Want to warn other parents of toddler suddenly not being able to walk on one leg

[twoandcooplease]

On Friday night I sat my ds (turned 2 last week) in his high chair for dinner. He was sat down for 1 hour eating away and happy

I lifted him out gave a hug and put him down to stand next to me. He suddenly dropped to the floor. Confused, I picked him back up and he couldn't bare any weight on his left leg. He stayed sitting on the floor for ages before pulling himself up using the couch but wasn't putting his left foot to the floor. He sort of hobbled towards me slowly using the furniture to lean on as he dragged his left leg

He wasn't complaining of pain but still he couldn't walk... I carried him round the house and then gave him a bath to try and help (what I thought was possibly growing pains...) and I gave him some calpol. He fell asleep quick so I was hoping it would be gone in the morning

But on Saturday he was exactly the same. No complaints of pain just couldn't walk at all. Watching him more I thought it was his hip that was bothering him
Naturally I phoned 111 and they told me to bring him to A&E as soon as I could

Long story short, they did an X-ray and ultrasound and diagnosed him with 'Irritable Hip' .... I have never heard of this before.
I've also never heard of a toddler suddenly being not able to walk when there's been no accident or injury. They say this is common and can happen in toddlers who are recovering from an illness...
They told me to keep giving him ibuprofen and calpol and rest. To be carried around and I've to go back to the hospital on the 9th unless I need him seen earlier. I have to watch for signs he's becoming unwell and also that it is not getting any worse as they say the hip can become infected and would need antibiotics

So I'm 4 days in with my little hop along and I've still not come across any parents who have heard of this happening to a child.
I would hate for this to happen to someone else and them be as worried as I am. If I had heard of it before it maybe wouldn't have been as scary

irritable hip - www.nhs.uk/conditions/hip-pain-children-irritable-hip/

It is a common and minor condition, but very important that any limping child is urgently assessed by a doctor rather than just assuming it is irritable hip as there are other rarer but much more serious causes of a new limp, such as septic arthritis or avascular necrosis which you really don't want to miss.

Hope your LO is feeling better soon.

My daughter gets something similar. Twice now after Flu and after Covid (both cases she had over a 40c fever) she has had Viral myositis in her calf muscles and was unable to walk. It just disappears after day 4-5. She was 6 and 7 at the times of illness.

My older dd had this when she was an about 6. She refused to get out of bed one morning and said she couldn’t stand up. I thought she was having me on because she didn’t want to go to school, but she absolutely refused to stand up so I let her stay home. Later that day we had a home visit from a paediatric nurse for a treatment for my younger dd. I told her about it snd she said it was irritable hip. I had never heard of it before, but it was good to have an explanation!

My dd had similar when she was around 6yo, was supposed to be going out for the day with grandparents (so a good Ray she was excited about) but couldn't get out of bed, she said her legs wouldn't work, she couldn't stand up or walk.

Took her to a and e, xrays, tests and lots of waiting around, diagnosis was post viral syndrome. She was back to normal the next day

It's never happened again thankfully, but I'd never heard of it before!

I went through exactly the same as you when my Dd was about 2. Same symptoms etc. She’d had a really runny nose just before. Stopped walking and went back to crawling, didn’t seem to be in any pain. Diagnosed as Irritable Hip.

She had a few other odd things including the usual Scarletina, chicken pox, molluscom,impetigo and something called Slapped Cheek! It’s a face rash that looks like guess what, a slapped cheek.

We used to call her Typhoid Mary! That’s actually a very old reference and shows my age. She’s an adult now and completely healthy.

You're right pbdr and the docs advised the same thing - to always be checked out
I would have still taken him in if I had heard of it before, but maybe wouldn't have got as big a fright if known it was normal and common

The doctor said that the body's common response when in pain is to not use, and that it will ease over the week but shouldn't be longer than 2 weeks

I'm just so grateful it isn't something serious. I was so worried. The triage who saw us first were quite confused about it as well but as soon as the X-ray was done a consultant came to do the ultrasound and he was the person that diagnosed it. I think he worked in paediatrics so has seen if often

Yes this happened to my DD. Came on all of a sudden, she just wouldn't walk. She was fine afterwards.

