One of our daughters (10 yrs old) recently had a really bad throat infection/high temperature and constantly complained about feeling sick (although was only actually sick once) which laid her out for almost three weeks. At the time she barely ate as everything tasted odd and even medicines were a struggle (we tried three different anti-biotics and each one wouldn’t go down so we gave up) and even Calpol was a massive struggle and the only way she would take it was a tiny sip at a time over about 5 minutes.

Anyway, fast forward another four weeks and she is still complaining about food tasting odd and sometimes only manages a few mouthfuls before telling us she feels sick again – today she went to school without even eating at all. Otherwise she seems fine but it is starting to become a bit of a concern as we thought she would be over this by now.

Anyone have any ideas????

Anyone have any ideas????

How about taking her to a doctor?  Well overdue IMO.

Book a GP. Don’t let them fob you off, try and get asap.

Does she just feel sick ? or is it more ? I’ve curently got a load of MRI/CT/scans etc for a hiatus hernia (osephagus) which makes me feel like not eating and like my throat is swollen/squeezed all the time. Loooking at google it’s very unlikely it’s the case in someone young, but, well, you never know.

How about taking her to a doctor? Well overdue IMO.

She went so many times at the time of the illness (including out of hours visits to the duty doctor on weekends) and we didn’t want to be bothering them again but yes, it probably is time to take her back.

Does she just feel sick ? or is it more ?

It is just *feeling* sick – and then only when she eats. However some meals she eats as normal – it isn’t every time she eats.

I remember having a nasty infection as a kid of about 8, ended up in hospital for a couple of weeks.

One of my abiding memories was stuff tasting absolutely rank. So rather than Lucozade it was puss flavoured lucozade which felt like swallowing broken glass. It took months to get over it and put off quite a few foods and drink that my mum tried to feed me. I cannot explain quite how foul everything tasted for a period of months.

Obviously keep in tocuh with your GP, but as long as she keeping hydrated and has enough food to keep a stable-ish weight and activity levels then it might just need time to pass. You probably already do this, but getting her involved in choosing and preparing food might help overcome some of the issues. Get a smoothy maker?

However some meals she eats as normal – it isn’t every time she eats.

A trip to the doc is in order IMHO.

You might be lucky, given she’s 10 the recent illness might have just provided her with a new “go to” excuse to avoid eating stuff she doesn’t like or avoid eating when she’d rather be playing.

My daughter had this following a nasty stomach bug. It was excess stomach acid/reflux. The change in sense of taste was the giveaway. Although you say that you failed with different antibiotics, maybe her gut flora has taken a hammering and will need time to recover.

Either way, it’s GP time if it doesn’t settle, as we found that the fear of ‘feeling sick’ became an ongoing problem in terms of eating healthily and regularly. It settled down in my lasses’ case with medication.

we tried three different anti-biotics and each one wouldn’t go down so we gave up

This is a very bad idea and has perhaps contributed. There is a reason why you need to complete a course of antibiotics and not mix and match ( unless indicated by lab results)

Back to the GP

the recent illness might have just provided her with a new “go to” excuse to avoid eating stuff she doesn’t like

Definitely not that – simple foods she normally likes (such as salt and vinegar crisps, yogurts etc) are sometimes refused. It isn’t about her trying to avoid eating her vegetables at all.

This morning she couldn’t eat choc chip mini Weetabix.

Does she ever get anxious with regards to eating?

bluearsedfly no2 had a near death experience choking on a toffee when she was 5 and still goes through phases of feeling anxious when eating. It took her a while to understand that she wasn’t feeling sick, but anxious (although the anxiety was making her feel sick obviously).

This is a very bad idea and has perhaps contributed.

No it wasn’t like that – she couldn’t take more than a tiny taste of any of them – it isn’t like the doctor (or us for that matter) let her get halfway through one course then swap to something else. Give us some credit!

Quinsy, throat infection, tonsillitis, stomach infection from swallowing all nasties from her throat infection or side effects to antibiotics killing off the good bacteria. I could go on.

See your GP that’s what they’re for.

Fair enoughJohndoh – it read that you did part courses of 3 different antibiotics

she couldn’t take more than a tiny taste of any of them

There is one liquid antibiotic out there which is the most bitter substance known to science. A brand of amoxicillin, I think. I did half a spoonful to demonstrate that ‘it couldn’t be that bad’, and was gagging for about 30 seconds. No amount of Fruit Shoot could disguise it.

