Any tips when toddler won’t eat or drink?

[Ola9191]

My daughter (16 month old) has a nasty virus and I think she has a sore throat as she winces in pain when she swallows. She’s been off her food and milk for 2 days now..I can get her to sip water and eat fruit but that’s it. She usually has 16oz milk and won’t take a drop, angrily bats the bottle or cup away.

The fever seems to have broken today and come down a lot but think the pain is still there as she still won’t eat any proper food or take any milk still. She’s a big baby on 98th centile for height and weight so less bothered about food but the liquid is bothering me. Any tips?

ice lollys might work

The doctor prescribed some throat spray for us that we could administer every 2 hours - I think it was a little anaesthetic which numbed the area a bit to help with the pain.

We kept offering water/ juice/ milk in every different sippy cup we had frequently - eventually he took little sips. We also were a bit more relaxed and let dc sit inbetween us on the sofa when offering food and drink or on a little blanket on the living room floor (rather than high chair)

We found very milky porridge was a hit - the warmth was soothing. Even better if you put it in an adult dish and pretend it's for you, nothing toddlers like more than other people's food.

Also be wary - it took a good two weeks for eating to return to normal after a nasty tonsil infection.

When my toddler was ill like that they got me to syringe blackcurrant squash into his mouth 5ml at a time so he didn't end up dehydrated.
Give things you wouldn't usually give, that are liquidy. Ice cream is a good one.

When my little boy had d and v at 14 months he wouldn't eat or drink. But he would take pureed fruit straight from the ouch. So I let him suck on that and pinched the pouch up as he ate it. It ensured he got enough fluid as he wouldn't take the dioralyte we were given either.

Ah great thanks I’ll try the calpol syringe with some diluted juice and good idea about trying out of an adults bowl. She usually eats anything and everything so it’s worrying when it’s so out of character! She’s still having wet nappies at least as she’s eating watery fruit like water melon and grapes but that’s all she’ll have.

Do you give her paracetamol? I was usually advised by GP to give DD paracetamol 4 times a day to help with pain of sore throat.
My DD wasn’t keen on ice lollies but liked eating jelly, the one from the chilled cabinet.

Difflam throat spray. Really numbs the pain.

If she'll sip water, keep doing that.
And if she'll eat fruit, I'm guessing she's hungry but can't face it if it hurtd the throat.

I say offer different liquids regularly, rather than trying to get her to eat. Or mush or puree them to make them easier to swallow.

Thanks for the tips everyone. She got loads worse today so took her to the doctors and she’s got white spots on her tonsils so sent home with antibiotics...inconsolable crying for hours bless her! I got some throat spray people had recommended too though and this seems to be helping a bit :)