Handhold please - DS aged 1 been admitted to hospital with suspected sepsis

[miniworry]

Mumsnet got me through the darkest moments when my DS caught meningitis at 4 weeks old and I'm back asking for another handhold as I currently hold him on my lap sleeping in hospital with suspected sepsis 😢

He has been unwell with a temperature since Friday- but today he was really unhappy and despite a 39 temp his hands and feet looked blue and were cold. I took him to our children's urgent care this afternoon who looked in his ears and chest and said double infection and prescribed antibiotics.

Put him to bed with a temp of 38.9 and some Nurofen at 7:30pm. 9:30pm he wakes roaring in pain, and when I pick him up he is freezing. Took his temp in both ears and it was 34.5. Mottled skin on tummy and inconsolable alongside sucking in of chest. I called 111 who said take straight back to A&E as I could get him there quicker than an ambulance. Bloods done extremely quick and sepsis pathway was started straight away based on the blood gas results.

We were then blue lighted about 12am to the children's hospital- he has been put on iv antibiotics and fluids and bloods show raised infection markers so it's now a case of finding where the infection is.

I'm so frightened- I've never seen him this way; he has never ever screamed solidly for 4 hours like that, and being back here is bringing everything back from his meningitis days here.

Please could anyone share some positive stories or even just let me know what they're up to in these wee hours to keep me afloat and give me something else to think about? 💙

OP you should have access to the ward for 24-48 hours if he’s still unwell, my LOs have all had viral rashes when poorly. Trust your mumma Spidey senses though. If you’re not happy give them a call xx

Looks like a viral rash to me, my youngest gets these sometimes

Although that really is everywhere, so as PP says, trust your senses and if you're not happy, go back in

Hoping your lovely little one continues to improve and you manage to get some rest

My lb had Scarlett fever and it looked very similar to this. Mainly affected his chest but spread to his legs and arms then. Had tummy pain, bit of a sore throat also

Is it possible the rash could be an allergic reaction to the antibiotics? Hope little one is better soon. X

To be fair, the rash does look very viral.

Yes did they give you open access to ward?

In my experience of the settings as a mum, (i.e im not doctor...) I go by how well they are. So a rash in an alert, eating, drinking, weeing baby is less of a concern.

Hope he's on the mend.

Yes i also wondered this. DD1 had to have penicillin recently and came out in a rash all over within 2 doses. Once we switched antibiotics, the rash went away within 24hrs.

I hope your ok 🙏
We had this with my LO, 3 times in a year!
I can't tell you how much I feel your pain, reading your posts, I could have written them myself from back then.
All the symptoms, the happy cheerful baby one minute to the almost floppy poorly baby the next.
lumbar puncture twice.
Honestly I've never felt emotional pain like it.

I hope he's feeling better and you've managed to get some sleep, sending lots of love x

I’m not sure you’ll see this as there are so many comments but my little girl (around 16m) was hospitalised with Sepsis last year - we had no idea until I took her into hospital after her being unwell for a few days and she ended up with a 39.4 temp, mottled and cold hands and feet etc

by the time I got her to hospital she clearly did look poorly but drs were great. She ended up with an IV and an NG tube, steroids and antibiotics but after 3/4 days in the hospital she was eating again, walking around and feeling much better.

Shes made a full recovery and is now a bulldozer of a 2yr old haha!

wishing your little one a speedy recovery 💜

@GG1986 it's not on his legs or arms, would it be on there also if it was an allergic reaction?

Just been in to take his temperature and it's 35.4 ... it honestly never dropped below 36 in hospital and now I'm back on the slightly manic mum mode!

Yes we've been given open access to the ward for 48 hours thankfully xx

This is what I thought looking at this, I think they describe it as a ‘sandpaper rash’ in scarlet fever, it feels rough. Hope he’s on the mend soon OP

@Jollyjoy we don't have any flushed cheeks or white tongue and wouldn't the blood tests have picked up the bacteria when they grew the blood culture?

Honestly if you are that worried, call the ward again. That’s what the open access is for.

Just an idea - is it possible that your thermometer is not quite accurate? Could explain why you didn’t see temperatures that low when he was in. Sending lots of good wishes to you both.

You’d imagine, but I don’t know how the blood tests work, if they screen for specific illnesses like that. Sorry, not trying to armchair diagnose but just agreeing with pp that the rash looked just like that.

@miniworry you poor thing, you’ve been through the ringer. I have no experience with my DD’s experiencing meningitis or sepsis, however I have been in your shoes with a very seriously ill little one. My DD is only 3 and since she was 11 months old has been admitted to hospital 16 times with severe or life threatening asthma attacks, blue-lighted to hospital via ambulance many times and been in PICU twice. It is truly a worry like no other when you are with your seriously ill child in hospital and the trauma doesn’t seem to leave you.

I have no advice but just wanted to let you know you are not alone, I am thinking of you. You’re doing great. Reach out for support from anyone you feel comfortable with and consider talking therapy if you find the trauma too difficult to cope with 💐

Poor little poppet, he’s been through the wringer and so have you. I had similar experiences with my newborn and it’s a very challenging time. Tbh I was a bit of a nervous wreck for quite some time afterwards and still can overreact now if she’s unwell, even 10 years later! I should have talked about it all rather than just get on with life as it’s clear I had not processed the trauma of it all and cried my heart out over the shock of it all and my fears. So make sure that you talk to someone about what happened if you have a similar reaction to me. You’ve trusted your instincts and will do so again which is amazing but don’t forget you might need some support in all this too. Sending best wishes to you and your little boy X

It does look like what I know to be a post viral rash love, the fact that it's blanching to the touch is great.

Hope he gets well OP. Sending love.

Sending best wishes to you and your little one.
I've only had experience of an adult with sepsis but I'll never forget how the medical team dealt with him.It was remarkable how they basically flooded him with antibiotics then finely tuned them to match his cultures etc.Such skills and precision and his life was undoubtedly saved by them.

@miniworry I couldn’t read and run but sending you and DS a big virtual cuddle. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through the last few days. I hope he’s on the mend soon and you can finally breathe again!

Just to maybe offer a bit of reassurance my DS had a very similar looking viral rash all over his body that was really shocking to look at but faded as soon as he’d recovered from whatever bug he had at the time.

Oh op big hugs what a journey.

if you are worried, go straight back to hospital x

Trust your gut go hack if you need to x

What fantastic support offered here A New Zealander in London for 41years I am offen up in the night communicating across the world So adding my prayers and interest here .Please keep In touch and tell us how things work out .