What are the signs of Dehydration?

[Chiccadum]

DD1 is very ill at the minute with a temperature ranging from 39.7 to 40.3, we have tried to get her to sip water but she cries and doesn't want it (she is 4), when she had some juice earlier it made her sick, she has not been to the toilet all day and has not got off the sofa. I took her to a&e yesterday as I saw a bruise and when I did the glass test it didn't go, after a very thorough examination they said she could come home, I am now concerned about the lack of fluids she is taking in, what are the signs to look for in case she get dehydration?

I'm not sure about the signs of dehydration but you could try ice lollies / ice pops as a way of getting a bit of fluid into her. It usually works with my ds but then he loves lollies. Hope she improves soon.

She doesn't want ANYTHING, at all, I have tried all her favourites and she turns her nose up, I have just tried to get her to go to the toilet and she got beside herself, she doesn't want to move, I am starting to get a bit nattered now.

Have you tried getting her to sip water with a bit of sugar dissolved in it? I've done this with hot water when I had "food poisoning" and just sipped slowly at it. It gave me a bit of energy and kept my fluid levels up (I was bf at the time).

Hope she's better soon,

Does she take Calpol OK?

Thanks, I'll try the water with sugar, but she is refusing, she has now fallen asleep AGAIN and her temp is 39.8. I have gone through a box of cool 'n' soothe as she is that hot she is baking them, we have no heating on, all the windows downstairs open (including the back door) and the ceiling fan in the living room on full, we have given her calpol (which she brings straight backup) she can't have nurofen as she is mildly asthmatic (sp?) and she is still red hot her temp has not come below 39.4 for 24 hours

I wouldn't recommend this without checking with your own GP but a friend's GP once told her to give her DS (3) a half dose of the age 6+ Calpol as there is less volume to bring back. Like your DD he had a temperature and couldn't keep down an ordinary dose of Calpol. Does she bring it back if you were to split ordinary Calpol between 4 x 2.5ml doses offer, say, half an hour?

I've not thought of splitting the dosage, I think i'll try that as we are having no luck with the normal dosage, thanks.

Chiccadum - if her temperature does not go down tomorrow make an appointment for your GP.

Signs of dehydraion are a dry mouth and skin that is loose when you pinch it. Ice lollies are a good idea as are jellies.

Make sure that the room is not too cold for her - if she is chilled then she will get 'peripheral shut-down' which means that the blood vessels in her extremities will constrict which in turn will actually cause her temperature to go up. Give her a tepid bath or sponge bath and try to get her temperature down. If she cannot keep calpol down or tolerate any fluids then I would call the doctor out to see her.

Thank you all ever so much for your advice, I'll let you know how she is tomorrow.

Yes ... how is she Chiccadum? Hope she is feeling a bit better.
We were in France on holiday once when DS got an awful bug ... really high temp for 2 or 3 days ... vomiting ... not even having a sip of water for all that time ... sleeping constantly ...
We took him to the doctor in the local village and he gave us paracetamol suppositories ... The suppositories were a godsend although not so easy to administer ... but he couldn't throw them up so his temp came down almost immediately ... I have wondered since why doctors in the UK don't prescribe them.
Let us know how you and your little girl are Chiccadum ...

Not sure if this will help but I've just come back from the doctors with some Dioralyte tablets for my ds but he's 6.5 months and I'm guessing your dd is older than this. However these tablets are recommended for the correction of water and salt loss and you dissolve them in water. I'm encouraging ds to take it via a spoon. Anyway, hope your dd is feeling better soon.

She had quite a good night until about 4.30pm then she started being sick but couldn't bring anything up, she fell back to sleep at 6.30 and woke at 8.45, she seemed alright for an hour and she is now back to how she was last night, we did get half a slice of toast down her as she said she was hungry but it came back almost straight away, she is now asleep with a temp of 40.0. No heating on and all the windows are open, she is asleep with a pair of pants on, she is now taking a little water though. If she is no better by the end of the day I may have to call the doctor

Not sure that it's much help but I always give my 1 year old the 6+ Calpol. It says it's suitable from ages 1-6, gives you the dose (half the normal). Only unsuitable for under 1s. Nothing to do with the formulation, just that you can't measure it accurately enough at the 1/4 spoon level. Much prefer giving 2.5ml spoon rather than 5ml spoon as a) easier to keep down and b) less wastage with fractious child.

She was violently sick about 1/2 hour ago, I am calling the doctor in the morning if she is no better, her temp is the highest I have know at 40.8, she is now becoming incoherent

Has she been drinking much water today? Do you think she has kept any down? I would be inclined to phone the on call doctor tonight actually - that is a very high temperature and just because there were no signs of dehydration last night doesn't mean it is not worth checking tonight. Tell them that she is disoriented too. By the sounds of it you won't be getting a lot of sleep anyway...

Hope it's nothing much - my lad used to run the most outrageous temperatures which always turned out to be because he had stubbed his toe or something really petty like that.... (OK - I am exaggerating)

chiccadum, I would speak to the on call doctor tonight if the temparature is still continuing as high as that,
Paracetamol suppositries are available in the uk - can you ring the duty doctor and ask for some? I know ours carries certain supplies so you can start treatment before getting a prescription filled.

I was told a sign of dehydration is to pinch the skin on the back of the hand, if it sinks back down it is ok, if not, it is a sign of dehydration, assume this is like mears loose skin test

Let us know how she gets on.

She has been ok for a couple of hours as we managed to get some calpol down, she has just fallen asleep and when I took her temp it is back to 40.5, she is drinking now but is still not interested in food and keeps being sick even though there is nothing to bring up.

Chiccadum,

If your dd's temperature is not down overnight you should get her seen by a doctor. There must be an out-of -hours service in your area. A temperature of over 40 is very high. If after 48 hours it has not resolved your dd must be reviewed by a doctor. No need to go to A&E though - there should be an on-call doctor service available.

Chiccadum - is she better now? I do hope so....

Weel, I took her to the emergency doctors yesterday and they were useless, he basically said he doesn't know what is wrong with her but gave her some antibiotics anyway, she has been on them 24 hours and no improvement yet, he temp went to 41.1 yesterday