Paging Dr. Mom - Off topic

[Abbeys_mom]

Who wants to play a round of "What the heck is wrong with my kid"? In the middle of the night, Abbey woke up crying that her ankles hurt. Very random, we thought maybe she slept funny and she was experiencing pins and needles.

I went to work early this morning before she and DH were up. He starts texting me that Abbey did not want to walk, it hurt, she was crying and that he got her a 10am appointment with her doctor. This is unusual for her, she is usually a very happy go lucky kid, loves school and hates to miss a day.

The facts:
1. She is not in any sports right now, there was not an injury that she told us about.
2. She takes her vitamins daily and only drinks water (a TON at that!) and soy milk.
3. She has a cold right now, with a low grade fever.
4. It does not seem to be growing pains per her doctor. She is six.
5. Her doctor said "This is a virus a bunch of kids have right now. It is not contagious, give her children's Advil and it will go away in a few days."

I can't find anything online, so of course, I came here. Anyone else experience this with their kids?

TIA!

 

[merekc]

The flu and other viruses have been hitting our area pretty hard. My DS had it and never got sick, only had body aches and fever. Lasted about 5 days for him.

Hope this helps.

 

[sookie]

Hi! Take her to a pediatrician if you're not already taking her to one. IF you already are using a real pediatrician - still physically take her in. There are a lot of things it could be, and it needs to be evaluated!

 

[wlake]

For what it's worth, I was having random joint pain this summer. When I finally dragged myself into the doctor, he said it was either a virus or Lyme. (Turned out to be Lyme.) I don't know where you live, but it's probably not a tick bite this early in March, but now you know at least two doctors have said unusual joint pain can be a virus! Hope your DD is better soon.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Well, I'm not a doctor, but I do have kids (one of whom I took to the doctor today for a fever and cough). I can only speculate what's wrong with Abbey, but I'll give it a try.

Since she has been fighting a cold and a fever, she could be experiencing the general aches and pains that come along with a virus. She may be achy all over, but mostly notices it in her ankles because she stands on them, making them hurt more than the rest of her body.

It could have nothing to do with the virus. Perhaps she did something new at school that caused her to have sore ankle muscles. Ask her if she's been jumping rope or doing some other activity at recess that she's not used to doing. She may have been running a lot more the previous day or doing something that caused her to used her ankles a lot. As adults, we do something new and think, "OK. I'm going to feel that tomorrow!" Kids don't know their bodies as well and don't know how an activity is likely to affect them. Abbey can't think of a time when she injured herself, but it won't occur to her that maybe running, jumping or hopping around would cause sore ankles the next day.

Those are my ideas. I would think that as long as her ankles aren't swollen or discolored in any way, she'll be fine with a little rest. Hope she feels better soon!

 

[MomToOne]

3. She has a cold right now, with a low grade fever.
5. Her doctor said "This is a virus a bunch of kids have right now. It is not contagious, give her children's Advil and it will go away in a few days."

This. My daughter experienced the same thing when she was about 4 or 5, so bad she could barely walk. The doctor said the same thing - it's a cold or the flu, some kids have leg pain with some viruses. In a few days it did go away.

Since you've already talked to your ped, just watch it and wait a bit. Sounds like from his response he's seeing a lot of kids with this problem, all probably with the same virus causing the same symptoms.

Here's an abstract of a paper on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3281537

And here's a Dr. question/answer site - the first question is about this: http://www.askdrwarren.com/qa031229.htm

And a good description I found on another site:

Viral Myositis

There are a number of pathogens that cause viral myositis and there are usually other symptoms present which are characteristic of the causative organism. Viral causes include influenza A and B viruses, enteroviruses, HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses. Influenza A and B were first shown to be a cause in 1970. These are the most common cause of viral myositis in the United States and the main symptoms are calf pain and a difficulty to walk. A study in 1989 found that myositis is common in 6% of children with type A influenza and in 34% with type B. Most cases tend to occur in children and the onset of viral infection symptoms is usually during the convalescence period i.e. after the main systemic symptoms of infection - so there is a small window of opportunity for antiviral medicines.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

When I was growing up a friend of mine had terrible pain in one ankle that progressively got worse. There was no swelling. Finally when she was screaming in pain her parents took her to the hospital and it was discovered that she had a staph infection in her bone.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I would watch it for now, and hopefully it is a virus and will pass.

If it continues, you would want labs done. (written by the parent of a kid with an autoimmune disease). If it was an autoimmune illness, you would have a clue, she would likely not get better on her own.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

I know of kid this recently happened too. The whole family had a virus but, he was the only one with leg issues. He could hardly walk. I want to say it lasted around 5 or 6 days. ?? He is around 6 yo.

 

[Abbeys_mom]

Thanks for all the quick replies! I am relieved to hear that others have at least heard of/experienced this. Scary story about the staph infection - wow!

She is resting on the couch with hot cocoa. Hopefully this too shall pass - albeit quickly!

 

[bumbershoot]

We have leg aches in our household...genetically from my family (my mom had to quit ballet b/c of it, and she never let me START ballet, it was so bad with me I was tested for RA at one point), and hubby was very prone to growing pains...our poor kid. So if we get a flu or something that causes pain like that (myocytis being latin for inflammation of the muscles...gotta love those words that sound like *things* but are only a description of the symptoms in a different language!), we already have our arsenal of things to feel better.

