My daughter has something wrong with her yet not even the doctors can find what it is at this stage.

Hello everyone, I am starting this thread because my 8 year old daughter was put in hospital last night and from what I have been told, she will be monitored for the next couple of days also. Because of the circumstances that have occured, I could really do with some help with what she has been going through. What makes it worse is that not even the doctors cannot work out what the issue is. They believed it was Meningitis but with their testing has not found anything. I will go through what I and my family have witnessed over the past couple of days so yous get a better understanding of what she has been going through.

My daughters came over on friday night and I knew that they had caught colds so they were sick to start with. I went and played football saturday afternoon. An hour or so when I got home, I made a coffee and noticed my youngest daughter sitting at the kitchen table staring at me. I asked her what was wrong and she told me she had a sore throat (pointing just above her chest). She went to sleep very early that night and I'll add she was complaining of feeling very cold. I just thought that maybe it was the cold she had.

Fast Forward to Sunday night, She was complaining of the same, feeling cold etc... Another thing she was complaining of was her eyes. They were hurting, burning, I'm not too sure what she meant and she pretty much wanted the lights turned out. We put her to bed and roughly an hour later, she got up (sleep walking I think] and came out to the couch and started scratching at the side of it. Walked back down to her room and put herself back to bed. Obviously we found it strange because it seemed as though she was not all there. We started asking her questions and she would not respond.

A few minutes later she came around but around her eyes were all puffy and she still seemed not quiet right. We took her down to the hospital and from what we had told the doctors, they believed she most likely had meningitis. They pumped her up with steroids, anti-biotics and she seemed ok. Today my ex-wife rang to update how she was going and everything seemed as though it was good. Not long after she rang again and pretty much said that my daughters heart rate had dropped to as low as 70 (I guess thats beats per minute??) when it should of been aroun 90-110 which is considered a safe zone.

Obviously I went into panic because I couldn't believe this was happening to my little girl. My ex told me that they may have to do a spinal tap if she doesn't get better, but from what I seen, she is a lot healthier than she was last night. Sorry if this is hard to understand but I actually don't understand what is happening to her myself. Here are some of the symptoms she has which may help

- A rash has broke out across her chest
- Puffy/Swollen eyes and also glazed over
- A gland on her upper spine has swollen up
- They believe that maybe her brain could of swallen as well but I'm not sure about that.
- Low heart rate

The thing about the meningitis is they have taken bloods but nothing has shown up. I thought maybe it was something else. They may of got it in the early stages which is good, but never the less, that phone call today scared the hell out me. I will add the doctors have been taking advice from the royal childrens hospital in Melbourne..

When I arrived at the hospital this afternoon she seemed to be OK.. I hope it isn't something else that they have missed.. Any help would be much appreciated.

I hope she is ok, and send my best thoughts your way. It does sound like a swelling, does she have a stiff neck as well as the rash? I hope they are testing for mengingacoccal. Have they given her a lumber puncture? Sounds like she is pumped with intravenous antibiotics to be on the safe side.


Zazz

What part of the world do you live in?
My wife, my three girls and myself have had a similar sickness for the last two and a bit weeks. It's really getting to all of us, just wont go away

Our simptons have been sore in the upper chest area, like a burning, sore eyes, mine becaome really bad and puffy for a couple of days, my girls wake up complaining of sore eyes, and my girls (not me) had a rash around the chest area, aswell as the usual cold symptoms.
I have put it down to being a cold but at the same time it feels different then your normal cold.

Did your daughter have a high tempat any time? particuly when she sleept walked or seemingly did.

All the best and im sure the docs will get to the botom of it

reply to post by dadfortruth1


I'm assuming he's somewhere in Victoria. Is that where you are?

Hopefully nothing serious. You have my sympathies though; a sick child is always a frightening thing to a parent. I'm not sure about your country, but here in the U.S., the diagnosis of meningitis is oftentimes erroneous. My brother was sick one time in a similar fashion but also had stomach trouble coinciding. His exam consisted of a few questions, and then the Doctor took my brothers chin and pushed his head back as far as he could. He asked my brother if this hurt, which of course it did. He immediately told my brother he had meningitis.

