Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

2 yo DD coughing until she vomits - unable to keep antibiotics down

13 replies

RoastedSugar · 04/11/2025 13:36

My 2yo has had a fever and a cough for a few days. She's not eaten since Saturday. Took her to the GP yesterday, she was seen by a physician's associate, who diagnosed bacterial tonsillitis as he saw pus spots on DD's tonsils. Prescribed penicillin and sent on our way.

Yesterday evening the cough got even worse and she's now gagging and vomiting regularly. She vomited up the first dose of antibiotics and her ibuprofen. Called the pharmacist who advised we give a half dose then start again today. The antibiotics taste absolutely disgusting and it's 10ml at a time, twice a day, so it's a lot to get down her.

We only just had her examined last night so I'm at a loss as to what to do. She's not eating, getting medicine down her is so hard we're practically pinning her down, and then she's vomiting it up anyway. She managed half a mini muffin this morning, I was absolutely ecstatic, but she coughed and vomited it up not long after.

Thankfully she's hydrated, having wet nappies, but she's not eating, probably because her little body knows it'll just come up. We can't disguise the medicine in anything because she's point blank refusing everything, including chocolate and ice cream! Her temp reaches 40 degrees and does come down with a mix of Calpol and nurofen, but she's struggling to keep that down too. I've sent DH to get some paracetamol suppositories as in absolutely desperate, have been unable to source ibuprofen suppositories though, and it's ibuprofen that is working the best.

Where do we go from here? I've contacted the GP again, waiting to hear back, but I'm just so worried about her. Any advice or reassuring words?

OP posts:
Anditstartedagain · 04/11/2025 13:39

Is the coughing just when she takes the antibiotics or is it at other times?

RoastedSugar · 04/11/2025 13:40

Anditstartedagain · 04/11/2025 13:39

Is the coughing just when she takes the antibiotics or is it at other times?

No it's all times. Been happening for a few days now.

OP posts:
Anditstartedagain · 04/11/2025 13:43

Sounds like she may need an inhaler.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

cannynotsay · 04/11/2025 14:21

try a throat spray too they help; my daughter had it consistently until they were removed

WildCherryBlossom · 04/11/2025 14:28

Could it be whooping cough?

Zippedydodah · 04/11/2025 15:00

Sounds like whooping cough to me too @WildCherryBlossom

RoastedSugar · 04/11/2025 15:06

WildCherryBlossom · 04/11/2025 14:28

Could it be whooping cough?

I hadn't considered it but now I'm wondering if this is the case... He's not making the typical 'whooping' sound, but I know that's not always present.

He has been vaccinated for it, though I know that vaccines aren't anywhere near 100% protective. Do you know how it would be diagnosed? The PA had a listen to DD's chest yesterday and didn't mention anything.

OP posts:
PrayForMyBum · 04/11/2025 15:21

Was just going to say - it could easily be whooping cough. My daughter had it last year and was coughing until she was sick. She was vaccinated too.

I felt awful - the only reason i went to see the GP was because she was vomiting (not because of the - admittedly awful - cough, as she wasn't otherwise unwell) and school kept sending her home for 48 hours.

GP was initially sceptical it could be whooping cough, but that's what it turned out to be. You may need to send off a saliva sample. Hope your DD recovers! x

RoastedSugar · 04/11/2025 15:26

PrayForMyBum · 04/11/2025 15:21

Was just going to say - it could easily be whooping cough. My daughter had it last year and was coughing until she was sick. She was vaccinated too.

I felt awful - the only reason i went to see the GP was because she was vomiting (not because of the - admittedly awful - cough, as she wasn't otherwise unwell) and school kept sending her home for 48 hours.

GP was initially sceptical it could be whooping cough, but that's what it turned out to be. You may need to send off a saliva sample. Hope your DD recovers! x

Your poor DD, must have been very worrying for you.

The thing that's throwing me off is that we were told that my DD has pus filled spots on her tonsils so it was definitely tonsillitis. I'm just wondering what the chances are of her having tonsillitis and whooping cough at the same time? It's all so confusing.

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 04/11/2025 15:29

My dd threw up every time she coughed from about 18 months to 3 years. Used to dread the winters.

We saw a pediatrician, and they said her cough and gag reflex and been irritated by constant coughing. It went away as she got older.

Limequarters · 04/11/2025 15:32

It’s worth testing for whooping cough too.

WildCherryBlossom · 04/11/2025 16:33

I was diagnosed with whooping cough 2 weeks after starting a course of Anti-b’s for tonsillitis. When I was a kid, most of my illnesses seemed to start off with tonsillitis.

TheGoldenApplesOfTheSun · 28/01/2026 13:18

Very late to this thread, I hope your DD made a full recovery. The reason I'm posting is because I was looking for advice on a similar issue and found your thread. Just wanted to let you know - and make other people aware - that a physician associate is not a real doctor and cannot diagnose patients or prescibe them medication. So it doesn't matter whether he looked in her throat or listened to her chest, he doesn't have any of the medical training to tell you if it was tonsillitis or whooping cough or whatever it actually was. PAs only train for a couple of years and have very limited experience. They are supposed to be kept under the constant supervision of an actual doctor and that will be who signed off on the prescription, not the PA. You have every right to insist that your child be seen by a qualified doctor.

I have friends who work in the NHS as doctors and are hopping mad about this issue, rightly. People have sadly died because of it https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-66211103

Emily Chesterton

Call for physician associate clarity after misdiagnosis death

Emily Chesterton saw a physician associate twice before she died, thinking they were a GP.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-66211103

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread