For the past 3 months, my 2 year old keeps getting nose bleeds. Each time I took him to his pediatrician, she pretty much said that it was nothing, and that I needed to moisturize his nasal passage with Vaseline. So I did just that, but now, around 3 days ago, he just popped up with a high fever...No one in my household is sick, nor has he been out and around other potentially sick people. So we did as his pediatrician recommended, gave him tylenol, and made sure he got plenty of rest. Now today, he woke up complaining about a tummy ache...He flinches when I gently touch it, and his mobility has been very slow and sluggish, he even vomited one time and it had bright red streaks of "mucus like" blood in it. So I called his pediatrician a moment ago, and explain to her his whole situation, and she says that its probably a stomach bug in combination with his frequent nose bleeds that probably ran down his throat causing him to vomit, so on and so forth. She also referred, that if his vomiting became more violent to then bring him to the emergency room...
I am becoming very concerned, because it seems as if his health is deteriorating, and his doctor doesn't really care.
Any idea what this may be...Thanks moms!
So, I ended up not taking my son to the ER because physically, he seemed to be back to his regular self last night. Instead I scheduled him an appointment, luckily his original pediatrician was booked, so we ended up getting a random pedi. She went over previous blood test our son had taken from his last visit, and confirmed that everything was normal, and that he probably just had a 24 hour bug. Also, she looked inside of his noes with some sort of instrument and saw that he did have dry scabs indicating that he's a nose-picker, and hes constantly scratching the dry membranes, which causes his nosebleeds, she also told us that his nasal passage was quite narrow, and that he might have inherited it from daddy, due to his chronic allergy issues he suffers from.
I'm so happy and relieved my little guys feeling much better...He was sooo hungry last night asking for burgers, but I was so afraid to give him one fearing that he might get sick again...Needless to say, he ate the whole fridge today ;-)
I would like to thank all of you Moms and Dads for making me feel much better...Gosh I'm way too over protected Lol!!
Take him in. I don't like that he flinched when you touched his belly. My kids have had tummy bugs and usually rubbing their bellies make them feel better. :(
Change pediatrician, better yet, steer clear of conventional medicine. You’ll find better care from anyone who is not an MD. My favorite is homeopathy, but I am biased. And, oh yes - get him tested for anemia.
Good Luck
Vitoria
I would be VERY concerned about he blood in the vomit EXCEPT that your son has frequent nose bleeds. Because of the nose bleeds, blood in vomit or stool, becomes sooooo much less concerning... because the blood not only goes out his nose, but also down his throat. The blood mixed with mucus makes it even less worrisome, because that's a strong sign that it originated at his nose and travelled downward.
To me, it also sounds like a stomach bug. Something to keep an eye on (keep the fever down below 103, push fluids, etc.), but not something to freak about.
To know: for kids who get nose bleeds... expect blood to be part of their symptoms in ANY illness. With a cold it will appear as if they're coughing up blood, with a stomach virus that they're vomiting blood, etc. Nose bleeds don't stop when we get sick, and for people who get them often, they usually get *worse* when we're sick (because the fever dries out the membranes more, and because we're coughing or vomitting which increases both blood pressure AND agitates the membranes). Nose bleeds *can* be serious (spurting blood 10-20 feet means it's an artery or a vein, or ones that continue at full force for a LONG time, I've known some people who are low on clotting factor -but not hemophiliacs-, or who have something that needs to be corrected surgically, or blood pressure issues, etc.)... but most are just environmental. Kids are especially are prone to them, because their membranes are thinner than ours. My assumption is that your ped already found out if they're lasting for upwards of 30 minutes and if so ran tests, to rule out nose bleeds that are indicative of other things (like high blood pressure).
COULD it be something else aside from a stomach bug? Possibly, but unlikely. The things to watch for are uncontrollable fever, vomitting or diahhreah to the point of dehydration, lethargy (rag doll limp, not just dragging), rebound pain in the lower right quadrant, vomitting nothing BUT blood, and a lot of it... etc.
While I wholeheartedly agree with your ped, if you don't trust her, get a new one. In the mean time, if you think she's wrong, that's urgent care or the ER.
