Humph!

[Plocket]

I'm feeling a bit up and down at the moment.

Down because I got a call from LP's school today asking me to collect her because she wasn't well. I turned up and LP cried because she didn't want to leave but she had diarrhoea so they weren't prepared to have her in the school. She has had a bug but was getting better, and insists she isn't unwell, however the school won't take the risk. She's here at home, and is positively hyperactive - far from unwell!!! It's lovely to have extra time with LP, but she's cross because she's not at school!

And I'm feeling up because I've had a call to say that the porch work will continue again on Monday - that means that roofing, windows and doors are being fitted - hurrah!!!

[Deleted]

Hi Plocket,

I am @ home with a similar bug, but atleast for me a day of gardening!

Hope she is better soon

Sara:)

[Jonah]

They do panic these days at school, don't they?
If they get a bump on the head, you get a call to send them home [been there - no blackouts or dizziness involved],slight dicky tummy etc etc. And they say us parents molly coddle them!
My friend had to make a desperate exit last week, as she got a call that her son was being sick, can she take him home? Turns out he'd got a bit of cheese stuck in his throat at lunch that made him sick. No illness involved whatsoever, but she still had to take him home.

But don't forget, they can be very up and down when they are little. I hope she is ok.

[Plocket]

Thanks both of you - she's absolutely fine! She's been running around the kitchen showing me how she's going to be a reindeer in the school concert, and at the moment she's cutting up paper and sticking it together to make patterns. And all the while she's singing her Christmas songs - been at it for over an hour now!!!!!

She was very sick on Saturday night so this is probably still part of getting over that, but I don't believe for one instant that she's actually ill.

Any suggestions as to what I can feed her to firm this up, as it were?? ;D

Where's your smiley face gone Sara?

[Deleted]

Sorry P I do not know, I think Banana's may work but I do not like them.

Sara

[lottielady]

Hi Plocket - will LP eat plain bio yoghurts? Failing that Holland and Barratt do 'Acidophillus' in tablet form that are chewable ( they taste like sherbert sweeties) always handy to keep in the fridge for any sort of tummy bug and they work quickly to get the tummy balance right again.

LLx

[Deleted]

Hello Plocket, sorry to hear of the unwell (or not so unwell one My beloved had the same thing a couple of weekends ago, she was sick on Thurs night, fine Friday then sick again on Saturday night, strange.

Anyway, I believe eggs "bind you up" so give those a go However, liquorice and orange juice have the opposite effect so keep away from those

[sleepysunday]

Any suggestions as to what I can feed her to firm this up, as it were??

My culinary efforts only seem to ever fall into two catergories - Constipated or Trots.

Therefore, as you are finally asking a food question that fall into my sphere of expertise, here are my suggestions (the sum of my culinary knowledge):

Constipatory -

Fry ups
Bread pudding
Omlette (can go either way depending on the age of the eggs - if pre 1996 eggs then move to Trots)


Trots (by far the larger category) -

Soups
Cottage pie
Shepherd's pie
Fisherman's pie
Irish stew (was very effective last time)
Currys (add weightloss to the benefits)
Volevents
Macaroni cheese
Paella


Is that enough? I suggest you keep on record for future reference

[Deleted]

I have to say Sleepy, I do enjoy your sense of humour.

[Plocket]

Ah you lot really do know how to cheer someone up!!!! Thanks for all the suggestions: LP isn't too keen on bananas but I'll try and force one down her. I was thinking of avoiding fruit today just in case any set her off - I know oranges set me off!!! ;D She's not having a fry-up Sleepy and isn't too keen on omlette, although I did make French Toast for her yesterday. I'll bear the Acidophillus tablets in mind too but won't be popping out to get them today - perhaps tomorrow.

I think I might try her on pasta in the hope that the carbs help firm things up, and I'm going to avoid the dairy products we have and that LP adores, so no milk, yoghurt, cheese..... She's not going to be happy with me!!! ;D

Thanks for all your support!

[sleepysunday]

Thanks for all your support!

