Diarrhea - Murrieta, CA

Might be a little too late in responding, but the BRAT diet...Banana, rice, apples, toast! Should help plug up the system!

Take hime to another doctor. Kids can get dehyderated so easy. And sometimes you can't get them to drink when they don't feel good. A kid should'nt have to have diarea for a week at a time that is to long. Find a doctor who cares. He should'nt have to go through that. They have medicine to stop diarea. With a kid that young. He could wind up in the hospital for I.V. fluids. Please take him to a doctor who cares. Marilyn

Keep giving him liquids to drink, the diarrhea is necessary for his body to flush out the remaining sickness. I found that bananas do help... try it. Be careful though, too much bananas may constipate him.... so go slowly.

Hope this helps.

Hi S.,

First of all, I would switch to disposable diapers to make it easier on you and hubby while your baby is still sick. They would also keep your little one cleaner.

Secondly, I see a number of people have suggested it already: Rice water. My husband (250+ lbs of muscly guy) had diarrhea pretty bad a few months back. He tried several OTC medicines but a week or so later he was still dealing with it. I had purchased a book: Bottom Line's Secret Food Cures and so I began to look through the listed remedies. I picked this one because it was the simplest and rice shouldn't be harmful to anyone even if it should not help. It's as follows:

[Boil 1/2 cup of rice in 6 cups water for 1/2 hour. Strain save the water, then sweeten with honey to taste. (I didn't have honey at the time, so I used a bit of sugar- so I know it's ok for your baby since he cannot have honey anyway.)

Dose: Drink one cup of the rice water every other hour. Do not drink other liquids until the condition disappears.

Additional note: Eating cooked rice with a dash of cinnamon is also helpful in controlling the problem.]

My husband only took the first cup since it was bed-time, by the morning he no longer had diarrhea and didn't bother to take the rest. Your baby should probably only take a couple of tablespoons to a 1/4 cup at a time. I do not believe that it should harm him to have only the rice water by itself or in addition to breastmilk for one day, but you might give your Ped a call to double-check.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck to you and your little one.

-I.

you might have done this already, but there's the BRAT diet, it always for all of us, even the kids. B-bananas, R-rice, A-applesauce, T-toast. no jelly on toast, just a little butter. We keep to this diet when somembody has diarrhea, it seems to slow it down a bit. And lots of water. :)

Hi S.,
Some doctor you have........That makes me so upset w him. Of course he doesn't mind when it isn't him or his child. So many doctors are in it for the money and have forgotten the oath of First do no harm........
I am the mother of a 24 year old.....But when she was a baby she had a long bought w diarrhea. Have you heard of the BRAT diet.......It works.......I would be so sad at how hungry I knew she was but you really need to try this.....It's bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.......no butter..... no juice , it just makes them continue but you can use pedialyte etc. do this for 24 to 48 hours then slowly add other foods leaving sugared juices last.......God Bless You .....Sidelle

I'm so sorry your baby is sick =( My baby had the same thing last year. I took her to the doctors twice and they said it just has to work its way out of their system. She couldn't keep anything up or down. So I feel your pain. I gave my baby sips of gatorade until she was able to take in solids then she was on the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) for a bit. Then her stomache flu turned into an ear infection. But it eventually went away. Send me a note if you have any questions. Good luck.

T.

Did your doctor recommend the BRAT diet? Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. That's what I always gave my kids when they had diarrhea. It works, and it's natural.
Good luck. I sure remember those days!!

I open a capsule of PB8 (a high quality of probiotic) and dump 1/2 into my kid's mouths. My 5 year old takes 1 daily just to kep his immune system up and fight off any intestinal bugs. This works AMAZING.

I had the same thing happen when my daughter was 7 months. We fed her the baby rice cereal which really helped. Also bananas and carrots help. At the time it was the baby food banana and carrots since she was so young, but I don't think that matters. Her diarrhea lasted 2 weeks. Also, pedialite is easy on their stomach and good for hydration.

