5 year old won't eat! What should we do?

Question

My sister asked me to ask this question! Her daughter is 5 and will not eat. She says she wants food, yet her mom struggles to get her to eat 2 bites of it once she fixes it. It has been 5 days and all she has eaten is a bite of pizza, 2 bites of pancake, a bite of jello, and a few bites of ice cream. Her mom will give her a bite and when she isn't looking she spits it out. She even held a bite of chicken in her mouth for 10 minutes until her mom left and then she begged me not to tell she was going to spit it out. We have tried everything, asking her nicely, yelling at her, telling her she can't leave the table until she eats, taking away toys and fun things, and even telling her she will have to be hooked up to a IV and get a tube down her throat, my sister even bribes her with toys. But we can not get her to eat. The doctor said she had a UTI and as long as she drinks and pees then she is fine. But her temp has been 99 to 104 all week. My sister is scared! So what should we do?

Answer 1

she just sounds like she isnt feeling well. there is obviously some type of virus with a fever like that.

your sis needs to alternate between motrin and tylenol. this way she isnt getting too much of one med.

a cool cloth on the back of her neck or on her forehead will help pull the heat away. and continue this over and over again. being with a fever that high you will constantly need to keep rinising the cloth in cool water.

the poor girl needs to be in the hospital. my sons was about a year old and had a simliar prob. i ened up staying over night in the hospital with him due to the fever. they couldnt fig out what was wrong with him. The next day for some reason..he was back to normal.

i hope that she is ok and that is nothing too serious. doctors need to run blood tests and see where her counts are at. this stuff is so scarey..i feel for you right now b/c there is nothing else you can do at this point but to try and comfort her.

Answer 2

it sounds to me like she may have strep throat.  did they put her on antibiotics such as penicillon or amoxicillon?  if so then what every it is should go away.  does she not have a peditrician?  if so she needs to get one.

Answer 3

Wow i don't know what to tell you love, but good luck Obviously she might be having issues with digestion or throat maybe that is why she doesn't want to eat.  I would request a full MRI and see what's happening in her poor little body by now I would be happy with whatever she wants to eat, let it be Popsicles or ice cream at least she is eating Tell your sister to request a full evaluation of her insides.  She might have something that is making her not want to eat in general.  Good luck sweetie and I hope she gets better.  See if there is a medical section in here and post this there too she what they say.

Answer 4

Emergency room time? A kid with a temp of 104 is VERy dangerous? UHHH? HELLO? The poor kid obviously just doesnt feel well! Take her the doctor asap!! Sounds more than a UTI to me. That temperature needs to get down and under control.

She will eat when she is hungry just make sure she doesnt get dehydrated. Best of luck.