Need help! Sick baby with sore mouth and throat refusing ALL FLUIDS for almost 24 hours

History of other twins illness:
Well, one baby already had a fever and 2-3 days of sensitive mouth, which we thought was just teething- refusing 1 out of 5 bottles a day. He JUST started putting his pacifier in his mouth again today, with THREE WHOLE DAYS of not wanting his pacifiers.

The big problem:
Now, the problem is the second baby. I hope it is the same thing, but we don’t know.
It started with a fever-101.4. 24 hours later, he refused his bottle.
Then again this morning. He is cranky, cranky, cranky, cranky crying and whining constantly- with Motrin AND Tylenol maximum amounts. Barely sleeping.
He won’t take his bottle.
He won’t take a sippy cup.
He won’t drink from a cup.
He won’t let us feed him formula with a spoon.
Teething rings don’t help.
Frozen washcloths don’t help.
He won’t take pedialite frozen and blended.
He wont take other frozen fluids.
He won’t take his pacifier.
He spits out fluids we give him in a syringe.
Baby orajel didn’t help.
The only think he will eat is yogurt- which isn’t a fluid.

He has a small whitish sore in the corner of his mouth, and my sister said a few sores on the inside of the lip. The doctor said he had a sore throat and she is testing for strep as it looked like there might be some pus. But, we don’t think that is what it is, IF it is the same thing the first baby had.

We are having to FORCE fluids into him with a syringe. Squeeze his cheeks until he swallows. Otherwise, it is off to the ER for intraveneous fluids.

Please, has anyone else suffered anything like this with their babies? What would cause sores on their mouth, and inside of the mouth, too?

What did it turn out to be?

How long did the refusing to drink last?

babies are 10 months old on the 1st of September, born 35 weeks 5 days.

 

I've never had this happen, just wanted to send you big hugs! :hug:

 

It sounds like the cocksaxie virus, aka Hand Foot Mouth virus. My boys had it. Here's the CDC page. It's no big deal, but it's a PITA for the days that they have it.

Try giving them cold things; it feels better on their throat.

 

Has the doc mentioned Hand, foot and mouth disease at all?

My girls haven't had it that I know of, but what you're describing sounds similar to what some of the other ladies who's kiddos have had HFM describe.

GL, hope the little ones feel better soon, and you can get some fluids into him

 

Could it be Hand Foot and Mouth disease? I know it can cause small sores in their mouthes and throat that are very painful until it passes. Any small amounts of fluid such as sucking on a washcloth, syringing some liquid into his mouth, popsicles, etc will help. When ours had it at a young age, their Dr. told us to give them 1/2 teaspoon of benedryl and 1/2 teaspoon of maalox combined and supposedly it helps to coat the mouth/throat and take away the pain a bit. Of course, check with your Dr. or nurse before trying anything. I hope it passes quickly. I know the fret of trying to get them to take in liquids (our Abby has been in the hospital twice with dehydration).

 

No experiance here, just well wishes! I hope they get better soon :hug:

 

As long as there are wet diapers they are not dehydrated yet so don't panic yet. Give your doc a call. They can give you something to clear up what's going on and as soon as the babies are feeling better they'll start wanting to eat again.

If you force it to much, they may "boycott" food just a bit. They may get a bit frustrated them self. You'll get youself and the babies into a bad circle here. Deep breaths.

 

I was just on a walk with my girls and noticed sores in their mouths. They also have rashes on their legs. I'm about to take them to the After Hours clinic!

 

I agree. As long as they are having wet diapers they are ok. Also you can pinch the skin on the back of their hand. If it snaps back it's ok. If it stays pinched it means they are dehydrated and it's time to call the doctor.

 

Already been to the doc. No mention of hand and mouth disease. She noted one of the sores but I don't know why?

She said we have to get 2 oz of fluid in him an hour.Otherwise he has to go to the ER.

He's only had 1 wet diaper so far today....

She said they'll see if the test comes back for strep, but if not there is nothing else we can do.

we can only give them Motrin and Tylenol. He is so miserable....

 

I know when our babies are sick it can be so hard. Just remember they "read" us. If your upset they can pick up on that. It sounds like your really stressed out (and rightfully so) but your little ones can pick up on that and make a hard situation even harder. As hard as it is, please do try and stay calm for them.

 

I would take him to the ER or Nighttime Pediatrics place. One wet diaper and refusal to drink anything would make nervous. Little ones can dehydrate so fast. I bet he has coxsackie. It is very painful. They can give him a concoction of benadryl, maalox, and carafate in a suspension that will help numb the sores so that he can eat. :hug: I hope he feels better soon.

 

It is probably not this...but....my two had flu (H1N1) a few weeks ago - and so did I. Don't freak, we all came through it fine. But one had terrible achiness to the touch and whined (cried to the touch) for hours and we had to syringe fluids down her - she was very weak with high temp (topped at 105). The other one got 103 temp and REALLY refused to eat for like 2 days - that was a long long process but I breastfed almost constantly to even get one drink down. She had a terribly sore throat and lost her voice before it was over. It lasted 5 days. The flu test is a swab down the nose - I had it and so did they - the test is uncomfortable but it is fast and I think important to rule it out. The ER didn't do it and two days later the pedatrician did - they said they would do it as a precaution but it would come up negative. Well....it didn't, it came up positive and they were shocked! I don't know about the sores but there are many symptoms possible - wouldn't hurt. Let us know how it turns out. Keep up on the syringing. We resorted to pedialyte for a couple of bottles because it was a grape flavor and they liked that and it distracted them because it was something new - it was better than nothing although I read that of course breastmilk is best. Thinking of you - let us know.