((Mmmm... btw... while I know *some* people like having their bellies rubbed when they're sick, anyone who touches *mine* when I'm ill is likely to get punched. It makes me MORE queasy, and it hurts a LOT. Ugh. Even the idea is nauseating.))
I would take him to the ER. Your doctor is obviously not going to do anything about it and finding another doctor is impossible at the last minute UNLESS you go to the ER. Plus, your gut is telling you that you should.
I'm sorry I don't know how long ago you posted this but I would get him checked out ASAP - vomiting up possible blood is not okay. Not to scare you, but I would wonder if it is connected with the nosebleeds in some way (besides the blood from the nosebleeds being swallowed - did he have one recently enough that he would be vomiting blood today? Or could there be something causing bleeding both from his nose AND inside his stomach? Or if his tummy is painful, AND there is blood, could it be an ulcer?) If the ER docs don't find anything, I would get a second opinion from another pediatrician.
Take him to the emergency room. If they feel it's not too serious, they can refer you to a better pediatrician. This doesn't sound, like something you should wait on. It's not getting better, so time to have someone else do something about it. Follow you're gut. Is it something that is scaring you, that you feel needs to be taken seriously immediately. If so, go with that. You know your son, better then anyone. Listen to yourself. I think the best thing to do, is take him before his vomiting gets violent. Once it's gets to that point, it could be very serious.
We have a son who has chronic nosebleeds. It turns out it's a hereditary thing, and my husband and his brother had them too. Doing research, the one cause I found of chronic nose bleeds is low vitamin K, but I personally get them from time-to-time due to dry sinus passages. Our son was tested and his vitamin K was fine, so we have to go with the hereditary angle. Nosebleeds themselves are not necessarily going to tell you what the issue is.
Personally I would take him to another pediatrician, or just take him into the emergency room after doctors hours. I have 2 boys and I have learned that mother's intuition often supersedes doctor's knowledge. 3 months is too long to "wait and see". It's probably just a virus, but for your own peace of mind it would be good to get a second opinion.
I would see another dr ASAP. The fact that the doctor is brushing everything off and isn't offering to do any further testing with the symptoms you're describing is scary and wrong.
I would take him ASAP to the ER or Urgent Care personally.
Hi E., Take him to a different doctor, most toddler nose bleeds are from them scratching the inside of their nose, but nose bleeds can be a symtom of something more serriously. It probabbly is nothing but get a second opinion if not for any reason, at least to give you peace of mind.
If you're really concerned - call back and insist that he be seen - or take him to the urgent care. Vomiting and blood don't concern me as much, because blood from the bloody nose can drain down the throat in to the stomach. However, the fact that you can't touch the stomach is worrysome. Is it the right side? It could be his appendix.
Regarding the bloody noses, ask for an iron test. Your son could be anemic. My daughter is anemic and she gets bloody noses when she doesn't take her iron. If it's not an iron problem, it's probably a sinus problem and the vaseline will help. But, if you can get fish oil supplements into your son it will moisturize all of the bodies membranes from the inside out.
Good luck.
Hi E.,
I am so sorry to hear about your little one being sick. I would definitetly get a second opinion because it seems like your mommy radar is going off with all sorts of red flags. I think it's important to follow your instinct, and if you feel that your ped. doesn't care, it might be time to consider a new one. In the meantime, I'd bring him to the urgent care for that second opinion, especially when you feel that his health is deteriorating. You might get the same answer from another doctor, but nothing beats peace of mind.
I wish your son the very best, and I hope with all my heart that he feels better very soon. It's always a hard time when your kids aren't feeling well, and I hope he's back to his regular self in no time at all.
Take care,
L.
Honestly, the nose bleeds are probably nothing...my nephew gets them all the time and my sister just treats with saline. With the dry warm weather they get more frequent so it's not surprising he's had them lately.
Just because no one around you is sick doesn't mean that he didn't catch a bug somewhere. It could be that someone around him is even carrying soemthing but isn't going to get sick from it because they've already developped an imunity to it. His little body is newer so he doesn't have as many immunities. I was just at my pedi yesterday for my son's two year well baby and she said September has been awful for sick kids. Just LOTS going around...I'm sure it's just a bug that he's working his way through, but if you are concerned, then go to the ER.
