mornings only.

My GP when I was a child accepted that Mummy knows best - this one doesn't

OP posts:
Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 23:32

Sorry Snugs - Yes he said it was viral and I know of 2 other children who were ill for at least 2 weeks (but both of them are prone to suffer with their tummies)

DD is normally so healthy and she looks awful

OP posts:
Snugs · 16/02/2005 23:40

Well, you have my sympathy (as does DD ) - but I am still really surprised. Things must have changed drastically since I left public health.

I would be inclined to request that a sample be tested anyway, just for your own piece of mind and to rule out salmonella, campylobacter etc (but then my GP knows I worked at the labs and doesn't tend to argue with me about tummy bugs).

Original poster
KatieMac · 16/02/2005 23:41

Thanks for the advise
Def back to the Dr's tomorrow.

Thanks again
Kmc

OP posts:
Snugs · 16/02/2005 23:44

Hope DD is feeling better soon. Keep her fluids up (I'm sure you already are!) in the meantime and let us know what the GP says.

TiredBunny · 16/02/2005 23:58

My dd (3) had something called cryptosporidium when she was abour 20 months old. She was very poorly for a few weeks..... her poos were like tea and her temp was high. They tested her straight away. Apparently it is such a baddie though that even environmental health called round. she got better after a few weeks but had lost loads of weight. Her appetitie did come back!! Docs will have tested her I assume??

Snugs · 17/02/2005 00:00

Tiredbunny - crypto is awful! Terrible stomach cramps. We had a big outbreak locally a few years ago linked to the water supply. Loads of people got to together to bring a mass case against Yorkshire Water. DH and I had it but were excluded from the law suit on the basis that I worked at the lab and couldn't prove I had 'contaminated' myself.

TiredBunny · 17/02/2005 00:05

I am in Harrogate and we never got to the bottom of where it had come from. I didnt get it and her nursery didnt.... only pulic place i could think of was McDonalds and swimming but they said they werent likely. Might have been the cat - she went through a phase of stroking him near his bottom. It was awful - poor little un couldnt pass wind without needing a bed change. she was nearly put in hospital! This was a NOV 2003

Snugs · 17/02/2005 00:08

It's usually infected water - or contact with sheep or cattle. It's sheep/cattle dung that usually causes the water contamination in the first place. Yorkshire Water had changed the way that they filtered the water supply - so for a short while (this was back in the early 90's) the contamination was coming straight out of the taps!

TiredBunny · 17/02/2005 00:11

Yeh so I have no idea where it couldve been - I wasnt ill so it wasnt home.... i gather the body could have been incubating it for a while though???

Snugs · 17/02/2005 00:19

Upto about 10 days I think. It's a parasite so the eggs (oocysts) can be ingested and then hatch and multiply.

bobbybob · 17/02/2005 07:23

Yakult has lots of sugar in, which could help whatever she's got thrive more. I buy a powder for ds and mix it in with some cold food (I used pear puree). I get it from a health food shop - but only buy it if it's either stored in the fridge or says clearly on the packet that it doesn't need to be.

Swipe left for the next trending thread