For some reason the possibility of extra dental decay is preferable to unchecked bacterial infection (and a queue of parents asking for something more palatable).

There is one liquid antibiotic out there which is the most bitter substance known to science. A brand of amoxicillin, I think. I did half a spoonful to demonstrate that ‘it couldn’t be that bad’, and was gagging for about 30 seconds. No amount of Fruit Shoot could disguise it.

Was it the silvery-grey coloured one?

BTW, our daughter always has had sensitivity issues (clothing etc) so sometimes texture of food can cause her issues so we do think an element of her current situation might be slightly connected to this.

Possibly psychological after her recent throat issues.
Perhaps she’s become more focused on the function and sensations around her throat and this could lead to globus hystericus.

info

So – update – she woke this morning with the sore throat back again, tried and failed at breakfast again and couldn’t/wouldn’t have any Calpol/Nurofen (the only painkiller she can manage is Calpol SoftMelts and we’d run out). She managed to get to school but was still feeling bad at morning break so has been collected as is currently at granny & granddad’s house.

Oddly, the only foods she seems to be able to cope with are salty things like bacon & eggs and baked feta.

Time for the doc’s again, however I can’t think what they could do other than try her on anti-biotics which we know she won’t be able to take. 🙁

IANAD

Is it salt cravings? Google says could be possible sign of Addison’s Disease.
As above I have no medical training.

Hope it sorts itself out.

which we know she won’t be able to take

Er, unless she’s got an actual allergy this can’t be true. If she needs the antibiotics then find a way – however unpleasant it might be for her. Dilute in a sugary drink, hide it in food, use one of those syringes to squirt it in the back of her mouth (have done that one myself!). Or get the doc to prescribe the appropriate dose using tablets rather than the flavoured syrup stuff ??

Er, unless she’s got an actual allergy this can’t be true. If she needs the antibiotics then find a way – however unpleasant it might be for her. Dilute in a sugary drink, hide it in food, use one of those syringes to squirt it in the back of her mouth (have done that one myself!).

Unfortunately neither my wife nor myself are going to force anything down her and we know that she would be very likely to immediately vomit if we tried – as mentioned above she has certain sensitivity issues and if she senses something is wrong, she would be very likely to react adversely. And unfortunately she isn’t able to swallow tablets (this has been tried too).

Addison’s Disease

Having read the symptoms I am certain it isn’t that.

Was it the silvery-grey coloured one?

It was a beige generic-looking thing. Ours could manage the flavoured ones but not that.

For the love of god – or your daughter – take her to the docs and tell her she’s not eating properly and can’t take the meds.  Bang on the table and demand a solution.

Thinking of my own kids I’m almost in despair at you continuously posting on STW with your daughter in this condition instead of being insistent with an expert.

For her sake, please go.

Have you made an appointment yet?

Have you made an appointment yet?

We are going to assess when we see her tonight (she’s spent the day with granny) and if she hasn’t improved we’ll take her in tomorrow (fortunately we are able to get same day appointments quite easily with our doctors).

I’m almost in despair at you continuously posting on STW with your daughter in this condition instead of being insistent with an expert.

Maybe with the way we see her at home we don’t see it as serious as perhaps the posts I am writing makes it sound. Believe me we wouldn’t avoid doing more for her if we felt she seriously needed more intervention and she does have periods of looking and acting perfectly fine.

I would johndoh it really needs looked at kids tolerate infections for so long then when they stop it goes wrong very quickly.

Cheers Drac – will bear that in mind.

Thanks Drac ( and sorry jondoh) for having a better bedside manner than I can muster, I appreciate my typing doesn’t sound very sympathetic but seven weeks of being ill, not eating and rejecting meds is more than I’d bear.

I had lots of ENT problems as a kid and can clearly remember a constant foul taste/smell from the back of my nose/mouth. I had my adenoids out but I wish they’d done my tonsils too as they became infected and pitted, so food and saliva gathers in the cavities and rots away, mm nice, they give me ongoing infection problems thirty years later. Can you see little pits in her tonsils or white spots, are they swollen? Either way get to the doctor, leave the not going to do the doctor kudos points for the adults.

Her throat is slightly inflamed and red (coincidentally she had a regular ENT appt last week and the consultant checked) but no sign of infection with the tell-tale spots. She had her adanoids out several years ago – tonsils still hanging on in there.