We are going through this now… I’m worried sick as it has been 2 weeks and no improvement at all, it anything it feels like LO can’t stand on his feet at all. Been back to doctors on Tuesday and they did another blood test which came back perfectly normal so they told us to give it some more time. I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night googling things! Thank you for your post. I’m just so lost!

My daughter was first diagnosed with irritable hip when she was 3. They said it was common and would go away with ibuprofen. When it happened again, it turned out to be something much more serious so always get it checked out asap x

If you don’t mind me asking what did it turn out to be? Or at least was it diagnosed with blood tests etc?

We had this when on holiday in France when DS was about 1.5yo. It involved a night time drive of 1 hour to the nearest hospital. Trying to explain the problem in school girl French to the reception staff was not easy (no translating phone apps available back then)! Fortunately the doctor we eventually saw spoke better English and described it as a virus in the hip, though they did x-ray to be sure. They only recommended the calpol equivalent, and to be fair it was only another day or so before he started walking again.

I had never heard of such a thing before.

@roblinne it was a massive tumour in her abdomen pressing on her spine, causing the leg issues. They found it with an X-ray and urine test. Our situation is rare but it's very hard to diagnose childhood cancer because symptoms are often very similar to common childhood ailments. I don't want to scare anyone but do get it checked out. Limping is one of the main early symptoms of neuroblastoma

Oh my goodness I hope your little one is okay! We’ve had X-ray of the hips and blood tests done, I always think the worst and worry. I keep hoping they’re right and it’s this irritable hip but it’s so hard to get any information. Wishing your family speedy recovery! X

@roblinne thanks, she is fine now. She had 15 months of treatment including major surgery and lots of chemo & radiotherapy. She's been in remission for nearly a year 🎉

Fantastic news, well done to your fighter xxx

So sorry @Roblinne I only just saw this

Honestly, it is one of the most frightening experiences I'm so sorry you are going through the same and it's taking a while. I hope your little one recovers soon

My ds was 4 days off his feet completely and happy to be. Day 5 and 6 was hobbling about when he could and wasn't needing painkillers anymore and by day 9/10 you wouldn't believe anything had been wrong

I found ibuprofen was a better medicine for him
Then if he had extra pain or (mostly at bedtime) I gave him calpol too

I was back at the hospital on the 9th for a checkup with the same dr we saw in a&e - he is happy there's no lasting effects but warned it could come back in future after sickness or immune compromises

@twoandcooplease thank you for this post, really, I’m a first time mum and I’m constantly spiralling! I swear when I was a kid we just had the flu and chicken pox to worry about!!! I’m learning of so many illnesses as a mum.
I first noticed my 3yo was refusing to run, then a limp appeared and now he’s not bearing any weight on his feet at all… there seems to be no physical pain when I massage him and touch around but he can’t hold his weight! I actually think it has got a little worse since he’s been resting. He’s 3 so he is constantly trying to wiggle out of bed/sofa and he keeps falling over his feet. I guess it’s worse after a long period of inactivity too. We’ve been to A&E or ward every week since it started and he’s had X-rays, ultrasound and blood tests done so they’ve ruled out other things but it’s still worrying. They are saying it can take a while to clear, some take 4 weeks or so. I’m wary of giving nurofen this long so we’re just doing before bed now, to help him sleep. I feel so powerless! Xxx

This happened to DS twice after viruses. They told me it was reactive arthritis, where the joint gets inflamed. There are serious causes of it that need to be ruled out though.

@Roblinne
Mr ds's started a bit different. His came on suddenly with no warning. He was up and about fine until dinner and after being sat in the high chair and lifting him out an hour later he just dropped to the floor. He tried to pull himself up using the couch but couldn't bear weight.

But once he had the worst 2 days I could see him getting better. That's really worrying to see yours not improving and getting worse slowly. I'd be back and forth at the docs too if I were you but that is probably a more panicky head than rational thinking as they do say a couple of weeks. Understandable though as it's your baby!
I am a ftm too, it's really hard to trust when they say it will get better with time as time is only watching and worrying more

How is your little one doing now??
my daughter has suddenly stopped wanting to put weight on her feet.

How is your little one doing now??
my daughter has suddenly stopped wanting to put weight on her feet.