If he still has a fever after four days you should go back to the doctor as well and have them look into another cause.
Good luck.
-M
That could be the reason for the blood in his vomit, however there isn't a way you can tell for sure. Has he had a nosebleed recently enough for the blood to be in his stomach? If it's been a while since his last nosebleed, then I would think it could be from a different cause. It also worries me as well that he flinched when you touched his tummy, that is not something that commonly happens with tummy aches.
If you are worried, you should take him to the Urgent Care or ER now. Go with your instincts! Then I would find a new pediatrician who you trust and takes your concerns seriously. The ER/Urgent Care might look at him, do some tests, and tell you he is fine and it's just a bug, then at least you'll have peace of mind. If it's something more serious, then they can help get proper treatment for your son. Good luck and keep us posted!
First off, speaking as a health care provider (I'm a physical therapist) - if you're not feeling a good connection with your pediatrician, you should seek out a new one.
That being said, I tend to agree with Riley J. and Shaun C. I mostly wanted to post because as a toddler and young child I was EXTREMELY prone to nose bleeds myself that never amounted to anything and that I eventually just outgrew. Nobody was ever able to really explain to my Mom why I got them so often and she was never successful with all the suggested prevention stuff. I just got them. I think some kids just do. Also, because of that - if I ever did throw up there would almost always be snotty looking blood in my vomit and if I had a bad cold, I would often cough up blood-tinted mucous as well. We eventually learned this was just the way things were with me. I ended up fine, outgrew the nosebleeds by the time I was about 10 I think and overall I was really a pretty healthy kid (and am a healthy adult now).
Not sure if that eases your mind or not, but it just sounded similar to my own experiences as a child, so thought I'd share. Of course, if he continues to get worse or you just feel stressed about it - get it checked out to be sure.
I hope by now you've gone to the ER. Blood can be a sign of something very serious or it could just be from the nose bleeds. Either way you need to know for sure. Our ped didn't respond to my concerns over my son's chronic crying. Over and over the ped just said he was a grumpy baby. Whatever! I waited to take him to another ped thinking that our doc was right and I was just being paranoid. My son has permanent hearing loss because we were too slow to treat his ear infection. We moved to Vegas and the first ped we saw sent us right to the ENT. Moral of the story...if you think your doc isn't doing a good enough job and taking you seriously you're probably right.
I'd bring him to the emergency room anyway, or if he appears a little better, perhaps it's time for another pediatrician, just to make you feel better. We don't have to be coughed upon all over the place to get sick, there are germs all over and unfortunately childhood is filled with little sicknesses. But ease your mind mama and get another opinion.
Sounds like your Dr. isn't being very helpful..I would think about finding another one.
I totally agree with everything Riley J said.
If his stomach hurts he probably doesn't want anyone touching it. He probably thinks it's going to hurt worse.
Does he have a lot of sinus drainage? It sounds to me like he vomited up mucus possibly from swallowing it. That would account for the blood in his vomit. There is a horrid stomach bug going around right now. If he starts vomiting uncontrollably or having uncontrolled diarrhea, take him to the ER. If not, let him rest. Make sure he's getting a crazy amount of water, Gatorade or Pedialyte. Rinse his nose with saline spay. Use a Netti Pot if he'll let you. You might even have to use the "snot sucker" on him if he can't blow properly, and most 2 year olds can't. With any luck, he'll be able to shake the bug quickly.
If he's been out of the house in the last week, he's been exposed to germs. It doesn't take much for us to get sick. You can get a virus from anywhere. Literally, anywhere. Most times we are contaminated 7-10 days before we actually get sick.
As mothers (especially to toddlers), it's SO hard not to freak out when our kids get sick. I know I sure do! It's the doctor's job to remain calm and cool. I know there have been times when I called the doctor freaking out just to have them say "It's nothing, just a bug." I would get off the phone and say "They don't know what they're talking about! MY kid is SICK!" only to find out that the doctor knew exactly what they were talking about! LOL!
I sure hope your little guy feels better soon! It's no fun when they're sick :(
Just TAKE him to the ER already.
Why 'wait' for his Pediatrician... to tell you.
Take him to the ER.... now.