Hi S.,

Does your child go to daycare? Or play with a lot of other children? I recently had giardia which is an intestinal parasite (I lost 15 lbs thanks to 4 weeks of undiagnosed diarrhea). Typically giardia is contracted from travel outside the united states or from drinking non-clean water while camping, etc. I had not done either of those things but through research found that it is more common in daycares. My daughter doesn't go to daycare either so it seems that I contracted it through food at a restaurant (gross!!)

Hopefully your child just has a bug but if you are concerned, get a 2nd opinion and maybe talk to the doctor about testing the stool for parasites (no harm to the baby, just take some poop to a lab!).

Lisa

Did your Doctor mention the BRAT diet? Bananas, rice, apples and toast (dry, no butter). You can even mash the bananas and mix it with the rice. It always helps. There are also over the counter meds (Children's Peptobismal, Immodium AD) he should be recommending if it is really bad. Not sure about the ages. No dairy and do keep him hydrated.

Hi S.,

I recommend LIFE START probiotics for infant by Natren. You can read more at their website www.natren.com . Local health food stores do carry it or can order it for you. The probiotics will help strengthen his immune system as well as help to stop the diarrhea.

God bless,
O.

Hi S.,

You need a second opinion. At least get them to test a stool sample. My son and I got Dysentery from dried eggs products and we almost died but no one felt it was a big deal until they did lab work. He needs electrolites too.

Good Luck F.

I was going to say what all of the other responses basically said. This is totally normal. My 17 month old had it a couple weeks ago. One thing that can help is feeding him yogurt because of the good bacterias. Also, stay away from other dairy because it makes the diarrhea worse. Good luck!!

This is an old remedy. But mom use to give us guava juice or if you eat rice. Or peanut butter sandwich. Works all the time...

Are you feeding him milk formula? Maybe switch to soy milk for a while.

Hi, S..

When my now 10-month-old daughter had the stomach flu in December, the vomiting stopped within two days, but the diarrhea remained for about a week, which was what her pediatrician had mentioned. Don't worry too much about it. If it goes for longer than a week, call your pediatrician again. There's really not much you can do, but hydrate and comfort your baby while he's getting through this. It's all just part of the illness. In another couple of days, you'll see everything will be back to normal.

Hope that helps!

All the best,

E.

I don't want to suggest filling up our landfills,: ) but I would suggest maybe switching to disposables until you get through this rough patch. I applaud you for using cloth by the way. Sounds like Ruth knows her stuff as far as the black tea is concerned, but just check very frequently for dehydration. I would never call your doc an idiot because I don't think it is appropriate, but has he been see by a doc to make sure it is just a flu? I like to error on the side of caution. Make sure you look out for signs of dehydration like the soft spot on the top of the head being sunken in, little or no tears if crying, dry mouth, and fewer than 6 wet diapers a day. Hang in there mommy, hope your little guy feels better soon. : )

Bananas and yogurt. The baby isle and it is hard to find some times becuase it is popular. rice is good. No milk and no fruit juices of any kind. Talk to your doctors nurse.

Hi S.,

My daughter went through the same thing. The only thing that worked was taking her off milk for a few days. My doctor said that sometimes when kids get sick and have diarrhea they become kind of lactose intolerant until they are better. If you switch to soy milk or lacto-free milk for a few days it should clear right up. It worked for me and now I swear by it. Good Luck.

Try applesauce, bananas, and rice! =)

Hey S.,
Your poor family! The BRAT diet that has been mentioned is great, but I mix the applesauce with baby rice cereal to cut the acidity. If you boil some white rice with some extra water for about 20mins, NOT until it is done, and then poor off the milky water throwing away the rice that should help. The rice water is wonderful for this problem. Let it cool and put it in a bottle. It works really well. :) If you use disposable diapers till the diarrhea is gone they will be easier on his poor little bum. You might think of finding a doc with a heart too. :)
God bless,
V.

