2 year old stopped walking

[2020firsttimemum]

Just wondering if anyone has had anything similar as Google not very helpful

(Yes I will obviously take him to the dr or hospital if needed and MIL is in the process of calling 111 for advice)

DS is 2.5 years and yesterday evening started getting grouchy and asking to be carried everywhere. Would walk occasionally but not much

This morning MIL says he had hardly walked, won't walk and says his foot / feet hurt (difficult to get a bit more info as he's so young so very basics I'm afraid)

She said he will run into the kitchen and is fine and then a couple of mins later is crying and won't put any pressure on his legs / feet. She said she thinks his right side is worse than his left

Just looking to see if anyone has any idea what it could be other than growing pains?

Has he got a cold/ fluey type bug coming on? Sometimes kids can't explain that they ache but instead do things like this.

I would take her to A and E or if you have a minor injuries unit with access to x ray then take her there.

Believe it or not there’s a thing called Irritable Hip Syndrome. It’s caused by a virus I think. My DD had this at about 18 months and just stopped walking, she didn’t seem to be in any pain.

I remember we were back and forth at A&E, and about a week later they put her on antibiotics, 24 hours later she was walking. It never happened again.

Agree with @Toomanysleepycats. Out oldest son had his at 30 months, could not weight-bear on one leg. Took him the A&E (we were visiting relatives 150 miles away from home) who diagnosed Irritable Hip Syndrome. He was on antibiotics and started walking after a couple of days.

Clearly this is just my experience, you do what's best for your child.

Hopefully it's something that can be easily treated. I have heard of cases of children stopping walking and then being diagnosed with JIA. Not saying this is the case here. Best to get it checked by a GP

My son went like this and the GP asked me to take him to hospital rhat same day to check there wasn’t an infection in his bones

Thanks all

MIL thinks cramp (I'll judge that when I see him and see how he goes today)

He has had a bit of a cold / snotty nose the last week or two so it could be because of that

Obviously I don't want to waste anyone's time (Dr or A&E and be dramatic) but equally don't want to see him in pain either

Very conflicted as our Gp sucks with appointments and makes you feel as if you're being over cautious

My Dd had a streaming snotty nose when she had the irritable hip thing. It came on, I think, after the refusing to walk.

Since picking him up he seems okayish in himself
He's happy to play and watch tv etc
MIL says he hasn't eaten much today (2 mouthfuls of breakfast, no lunch other than a banana and a couple of yoghurts) and he's had a small amount of pasta at home with me followed by 2 yoghurts

He doesn't seem to be crying but he is walking mostly on his tip toes or asking to be carried. He doesn't seem to be able to tell me what's wrong - he did rub his right leg and say 'hurt' when I asked him but not sure if that's because I was pressing him a little bit

I guess I'll see how he goes and if he's still doing it tomorrow I'll book a GP app

If it were me I would call GP and ask for an emergency appt. Hopefully it is "just" something like irritable hip syndrome but it could be something more serious like a problem in the bone that you would want looked at quickly.

Everything is so worrying when they're little and can't really explain what they feel.

I hope he is ok.

You should get it checked. Suddenly being unable to walk is something that requires medical evaluation.

I would be phoning 111 now, personally. Here is the NHS Advice page: www.nhs.uk/conditions/limp-in-children/

Your child is not eating and telling you he is in pain, and you have no clue why he is in pain. You need to get him checked.

It is always bloody nothing once they are checked but that is what I would do.

I’m quite laid back but I would definitely get this checked. A friend had a son who ended up with an infected disc in back and wouldn’t walk for a while- it was a nightmare. I hope he’s feeling better soon.

You need to get this checked asap. My son had similar and my doctor saw him right away.

He had irritable hip but the GP said it could also have been caused by things that were much worse so he had to be seen asap. Septic arthritis was one of the things he mentioned I think.

My child had this age 14 months. She required 2 weeks of IV antibiotics and it cleared up. But it presented at first with not wanting to walk. Definitely worth getting checked out. We went straight to A&E at the time and didn't bother with GP.

Just to clear a couple of things up
(Not sure if I'm looking into the responses too much or a couple are trying to make me feel like a bad parent?) I'm also 30 weeks pregnant so slightly sensitive I guess..

• he can walk, although he's choosing to walk on his tip toes at the moment
• he has a cold and a snotty nose which could well be putting him off his food
• he doesn't express any form of pain whilst he is walking on his tiptoes

I obviously don't want him in any form of pain or discomfort but also aware that at this age they are still learning and exploring so me saying to him 'what hurts' several time may well eventually get a reaction out of him

I'm also very aware of how many times I've been made to feel silly by medical professionals

He's currently asleep now so i don't want to wake him but I also now feel like I should because of the responses here 🥺

I've heard of this in connection with a bug.

Don’t feel bad at all. Let him sleep and check how he is in the morning. Then, if he’s at all still uncomfortable on his feet, get an appointment sorted.
You are doing your best and asking on here shows you already have some concerns, people are just agreeing with those. He might be running around in the morning!

If it helps at all, i would do the same as you- you saw he was able to function, even if it was slightly less usual (tiptoes). He isn't screaming with pain as he has fallen asleep. He's not telling you it hurts now. It doesn't sound like a 'now' emergency, more a "Speak to the GP tomorrow if he is still not walking normally" type of situation.

So he had a really restless sleep, woke up at 3am screaming saying it hurt. Took him into our room and he just wanted to sleep.

No improvement this morning and wouldn't put any weight on his legs so have taken him to hospital

He is now walking but on complete tip toes

Dr seems to think it's just because he's got a bit of a cold, nothing else. But still here at the moment

When my son had this they xrayed his hips.
For him it was caused by the chicken pox vaccine and only lasted 24 hours but he had no pain at all.
If your child is hurting, I'd be pushing for xrays and possibly blood test to check his inflammation levels (CRP).

Update: it's now been more than 24 hours since leaving the hospital

He is still asking us to carry him everywhere and it's much worse when he's just woken up from a nap or night sleeping

His sleeping was a little restless again last night, but not as bad as the night before

We're trying to coax him into walking whenever possible, and he will do it but still not flat footed and still with the odd complaint

The cold has nearly gone now (although me and DP have flu and feel awful 😢)

The hospital want me to follow up with a Gp anyway in a weeks time and gave me strict instructions on what to look for and bring him straight back with any of the symptoms listed

Updating this as we go in case anyone else has this problem in future

I would go back op. A healthy 2 year old, even with a cold, wouldn't usually do this.