First up, arnica cream. LOVE that stuff. At this point you wouldn't get the good stuff in time (we order from Salmon Creek Botanicals) but you can get Boiron brand and it's nice too.

Next up, ice packs. I bought these mickey head plastic "ice cubes" but then couldn't bring ourselves to put plastic things in our water...so they are in a baggie in the freezer, and they are lovely not-too-cold ice packs.

Then, a nice bath. Sometimes that can relax you like nothing else, and it can really help with leg ache pain

Since we've been using those things, we don't need to go further. It always works.

 

[fauna74]

My son had a similar experience when he was 4 or 5. It was hip pain, so bad that he couldn't walk. We rushed him to the doctor who said that a virus had settled into the joint. We were told to keep him as comfortable as possible, and that it would pass in a couple days (it did). We were also told to watch him carefully for any fever and if he spiked a high fever at all we were to take him directly to the ER and he would be tested for meningitis (which would be a very serious bacterial infection vs. a viral infection).

I hope Abbey bounces back as quickly as my son did. Good Luck!

 

[SeansMom]

We have leg aches in our household...genetically from my family (my mom had to quit ballet b/c of it, and she never let me START ballet, it was so bad with me I was tested for RA at one point), and hubby was very prone to growing pains...our poor kid. So if we get a flu or something that causes pain like that (myocytis being latin for inflammation of the muscles...gotta love those words that sound like *things* but are only a description of the symptoms in a different language!), we already have our arsenal of things to feel better.

First up, arnica cream. LOVE that stuff. At this point you wouldn't get the good stuff in time (we order from Salmon Creek Botanicals) but you can get Boiron brand and it's nice too.

Next up, ice packs. I bought these mickey head plastic "ice cubes" but then couldn't bring ourselves to put plastic things in our water...so they are in a baggie in the freezer, and they are lovely not-too-cold ice packs.

Then, a nice bath. Sometimes that can relax you like nothing else, and it can really help with leg ache pain

Since we've been using those things, we don't need to go further. It always works.

I'll second the arnica cream (available at any health food type store), ice packs, and hot baths.

I'll add: Viruses and bacteria both love sugar. In our house, if you are getting sick or are sick, no sugar, including juice (which is absorbed very quickly...and why diabetics take it to get their blood sugar back UP). Linky: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4568832_does-sugar-affect-immune-system.html

I hope your little one feels better soon!

 

[Krischaser]

Hi, I just wanted to add that a couple of months ago I went to bed one night and woke up with a lot of joint pain. I could not walk my feet and ankles hurt. So did my fingers, hands and wrists. I was convinced I had sudden arthritis. I had a series of tests and was told it was probably a virus. Well he was right--- it lasted a little over a week. I hope she feels better soon!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

One of my nephews had terrible pain in his hands when he was just over a year old. It was so bad he actually started to walk because it hurt too bad to crawl. His hands were clenched and red and he cried if my sister tried to straighten them. She took him to the dr and he said it was some kind of virus. It ran its course and he was fine in a few days.

 

[mommy2twingles]

Yes been there done that back in December. My daughter was playing and running around and all of a sudden just sat down and started screaming that her leg hurt. She wouldn't walk on it or straighten it out. Off to the ER we went. Turned out to be some viral infection. We were told the same as you to take tylenol or motrin. By the next day she was feeling better and we haven't had any problems since. I can't think of what they called it but it was some really wierd name that I had never heard of before.

 

[figment3258]

I know myself i have a cold and the joint pains I get from it are really bad.

 

[mickeygaga]

When my kids have growth spurts they often complain about joint pain. On the other hand, this past summer my nephew had ankle pain and would not bear weight. No redness and no swelling. Pediatrician sent them home with motrin. Next morning, he was crying and complaining so they took him to the ER. At first they were going to send him home and told her it was sprained. She persisted to tell them there was no injury so they did more tests and found his White blood count to be dangerously low. Within 6 hours he was admitted, intubated and airlifted to the pediatric hospital. He too had MRSA. He was in the hospital for 2 months. He did not have a sore or swelling or even a fever to indicate that he was septic. I really hate to scare you but I am a ER nurse and have seen many cases of joint pain being the only indication of a staph infection. I wish you and your little one the best.

 

[princess barbara]

This sounds like what my son had twice- once when he was 4 and the second when he was almost 6. Both times he had cold symptoms and had ankle pain such that he couldn't walk to the bathroom without help. He too loves school and tried to get ready in the morning to go. We took him to the pediatrician and it was viral myositis. It took a good 4 days to run its course and after the second episode, he even limped for a couple of weeks. He is now 10, plays football and is hardly ever sick. Very scary I know.

 

[ajh88]

My nephew (7) is just getting over something similar. He came down with an illness last Tuesday - missed school Wednesday/Thursday, went to Dr. on Thursday (they were out of school on Friday) - said he had an ear infection and started antibiotics. By Saturday, still not feeling right and started complaining of leg pain. He couldn't walk properly at all. He just wanted to lay in bed but not necessarily sleep. Missed school again Monday. He finally seemed to start acting like himself again yesterday - so about a week in total.

He is normally very active and rambunctious - it was obvious to everyone that he wasn't feeling well. I'm certain he had the flu or some other viral infection (as the antibiotics didn't seem to help him at all - and the "ear infection" was likely from long-term issues he has with his ears).