My brother laid in the hospital bed for a few days with little care from anyone at the hospital, and decided to go home; which he did. He had just gotten back from a trip to Honduras for the Easter Celebration there, and had probably had a reaction to the food. He obviously didn't have meningitis. This was 30 years ago now, and at a hospital in New Orleans. My father had excellent medical coverage, and we just always assumed they were milking the insurance. Who knows?

I pray that she doesn't have any serious condition to deal with; you'll know something soon enough. In the meantime, don't worry yourself to death. There will be time for that if things become serious. Keep her in good spirits, as this always helps those feeling down. As always, express your love and spend as much time as you can with her. Perhaps shortly another poster with medical experience can help you more than I....

reply to post by zazzafrazz


She hasn't been complaining of any pain. From what my ex said, the doctor said if she doesn't improve over the next day or two they will have to give here an injection in her back and he said he wouldn't even do it to his own daughter. She said a spinal tap what ever that means.

I'm sorry that you are going through this, OP. I pray that your daughter's condition is completely figured out and dealt with swiftly so that she is well again.

My daughter has been fighting strep throat all year. This is the first time she has ever been sick like this. The doctor has told me that kids have been piling into the office with strep all spring and summer and that it is "unusual".

Sending prayers and thoughts your way.

reply to post by DarknStormy


Explanation: S&F!

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A MEDICAL EXPERT AT ALL! TAKE THIS INFORMATION AT YOUR AND YOU CHILDS OWN RISK OK!

It MAY be this ...

Meningococcal disease [wiki]

(meningococcal-australia.org.au/)

(health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/meningococcal.html)

(betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Meningococcal_disease)


Personal Disclosure: You and yours are in my prayers! May they get well asap!

Originally posted by dadfortruth1
What part of the world do you live in?
My wife, my three girls and myself have had a similar sickness for the last two and a bit weeks. It's really getting to all of us, just wont go away

Our simptons have been sore in the upper chest area, like a burning, sore eyes, mine becaome really bad and puffy for a couple of days, my girls wake up complaining of sore eyes, and my girls (not me) had a rash around the chest area, aswell as the usual cold symptoms.
I have put it down to being a cold but at the same time it feels different then your normal cold.

Did your daughter have a high tempat any time? particuly when she sleept walked or seemingly did.

All the best and im sure the docs will get to the botom of it

edit on 23/7/12 by dadfortruth1 because: (no reason given)

I am in Northern Victoria in Australia. Every symptom you just mentioned is exactly what she has been complaining about, well not complaining about, what she has. Her temp sky rocketed and I'm sure it was up around 39 at one stage. When she was sleep walking, she was just out of it, like she wasn't even there. She can't remember it and when she was on her way to the hospital she thought she was going to my mums house.

Probably a dumb question but has she been tested on tetanus? I hold thumps for your daughter to proceed well

Originally posted by OmegaLogos
Personal Disclosure: You and yours are in my prayers! May they get well asap!

Thanks for the links. I have just asked my mum about Meningococcal and she said that they have ruled it out because she would of deteriorated a lot faster than what she did. But from what i can gather from last night, she did slide down hill very fast... So whether they have got it in their early stages or not, i don't know.

reply to post by verschickter


It's not a dumb question, I can't even remember my last shot But I think it is a bit more serious than that...

I'm not a DR but i would say this...

If the DR's genuinely thought it was Meningitis they would have performed the lumber puncture already.

The cold feeling is a fever. Her body is hot but she feels cold, she feels cold so that she can shiver, the shivering raises the temperature of the body, the high temperature kills the bug.

The puffy eyes and sore throat, along with the upper swollen gland tells me that its a localised infection of sorts. Most likely in the throat or facial area. If it was body wide i.e. in the blood stream, all of her glands would be swollen. Glands produce white blood cells, the white cells kill the bug. The gland closest to the origin of the bug will be the one that swells.

