Can a 3 yr old really be this poorly with FLU? any experience appreciated.

[mummyplonk]

DS came down with a virus on Saturday whilst we were away for the weekend, within the space of 2 hours he was shaking, high temp, and very sleepy. We came home yesterday as were so worried (he was sick in the night), a rash developed on his tummy (tumbler test all ok) today he can hardly stand, move his arms and looks terrible.

Has emergency appt at 9am, she did lots of tests and thinks it is full blown flu. Does anyone have any experience of this with a toddler?, has it made them so poorly they cannot walk, if this is the norm can someone please reassure me. Thanks for reading. x

oh Pooka, your poor DD and you, what a Christmas for you all. Yes, same here no food and just forcing liquids and have had to put him back in a nappy.

The good news is that they are aparantly less likely to get it again for a long time if they are young Pooka, lets hope so. x

Think nappy a good idea. I did a lot of carrying dd around. BUt actually, she was obviously using the fluids she did take in (ice lollies and so on) as coolant and she didn't need the loo much at all.

Hope your ds gets better soon. Is rotten luck, but like you say, hopefully he will have boosted his immunity.

Poor lamb.

Pooka, if your still there can I ask if ur little one had any cold symptoms at all in the first week or so, I see she had some afterwards still. Ds purly has high temp, pain in limbs & very uncomfortable. No runny nose, cough or anything at the moment, seems weird.

No MP, she didn't have any cold symptoms until after the fever subsided and she started to recover. That was when she got a runny nose and sore eyes. No cough.

DH and I did have some cold symptoms at the same time as the temp and shivers and general feeling of being knackered. But I think we either had mild case - not the full-blown-couldn't-get-out-of-bed-to-rescue-million-pounds-in-the-garden -variety. We took a shedload of nurofen cold and flu and did shifts with the children/on the sofa.

Hello all, thought I'd update everyone who contributed to this thread. Mummyplonk is my daughter and the 3-yr old my darling grandson. His temperature went up to 41 at the weekend and she called the GP Monday morning to ask for some more paracetamol and the receptionist (bless her) thought he'd been on them for too long and was going to mention it to the GP. In 5 minutes the GP was knocking at DDs door and arranged for an ambulance to take DGS to A & E. The long and short of it, is he has Septic Arthritis in the hip, the bacterial count in his blood was 240 (30 - 40 is normal!!!). Following an ultrasound, which showed up fluid in the hip joint, he had an emergency operation at 1130 Monday night to flush out the infection.

He appears to be on the mend but is a very poorly little man and will be in hospital for 2 weeks whilst they administer 4 and 6 hourly doses of intravenous antibiotics. Then he'll have to have at least 2 weeks further antibiotics (if DD is not able to administer them he'll have to stay in hospital for those further 2 weeks).

I just want to warn other mums that aching limbs may be the result of flu for a few days but when one limb doesn't return to normal (and the temperature is still high) it's time to look for another cause. Had the surgery receptionist not picked up on the prescription request, DGS may still be at home being treated for flu and although his other limbs were back to normal, the infection in his hip could have led to septicaemia and been fatal

As it is, it was caught early enough and, hopefully, there will be no long term problems, although he will have to continue to see an Orthopaedic doctor for some years to come.

Oh my goodness Nanasam, that is awful. I'm so so glad the receptionist took the action she did as the alternative doesn't bear thinking about. I hope your lovely wee grandson makes a full and fast recovery and that Mummyplonk is managing to cope with the trauma of everything - you sound like a lovely mum too so I'm sure she's in good hands. I didn't contribute to the original thread but couldn't read this without wishing the wee one back to good health soon.x

bloody hell nanasam that's awful, thanks must go to the receptionist who didn't just go through the motions. Best wishes to all involved x

Thanks, both. Mummyplonk and DH are coping well, DH and I are looking after DGS2 (2 and a half) and we are all doing shifts at the hospital. DGS1 is being quite demanding - 'I want FIZZY, not apple juice'! So it looks as if he's improving bit by bit!

Mummyplonk phoned the surgery today and spoke to the receptionist (who remembered every detail) and thanked her for her prompt action.

Fingers crossed he continues to improve. BTW, the blood count of bacteria went up to 274 at its highest but it's down to 237 today. They've identified the bacteria and are adjusting the antibiotics to suit.

Hopefully, bumping this will bring it to the attention of more mums with flu-ey DCs. x

Hope he is feeling better (and Mummyplonk and you all as well, what a frightening experience). will remember your advice