Kids are ill

[IrishDancer]

Just wondering if there are any other parents out there with ill kids. My 2 have been ill for over 2 weeks now,between diarrhea,vommiting and a nasty cough runny nose high fever etc.I have attempted to make appointments at the doctors but have been told there are none available and the duty doctor will call me!She has called and told me theres nothing she can give,i'm to make sure they keep hydrated and it will pass.

I guess i'm just frustrated as I hate seeing them so ill.I have been giving them Nurofen for the temp and Honey lemon and sugar to soothe the cough and I have been rubbing Vix on their chest at night,the cough just keeps them up all night.Anyone have any other home remedies?I hope it starts to clear soon as Christmas will be very miserable with 2 sleep deprived ill kids.

[womanofdulwich]

there is a pretty horrible powder to make up into a drink to help with de hydration - something like diorlyte? if you think they are not getting enough to drink, but getting them to hold that down is pretty hard too. Hope you dont get it too.

[The Nappy Lady]

It won't help with the tummy bug but Medised is fantastic for giving them a good nights sleep when full of cold. Not sure how old yours are - we used it from 6 months plus I think with no 1. They have now changed the rules to say 6 years plus as with a lot of other meds with more than 1 active ingredient. It is so annoying as in my experience it is the only thing that really works.

I give my two Kaolin for tummy bugs, it's old fashioned but I reckon it helps.

[embo71]

My 14 month old has been a bit like that recently, goes down to bed at 7pm like a dream and then (usually just as i am going to bed or an hour after) she wakes, crying uncontrolably until I (she crys even more if dad picks her up?) get her and bring her into our bed. Thought it was teething as shes got quite a few and it feels like some kind of pain is waking her up, however it has turned into a nasty cough (waking herself up coughing i think), for a few nights and then had high temp yesterday and then this morning projectile vommited her stomach contents all over our bed (240mls of milk and some neurofen). My partner took her to the doc yesterday to check out the temp but was told theres a nasty bug going round and just keep her warm, well hydrated etc etc....

so to answer your question, i have no idea, but could be a combination of a few things including the re settling after being away???

hope it gets better,

em

[candj]

My youngest has had a chesty cough/runny nose on and off for a good three weeks and now my oldest has just started with the chesty cough and sniffles. For the chesty cough I've been giving a cough medicine with an expetorant like guaifenesin (sp?) in it which really helps - it makes them cough more but then they can settle better as their coughs are more productive. I've also been using the vicks rub on the chest as well as a carvol plug in.

If their noses are really blocked I use Medised, as Molly mentions, not sure how old yours are, but it used to be available for babies 3 months old and was/still is a life saver because it makes them drowsy. I think that Medised has paracetamol in it so it can't be used with calpol or neurophine or any other medicine.

I also occasionally use something called Night Cough which has an antihistamine in it so again, makes the children drowsy and sleep better if the children have an annoying dry cough.

I don't use medicines for longer than three days as I don't think you're supposed to. Then the children go back to school and, alas, they get sick all over again with something new!

Hope that helps.

[IrishDancer]

Thanks so much guys.I think I will buy a bottle of Medised,my two are 1 and 3. There sleeping at the mo,roll on bed time.

[candj]

Sadly, Medised has been reclassified for not being suitable for children under 6! Before 2009, it was available for babies as young as 3 months, but they changed it because some children died (most likely because of being overdosed due to the drowsy side affects of the medicine). What you can do is ask your GP who will probably be able to prescribe it or something similar or do what I did (forum users please don't shoot me down) and say it was for my 6 year old when she was actually only 5 and I would use the same dose as on the pre-2009 label. I only ever used it right before bedtime as it has two ingredients that they really needed, the paracetamol and the diphenhydramine hydrocloride (sp?) which clears the congestion (the side effect of the latter was drowsiness) and they were able to sleep through the night. When my youngest who is 3 1/2 is REALLY unsettled because of stuffy nose, etc, I have given it to her but I remember the dosage for a child that young and certainly only used it when really needed. I used to keep my old 2009 bottle with the 'suitable from 3 months' on it in case I got a knock on the door from social services!

I'm not a doctor, so I would ask your GP to see if they can help. If your two are sleeping through, then I would think they wouldn't need it! Hope that helps.

[The Nappy Lady]

I've still got a bottle with the old dosage on it too...frankly I think as long as you're not a complete idiot and stick to the advised doses there is nothing to worry about as the ingredients have not changed (so I have been told by a chemist), just the 'rules'.

[candj]

I agree 100% with you Molly - obviously some unscrupulous parents in the past were using it as a sleep aid. I just didn't want to come across as recommending it to someone with young children when we ALL know it works and is fine as long as you stick with the dosage!

[pebbles]

I also agree with candj and molly - i do go totally and utterly bright red though when i bought it at the chemist post 2009 and they asked how old my children were - just be sensible

[The Nappy Lady]

I think even the chemists find it frustrating.

The other day my youngest has a quite literally streaming nose, which she was wiping all over her face - you couldn't wipe it fast enough.

I went in to my regular place and tried to buy something over the counter, and there was NOTHING available any more for a 2 year old that would dry her nose up.....so silly. Thankfully the chemist offered to make something up for her, which worked really well (phew).

So....maybe this is an option too for runny noses and the like, if you have a chemist you use regularly, maybe ask if they are willing to make something up?

[IrishDancer]

Well I think my two are getting over the worst of it now thank God!! Roll on the Festive season!!