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

How are they on a cross? And everything g they say makes sense.

Thinking of you OP.
Hope he’s better soon x

There is always somebody on these threads that says it is neither an accident or emergency. Perhaps people could retire the phrase. It sounds like it was very much an emergency. Lethargy is a symptom of dehydration. I found this out when my seemingly placid breastfed near newborn was in fact dehdydrated and we had to formula feed round the clock to get his weight back up and avoid him being admitted to hospital to be put on a drip to be rehydrated. I was extremely embarrassed that I hadn't noticed the subtle signs of dehydration which were really obvious when professionals pointed them out. I felt so bad about the gratitude on his face when his little hands clutched that bottle as if he never wanted to let it go. People do make mistakes with the best of intentions and it is always easy to be wise in retrospect.

I think you can point out that it’s a good idea to go to A&E and why without being judgmental. She took advice and made the right call in the end.

I don’t pay too much regard to the temperature number because most at home thermometers are not accurate and some people just don’t get a very high temperature. Non eating kids need isotonic drinks, ice lollies, clear broths etc.. Not a medical professional. Just learnt this along the way.

I hope your son recovers well OP.

My daughter wasn't unrousable. She was just uninterested. She would stare vaguely at the TV but didn't want to play, or read, or chat, or colour, or play with my phone. She was drifting away from being interested in what was going on around her.

When our daughter was 3 she became very poorly and refused to eat or drink. We were told then that drinking water wasn't actually going to be very helpful as she would be depleted of all the minerals etc. they had us syringing lucozade into her mouth regularly to try and get her something. She did end up in hospital for 5 days on a drip to treat what was wrong. Which was scary for us but she was much more like herself within a few hours of being on the drip, it made the world of difference

Have you read OP's updates? Her son is so dehydrated they cannot access his veins. It was indeed an A and E trip.

I hope you feel better after your totally unreasonable and spiteful post.

My son gave me a big scare, until this day we do not know what's caused it but he stopped feeding suddenly and became lethargic. Temp a bit lower than usual. No other obvious symptoms. As he was a baby then, we were blue-lighted to the hospital. He was fine in the end but we had to stay for a few days.

Lethargy in babies or young children is always a significant concern. Not eating for 3 days is too. There is no point in debating this further now, the little one is clearly very poorly now and is in a good place being looked after. I hope he recovers soon 🙏 💐

@Somuchgoodid you not read the latest update?!

I wouldn’t usually comment but the little boy is severely dehydrated and needs to go on a drip.

Good job 111 are ‘precautionary about kids’.

Yeah I agree with other posters. Call 111 and ask for advice.

In fact I'd get your hubbie to call. He appears to be the one who's most in need of reassurance.

Hope your wee one is feeling better soon. 🌸

Poor little chap. I hope he bounces back fast once everything is in place.

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Hope your little one is on the mend soon OP. It's so hard to know what's the right thing to do sometimes but I'd always call 111 if unsure, especially with under 5s. Hopefully once they've got some fluids into him, he'll be feeling a lot better 💐

Goodness me. Get off Mumsnet and Google and ring 111 already.

I say this with a kindness, but I hope in future you can perhaps lean into some intuition- or your husbands, in this case, and not rely on google. Always, always better to be over cautious with children. They mask well, go down hill quickly and cannot articulate or communicate their severity reliably if at all.

your poor son is so ill, I really hope they’re able to get him back on his feet soon.

My bff is a paeds surgeon - so not as much on the medical side. But her thing is lathargy is the one to watch out for. If they're wrecked in the couch with a high temp but move when the have calpol that's ok cos it makes sense and the calpol/lower temp resolves it. But if they're lathargic with no reason or an unresolved reason then you need a doctor.

Well, no, if this started late Saturday evening you are now into day 4. Day 3 finished this evening.

Yes I have, hence edited and reported my post.

And cancel the cheque 🙄

Read the thread - they've gone to a&e on advice from 111.

I wish people wouldn't post this nonsense. This is a smallchild who has been, on OP's own account, very unwell for over three days, won't eat, is lethargic and has a fluctuating temperature. That does count as an emergency. The assessment that he is severely dehydrated demonstrates how right it was to go to A&E.

My son was really ill once. Bad tummy, temperature and off his food/bottles. What really got me worried was that even after calpol he didn’t perk back up, he just laid there. I took him to the GP twice and was sent away being told it was a viral. When it didn’t resolve by the weekend I took him to A&E as I was sick of being fobbed off and it turned out his kidneys were packing in as a consequence of E.Coli! To this day no idea where he caught it. I don’t trust GPs when it comes to kids tbh, it wasn’t the first or last time I got more help by going to A&E than from the GP. And I’m sorry if that means the department was more busy but it’s the only way a lot of people seem to be able to get meaningful care.

OP I hope your DC is ok and on the mend quickly.

My sons 2.5 and is very similar he never takes calpol we literally have to hold him down and it's so painful as parents to force aw down. His last day at school before Xmas he was poorly for two days. High temp not eating but drinking water. He has had cases like this before and he recovered after 1-2 days. This time however on the 2nd night his temperature was rising so we took him to the docs the next day and she said he had tonsillitis and put him on antibiotics. I'm so glad we got it checked out. I think call your gp tomorrow and get an emergency appointment