 

Thanks Betsy. I am sorry you and your family got the flu. I am glad to hear they are doing better now.

It most likely isn't H1N1 because they do not have respiratory symptoms, and likely had it three weeks ago (positive type A test, most of the flu circulating is H1N1).

Unfortunately, pedialyte won't do. He won't take anything right now.

Your daughter that you had to syringe fluids down- how long did you have to do that? Your other one really refused to eat, did you have to syringe fluids down to?

Did you have to hold their cheeks so they wouldn't spit it out?

Thanks again in advance, everyone, for your answers and help...

 

Any more wet diapers today? Honestly, I'd just take him. An IV and some meds to help him sleep will help him get better. The worst part is getting the IV in, but that takes less than a minute and it will help a bunch. If you have a children's hospital nearby, I'd go there. Big ((hugs)) mama and keep us posted.

 

If you haven't seen any more wet diapers, I would take him in. They can dehydrate really fast.

 

It does sound a lot like HFM. Like others, I would take him if he has not had another wet diaper. :hug:

 

It took forever to get fluids down my one LO with her screaming - it was my husbands mission all day - it was like 80 of those tiny syringes equalled an ounce. We did it for about a 12-14 hour stretch I would say - thinking back I think we probably got 4-6 oz down her over that period of time. The other one that refused because her throat obviously hurt (and I was sure we were headed for IVs), I will say that I reached a point of desperation that I just layed with her screaming on my stomach for like 3 days and every once in a while she would breastfeed the littlest bit, I think as a comfort, she would pull on and off constantly and then she would fall asleep, wake up and go through the process again. We did some syringing of pedialyte and cold breastmilk - we had to almost invert her so it was a very slow process (we did have to hold her mouth shut - the doc said do what we had to to get it down) it was like her little throat was just locked up - much of it came out but something must have worked and it must have been enough. I feel for you because it was heartbreaking. I doubt it is flu, you are correct, but my one LO had no respiratory symptoms at all - just ache and fever - in fact, because she broke a rash they said it was roseola virus. It wasn't until I got it (by the way I also had no resp. symptoms except for a morning hint of an oncoming sore throat that never developed) that I realized the pain she had gone through. You would touch her arm and she would cry out. Anyway, I definitely agree with PPs - be very very on guard for dehydration and make that trip. I was ready to welcome IVs to relieve my LOs. Good luck and hugs to you!

I just edited this to add that I was VERY in tune to the amount of wet diapers I was seeing - it was our only indication if we were getting enough fluid down, so pay close attention to that as PPs have mentioned.

 

Sorry to hear about your baby. That is so hard to go through. I hope he gets things turned around soon. Sounds like your doing a great job though mom.

 

Sorry, I'm no help but I just wanted to send you big hugs! And I'm sending my thoughts and prayers to your family that your LO's get well soon!

 

Update...

His pediatrician wants him seen in clinic tomorrow. He is negative for strep.

She thinks it might be Herpes gingivostomatitis. She wants a doctor to look at his mouth sores to see if that is what she thinks it is, and swab, test, and treat if possible. Treatment won't make it go away- but if it is that- it might help him heal sooner.

This morning he had one white sore in the corner of his mouth. He didn't have other visible sores when he saw the doctor. My husband says he now has quite a few sores on the inside of his lips.

My wonderful husband Lorem_Ipsum is with him now, slowly and patiently forcing fluids into the little guy.

I'm supposed to be working, but can't concentrate. I'm wistfully and anxiously thinking of when my little man will want his bottle again. And crossing my fingers that what our other twin had was the same. I don't want to see them both go through this.

I envy those mothers that can stay at home with their babies. Not being with them,l especially when they aren't feeling well, is awful.

 

Update...

The doctor we saw gave a generic diagnosis "stomatitis". Caused by a virus. Herpes or other virus she doesn't know.

 

I am so sorry I did not see this post earlier.
My friend just went through the same thing with her baby 2 weeks ago. It did end up being herpes gingivostomatitis & it was traumatic for the whole family to say the least!
Their little one refused everything due to the pain/sores in her mouth and had to be fed with the syringe (which didn't work too well).
It got better after a few days & her dr. said that it will never be as bad as the onset of the virus. The first time is apparently a zillion times worse than it would ever be if it came back.
Hopefully you get an exact diagnosis & that your little one feels better very soon!

 

:hug: I'm glad you at least know what it is now. I hope he feels better!

 

:hug: Here is a post about Gingivomastitis in the Health Issues forum from a few months ago.

 

I'm really sorry to hear about your sick baby. It's concerning when they're refusing fluids. If the situation persists, it might be a good idea to seek medical attention, possibly from the little clinic , to ensure your baby's health and hydration. Their expertise could provide the necessary guidance to ease your baby's discomfort.