No probs. Glad to help

[sweetleaf]

Porrige oats will do the job you need Plocket, very absorbent!
Also bread, wholemeal is best, and dry arrowroot biscuits, avoid sugary drinks...thats about it.

[Plocket]

Right well she's had pasta with tomato sauce for tea (she moaned when I wouldn't let her have parmesan) and she's drinking water (more moaning because I said "no" to milk) and she's munching on some cashew nuts and raisins.

Perhaps I'd better make some flapjacks with her later!!!! ;D

[4pygmies]

My darling daughter has been ill for 3 weeks now. Started off being sick, then green trots (did you want to know that?) and for two weeks has been refusing food and looks dreadful. Two trips to the doctor but no help from either one: "oh, she can go for several weeks without food without taking any hurt" She's only SIX! I've tried everything I can think of to coax some food down her. She is drinking water and some Lucazade but she won't even have a spoon of ice cream! They are now testing her for salmonella even though she's only eaten what we've eaten. Any advice will be gratefully received as I'm getting desperate......
Err, sorry Plocket, the point of this is keep an eye on LP - there are some very odd bugs/viruses about. Most of my daughter's class have been off more than once with some variant of sickness/diarrhoea since half term. Most worrying was when the doctor said many are caught abroad during the school holidays........isn't that a horrid thought? Her best friend went to Tunisia and said the food was terrible.....

[Susie Snowdrop]

For Plocket and 4P....................................



Susie xx

[Dutchy]

Oh dear 4P. I do not think LP is going to object to ice cream. But she mustn't because of the milk it is made of. Ice cream out of water fine.
Your little one not even wanting ice cream makes her badly under the weather. I hope it is not a bug her friend brought in from abroad. I hope the culprit is found soon so something can be done about it.
Plocket Sweetleaves advice on absorbing things like oat meat and plain brown bread are the ones doctors tell you to use when things kind of fall through.
Good luck the both of you
Dutchy

[Plocket]

OMG 4P I kinda assumed that the Grungy one was on the mend. Poor little mite. I hope she recovers soon and you find out what the heck knocked her out for so long.

Thanks Sweetleaf for the smiley - I'll show LP tomorrow morning, when she's ready for school!!! ;D

Thank you too Dutchy - I think LP would have leaped at ice cream today but she's not allowed. Boy she's perky though! I hope it's nothing serious - I think it's nothing serious. Hopefully she's just shaking off the bug she had at the weekend, but as you say it's one of those things that goes around and quite a few kids in the school have had it.

I'll keep you posted!

[sweetleaf]

Plocket, that was susies smiley


4P keep going back to the Doctors until she gets better, I have had similar experiences over the years and it is distressing to watch your child not get better.


Just make sure she drinks plenty of fluids,...when will you know if its salmonella?

[Jonah]

4pygmies said:

My darling daughter has been ill for 3 weeks now. Started off being sick, then green trots (did you want to know that?) and for two weeks has been refusing food and looks dreadful. Two trips to the doctor but no help from either one: "oh, she can go for several weeks without food without taking any hurt" She's only SIX! I've tried everything I can think of to coax some food down her. She is drinking water and some Lucazade but she won't even have a spoon of ice cream! They are now testing her for salmonella even though she's only eaten what we've eaten. Any advice will be gratefully received as I'm getting desperate.......

Oh 4P, I didn't realise your daughter had been so poorly to both of you.
Have you tried diarolyte [sp?] I always have some in the house, when little ones get a nasty bug I make them have little sips. It's not a pleasant taste, but it helps replace lost salts and sugars through bad tummy upsets. You can make a bottle of it and store in the fridge. Give it a try if you haven't already.
Your doctors sound very unsympathetic to me.
Keep us informed as to how she is getting on.

