3 year old unwell and lethargic - Husband thinks a trip to A&E is needed but I feel staying at home is best. Please help and advise

[Biosblbay]

Our 3 year old has been very unwell since Saturday late night/ early hours Sunday. He hasn’t eaten since Saturday late afternoon, refuses everything, won’t eat yogurt, toast, ice cream, no fruit, nothing, but he is drinking plenty of water. His temperature is very up and down, currently it’s 37.5. He won’t take calpol, as per my previous post it is impossible and tried every single method and way possible! He hasn’t moved in 2 days, when he tries to get up he just lays straight back down, hardly talking, sleeping lots, but still watching TV/ films and able to focus on that (not sure if this is classed as lethargic). My husband is really concerned he isn’t eating, I am not as concerned as he is drinking water still and we are only on day 2, tomorrow will be day 3. I would rather avoid A&E if it is not necessary, I don’t want to spread whatever our son has and do not want to make him feel worse.

Can I have some others input please on what is best. A little unsure what to do. Thank you

@Bougainsillier this is why I didn’t want to go A&E as going by what Google told me A&E wasn’t needed and could be managed at home. I hate being that person who spreads germs to other children or wasting time for those in a real life emergency. I was shocked when 111 told me to take my son A&E. Next time I will be sure to take him straight to the GP, even if it is just a manageable fever. But I suppose as others have said it could be something more serious which I suppose you would never know. This is also why I ask on Mumsnet because I never really know what’s wrong or right and I like to get a second opinion

@Biosblbayors not your fault primary care isn’t as available as it needs to be.

You can get paracetamol suppositories from the pharmacy if you can't get Calpol down. My LO is the same. Super handy, highly recommend.

You need to focus on the child not on google. You state he has been seriously unwell since Saturday- that's 3 days ago and your child is 3. You weirdly seem more focused on how you might look than on your child. It's good that he is now getting some medical attention and hope he gets on the mend soon.

Why didn't you take him to the GP instead then?

@CalmGreenEagle. Google NHS website says…

You should see a GP for a child's fever if they are under 3 months with a temp of 38°C+, 3-6 months with 39°C+, have difficulty breathing, seem dehydrated, are unusually drowsy/irritable, have a non-fading rash (check with a glass), aren't eating/drinking, have a stiff neck, or if the fever lasts over 5 days;

it’s day 3 today, he doesn’t have any of the above.

@CalmGreenEagle other than the not eating, but it also states this is normal, as long as he is drinking water which he has been

When it comes to children his age, you can’t take any chances as they can deteriorate very quickly. The GP should have been informed at least. Hope he feels better soon.

This does sound like when our daughter had scarlet fever last year. I delayed on taking her to the GP as she was up and down but similarly not eating. At that point her throat was full of infection and the GP said it would have been very painful.

We were in time to avoid hospital, but only just - you have done the right thing by taking her in.

Only a bit of calpol advice really but have you tried paracetamol suppositories? We've had to use them for our toddler. Very easy to administer once you get the hang of it. You can order them only or through your pharmacy without a prescription. Very handy to have in the house with a child that refuses calpol but needs medicating.
It actually cured my friends toddlers calpol aversion with the threat of its a choice of either a tablet up the bum or one big gulp if gross liquid! He soon decided to take the calpol ......

Hope they don't have to wait too long

I feel like I must be a real worrier of a parent because I would have not waited this long if not eating and lethargic!

@Dissappearedupmyownarse he has just had a suppository at the hospital so I am hoping they give us a course of them for him to take, but I didn’t know they were that easy to get a hold of yourself. I will look into this, thank you. And as you say, hopefully he starts to choose to have paracetamol orally when we give him the option!

@whereisit1 already been seen, in their own room and he has had a suppository. No further updates since other than he has a bit of a temperature still which has been very up and down

Me too. I rather go to a&e too many times with children.

Let us know how they get on OP. I understand your hesitation in going to A&E tbh. I’ve sat in A&E so many bloody times for 12+ hours just to be told it’s viral and to go home and rest, give calpol etc, don’t beat yourself up about that. Likewise with the calpol unless you’ve lived it you can’t fathom how impossible it is to give someone something that they refuse. My son once had a rare disease and it was misdiagnosed. We were very worried and advised to give him calpol. I was so desperate that I sat dripping it into his mouth for an hour. I swear an hour later that kid coughed and he has been storing it in his mouth the whole time - how is that even possible? I don’t know but I do know I was so desperate that asked for paracetamol suppositories and they looked at me like I was insane! It turned out you didn’t even need paracetamol with this particular disease! He grew out of it to a certain extent and can tolerate a 6 plus now if he’s really unwell. I hope he’s feeling better soon, I too would have been tempted to give it another day if he was drinking, wetting nappies and temp was 38.

The lethargy would have been reason enough for me to go way before you went. Google is not healthcare especially not the AI bit at the top which actively lies - always try and see a GP or phone 111 if you are worried especially if your child is so unwell they haven’t moved or eaten for days.

For future reference you can get suppositories over the counter and on prescription. They cost more but I always try and have some in the house in case of vomiting making oral paracetamol infeasible.

I hope your little one gets the treatment he needs.

You’re not. Children at this age can go downhill very quickly. Nothing beats a doctor’s eyeballs. Especially not mumsnet or Google.

Ask for a prescription ti take home because your toddler wont take Calpol! That way you'll have a supply for future use and they'll be cheaper than buying them direct through the pharmacy or online!

I'm glad he is being seen to. I would always say if unsure ring NHS direct rather than MN tbh when it comes to your children.

I hope he gets well soon! 💐

OP if it makes you feel better I wouldn't have taken him to A&E or GP yet either. I trust my instincts, if I'm worried then I'll get my DS seen, if not I won't.

My son was ill last year and I saw a pharmacist, GP, went to a drop in centre and went to A&E in the end (7 hour wait!). That time I was worried so I didn't stop until he got a diagnosis (kidney infection, needed antibiotics). In comparison to that, he had what i believe was flu in December and I didn't get him seen, he was poorly and spent a lot of time on the sofa but there was no scary symptoms so felt comfortable just riding it out. I'm always scared of catching something in A&E, I wouldn't want an ill child catching anything else!

Part of the reasonGPs aren’t available is people going for things that could be managed at home.

I don’t actually think you have done anything wrong here OP. Other than maybe juice/squash or dioralite rather than water when he wasn’t eating and maybe the GP today when he still had a temp after 36hrs. Hopefully 111 are just being cautious here and he’ll be. Sick home. There are some really nasty bugs doing the rounds at the moment taking people out.

Mine wouldn't take Calpol, junior paracetamol they would take. Just threw back up Calpol if you did get it in. But A&E I would say surely 111 would say so.

@Starlightsprite unfortunately it’s worse than we expected. He is severely dehydrated which is crazy because he has been drinking water more than usual the past 2 days, he is so dehydrated that he needs to go on an IV but they can’t find his veins due to the dehydration, but since being at the hospital his temperature has spiked up to 39 degrees.

@The1990club definitely not, @Wtfdoidoplease is right! He has gone downhill fast, was only there 45 minutes (and my husband said it is rammed) before he was rushed into his own room. They need to get him on a drip but are struggling at the minute.

I hope he is ok.