I am not prepared to say what it is because i don't have enough information and I'm not a DR, my partner is a Pediatric Nurse so i know quite a bit about various common children's illnesses. What i feel quite sure about though is that if it was genuinely suspected as meningitis or another life threatening illness, they wouldn't "wait a couple of days". The lumber puncture that they are considering is because her blood work must have come back as "normal" so the only other area where the infection could be is in the spinal fluid, this would cause the throat glands to swell, or its a fairly common virus that is maybe affecting your child slightly more than expected.

A common infection in children the same age as your daughter that has the same symptoms is Roseola. It may be worth asking the DR if he/she has ruled this out.

I hope she gets well soon.

Originally posted by Thunder heart woman
I'm sorry that you are going through this, OP. I pray that your daughter's condition is completely figured out and dealt with swiftly so that she is well again.

My daughter has been fighting strep throat all year. This is the first time she has ever been sick like this. The doctor has told me that kids have been piling into the office with strep all spring and summer and that it is "unusual".

Sending prayers and thoughts your way.

She has had a lot of problems with her tonsils throughout the year and maybe it has something to do with it, maybe not. She has had a rough trot. The doctors won't take them until she has had tonsilitis 5 times in a year. Pretty much when they become a common problem. This time round I think they are not the issue and they are still in the process of checking things out. My eldest daughter has had the cold/flu whatever it is also but she is over it, so I don't think that is the problem. Maybe my youngest has picked it up from school, I don't know. It is strange to me though.

reply to post by jrmcleod


Thanks a lot for that information. I haven't heard it mentioned so I might ask whether it is a possibility..

reply to post by DarknStormy


Have they checked her for Dengue Fever?

Does she had the triad?

www.medicinenet.com...

Mayo Clinic - Dengue Fever Symptoms

It's Winter there; but, we've had mosquitos in Winter in Southern USA - do you have a late Winter or mosquitos? Have you had a storm come in from the East of Oz?

reply to post by Trexter Ziam


We are in the Southern part of the East Coast so I'm not too sure whether this would be the issue. There doesn't seem to be mosquitos this time of the year because they like to breed in warmer environments. Winter here would be too cold for them I think. But never the less, thank you for the added information. Its great to see and it really does make me understand why it would be hard to simply pin-point the problem when it could be literally any of the above posted along with others that aren't.

But by the sounds of it, being in hospital is the best place and I'm sure they will have more information for us in the next couple of days.

reply to post by DarknStormy


Don´t want to disturb you but tetanus means (edit: almost) sure death if not responded to in time. You´re muscles contract so hard that you break your own bones at the endstadium.


I´m not saying it´s this but I think you underestimate tetanus pretty hard.

reply to post by verschickter


As far as I remember, the first sign of tetanus is the ill person waking up and their jaw (chin) is basically locked to their chest in muscular rigor. AKA "lockjaw".

Can I ask politely why you are saying tetanus? What symptoms did the girl have that made you think of tetanus? Thanks!

Edit: I went and looked it up for you.
Mayo Clinic - Tetanus Symptoms

Common signs and symptoms of tetanus, in order of appearance, are:
Spasms and stiffness in your jaw muscles
Stiffness of your neck muscles
Difficulty swallowing
Stiffness of your abdominal muscles
Painful body spasms, lasting for several minutes, typically triggered by minor occurrences, such as a draft, loud noise, physical touch or light

Other signs and symptoms may include:
Fever
Sweating
Elevated blood pressure
Rapid heart rate

reply to post by Trexter Ziam


I honestly don´t see much connection but wanted to throw this in just to have it covered.
First signs of tetanus are influenza like fever, cold, unrest, sweating, tiredness.
Covers the first days, so I thought its worth a mentoin.
But the rapid heart rate does not fit.

Edit: I don´t need your help finding the symptoms, I found it before in German and English.