[Deleted]

Sorry to hear about you're Daughter too 4p. I would be very worried if that was me - because I worry a lot - not because she necessarily has anything to worry about, phew! anyway, if you have any concerns take her straight to a&e and insist that they check her out - rather safe than sorry, slightly different and am in no way suggesting this is what is wrong with your D but my ex had headaches for 2 months, very bad ones that made him bang his head on the wall to make them go away, it wasn't until his girlfriend INSISTED that he be seen by a specialist that they found a massive brain tumour and operated within a week - they gave him a month to live without the op.

Sorry to be such a pessimist everyone, but the moral of the story is, trust your instincts and be insistant.

[Jonah]

You are not being a pessimist Trunkyjo, just worrying as you've had a bad experience, I'm exactly the same. I didn't know whether to give my example as I was worried about scaring the pants off 4P. But when my son was a baby he was diagnosed with a throat infection, lots of it around, should pick up the next few days blah blah. He did pick up, but then nosedived again. We panicked and took him to casualty, as it turns out, if we hadn't he most probably wouldn't have survived the night. And here was me thinking I was one of those panicky mums wasting the doctors time. He had suspected e-coli, but they couldn't diagnose for sure because it took 3 weeks to stabilise him before they could test for bugs.
I am now one of those panicky mums, but I don't care, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
All I'm saying 4P . as Trunkyjo says, is don't just accept what they say, if your instincts tell you she needs more care insist they help her more. Please don't start worrying now though, I really didn't want to scare you either. My son was only five and a half months, so wasn't as good at fighting these things.

[Deleted]

so glad I am not the only one Jonah, although sorry to hear your sad story, glad he's ok now.

My partner also had a bad experience this time last year actually, he went to the Dr's many times, was even referred to a specialist who did scans etc, to come away with no diagnosis after months of pain and agony, he gradually got thinner and thinner, he even went away to Scotland to work for a week, I couldn't get hold of him for 24 hours before eventually finding out he'd taken himself off to casualty as he felt so ill in the middle of the night, but yet no diagnosis - I had to fly to Glasgow and then drive him home. Then one Friday morning he woke up as orange as a nectarine, he was in tears and told me that he had gone to bed the previous night hoping that he wouldn't wake up in the morning. That was it for me, I took the kids to school, came home, put him in the car and took him to a&e and insisted they did more tests, lo and behold they found a gall stone. He had to have the gall bladder removed and suffered a lot of complications due to how bad it had become but a year later he's feeling fine again and I don't regret being extremely sh1t* with the receptionist at the hosp.

As a result of all this, I know longer have the "Dr's are all knowing" attitude, they are humans and make mistakes too but their mistakes can be fatal and so I tend to trust my instincts more.

Sorry for hijacking the thread

[Plocket]

sweetleaf said:

Plocket, that was susies smiley

It's official - I'm losing my marbles! I knew it was Susie's smiley but somehow typed Sweetleaf - sorry both of you!


Jeez Trunkyjo that's on heck of a story.

[Deleted]

Hi Plocket,

How is LP feeling today?

Sara

[Plocket]

Very perky!!! She had a good night's sleep and I gave her a jam sandwich (hardly any jam!) for breakfast rather than milky cereal. She's running around like a mad thing and has told me she's going to tell her teacher she's better. She says she's got a poorly tummy but it's not bothering her so hopefully isn't too bad.

Thanks for asking Sara, Px

[Deleted]

Maybe she is just hungry now, thats why she thinks she still has poorly tummy.

Sara

[Plocket]

I've tried that one Sara! She said on the way to school that she only really gets tummy pains when she needs to go to the toilet.

I had a chat with her teacher this morning. Apparently LP got upset in the playground, about her tummy, and then went in to go to the toilet. They were rather concerned so called me. I've told them that she was very upset about having to come home from school yesterday (bless her!) and said that her tummy was better by the time I arrived. I told them that I was keeping her off dairy at the moment so could they NOT give her milk at break time, but that she had been to the toilet "properly" this morning. They've reminded her that she can have water whenever she wants and told me that they will keep an eye on her, and if she does get upset before going to the toilet they will give her a chance to calm down before calling me. I'll keep you posted!!!

[Juliet]

Hi Plocket & 4P,

I've had IBS for many years (one of the many delightful symptoms of ME!) so this is kind of my specialist subject. You may not need the info. any more for LP, Plocket, but thought I might as well post anyway, especially as 4P's daughter is so ill.

There's a drug called Loperamide (also sold, more expensively, under the brand name Immodium) which helps to stop/control diarrhoea. The capsules I use aren't suitable for small children, but there is apparently a syrup which is, so it might be worth asking your pharmacist about this.

Both during the illness & when they're feeling a bit better, make sure they drink plenty of water - mineral water is best but tap water (preferably filtered or boiled) will do - partly because diarrhoea is dehydrating & partly to wash out any toxins from the body. Water flavoured with squash (or tea, coffee, etc) will not have the same effect - and milk, fruit juice etc are not a good idea with upset stomachs.

They will also have lost salt - I always eat toast & marmite when I'm recovering from an upset stomach, but something plain which also contains salt (eg TUC biscuits) would do instead.

While they're ill, if they will eat anything, give them carbohydrates - pasta, bread, plain oat biscuits, potatoes. Don't give them protein. Don't give them fruit (including dried fruit), veg, or nuts.

Eggs are certainly binding (so is cheese) but I wouldn't give them in large quantities, & certainly not until they're feeling a bit better. Chicken soup is supposed to be good for convalescents generally (it's not just an old wives' tale!!), but I'm not sure of the effect of soup on a runny tummy. Plain chicken might be a good idea - when I had gastric 'flu & couldn't eat for a fortnight the first thing I managed to keep down was a chicken sandwich (before I was a veggie!).

It does sound like a bug your daughter has, 4P, but also consider the possibility of a food intolerance - GPs on the whole are likely to think only in terms of allergies, not intolerances, so yours may well not even have considered this (& is likely to laugh at you if you suggest it). I know she's not eating food - but is there anything she's consuming which might be setting her off or making her worse (the lucozade? fruit juice? milk? medicine?). It may be something she has had before with no ill-effects - intolerances can just suddenly develop out of nowhere. I spent about a year feeling vilely sick every morning - then one day I ate an orange & spent all night being vilely sick (with lots of other symptoms I won't describe here!) - it was only then I realised that I was intolerant of the orange juice I was drinking every evening. I gave up citrus & I stopped feeling sick.

Three weeks is supposed to be about the time you can go without food before it starts to do you any harm, so don't be too worried about the not eating just yet - it's awful when people try to make you eat & you're feeling dreadful. On the other hand I think I'd also be wanting a second opinion by now - your GP doesn't sound too sympathetic - and as a couple of people have said, it's better safe than sorry. If you don't want to try A&E quite yet, you could try looking at the NHS direct website - or this site: www.drmyhill.co.uk/ might be helpful - it's run by a GP who is also an expert on nutrition - there are articles on children's problems and on bowel problems but there are quite a lot so I don't know which (if any) may be relevant.

Hope she is feeling better soon - & that LP has been OK today, Plocket.

[Plocket]

Thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful reply Juliet. I'm going to make a note of your suggestions for future reference because I often don't really know what to feed LP when she's been unwell with diarrhorea. LP has been much better today thank you - she took note of me asking her not to have milk at playtime, and has drunk lots of water today. Her teacher has said she's been much more "herself" today so hopefully this bug has gone.

Px

[4pygmies]

Well, thanks, everyone, for your concern. She ate some ice cream today! Just a few spoonfuls but since she insisted it was pink I felt better - that's more like her usual self! She seems slightly improved to me - much chattier (can't shut her up when well) and actually laughed at the Simpsons. I really hope she's on the mend. I don't know when the salmonella results arrive but I will be very surprised if that's the cause. I am keeping a very close eye on her.
Hope LP is well now Plocket.
Sorry to be a worrying mother but it's not good to see such a normally irrepressible little love laying on the settee day after day..hope no one's else's children get it - don't come near Norfolk! Half the area seems to have some sort of stomach bug - I think daughter got the nastiest variety.