Dear S.,
I agree with Natalie! Also - have you heard of how they teach folks in third world countries to combat diarrhea? They get a quart of water, a fistful of sugar, and a three finger pinch of salt - mix it to form an inexpensive 'pedialyte' solution that you can give if you have no time to run to the pharmacy. The salt helps the water absorb, and with it the sugar gives a little bit of calories and energy so the patient won't be so drained and exhausted.
Regular water will just make them get the runs worse. Also, another 'home remedy' that worked for my 7 kids (and for adults, too) is to make very strong regular black tea (like Lipton's) using one teabag per half a cup of boiling water and let it steep for 10 minutes. Add sugar to taste (NOT honey), and give the baby a teaspoon at a time. It is very binding to anyone who is normal, but stops diarrhea if they have it. Usually works after one treatment.
Hope that helps. And yes, do ask for another doctor! God Bless your little one, and YOU TOO!
R.

My 3 yr. old son Ian just came through a nasty case of the stomach flu, and the advice I recieved from a co-worker proved invaluable. My doctor said to give my son only bland foods, which really helped during the sickness. But my coworker, who was a soldier many years ago, told me, that as they were all prone to diarrhea, and had no time to slow down for bowel emergencies, they would put a couple of tablespoons of rice cereal(yeah, baby cereal) into their food. It acted as a binding agent, and got rid of their diarrhea. Also, my own tip, if your son likes oatmeal, give him as much as he will eat!!
P.S. As long as your son stays properly hydrated, his loose bowels are normal. It can take up to 10 days for his poo-consistency to go back to normal. Make sure he is urinating enough, and he does not have a fever, and all that is happening is par for the course.

Poor you. Diarrhea is soooo unpleasant. My son had two bouts of it and it was not fun.
I would focus on his diet, I believe it's called BRAT: Bread, Rice, Applesauce, Toast or something to that effect.

That should slow things down.
Good luck

Sounds like Rotovirus(is the diarrhea really smelly?)...Nasty little bug!! My boy spent 3 days in the hospital. It is very contagious. Wash your hands really good and keep sanitizer handy. B.R.A.T Diet and hydration are very important.
Take care
-M.

I applaud your effort in using cloth diapers, but for the duration, you really should use disposable. I also question your pediatrician. How do they know he's sufficiently hydrated if they haven't seen him? Other than the BRAT diet, I don't know what else would help an 11 month-old, but 5 days of diarrhea is too long. Find yourself a new doctor.

I hope your little guy feels better soon!
N.

Hi S.,
Certain foods can help clear up diarreah. Two I could recommend for a baby are bananas and rice.
H.

It just takes a few days for the poo to get solid again. Feed him things like bananas, white rice, white floury kinds of bread, bread sticks, stuff that usually constipates grown-ups. Yogurt is really good too if he'll eat it. He's 11 mos, right? that's almost old enough to feed him normal food. Maybe a pretztel stick or 2 would help, because of the salt. And then try to avoid feeding him things that make runny poo, like apples and almost any fruit, veggies, whole grain breads, and sugary stuff. Make sure he gets enough to drink. You'll all be fine, be glad he's not really sick anymore. And get some oxyclean, that stuff is great!

Dear S.,

I'm assuming someone has suggested the BRAT diet, but if not, here it is:
Bananas, Rice, Applesauce,Toast . . . my m-in-law taught me this, and it is the one thing I have heard over and over through the years for diarrhea . . . You can give Pedialyte or whatever to keep them from dehydrating, but this is what should help "stop them up" - for next time, you can start this as soon as the vomiting has stopped.

Good luck!
B.

Rice Water, the starch is supposed to dry up the runny poop. or just cut out the milk and all dairy products, and give him bland foods, te rice water does work. J.

If he's not already on the BRAT diet, start him on that. B=bananas, R=rice, A=applesauce, T=toast

Ruth E. you rock!!!

...S. S...the doctor you have is an idiot. Lose him and find one that 'gets' that it's not ok to have a baby of 11 months have diarrhea for so long....and you are just supposed to 'wait it out'?.
Finding an herbalist would be best. But for now...the most immediate is to make sure he's hydrated and try to get the mild foods in him.

Now I know why we don't do the western doc thing. Yikes.

Ruth E. has 7 kids...listen to the woman! HA...her suggests (and the BRAT) were right on.

Godspeed.

we have had some "loose bowel" situations with my 14 month old. It seems to have gotten better when we have fed him firming foods like bananas and rice. Fruits and veggies tend to make it worse because of all the fiber. Hope it helps, hang in there, i know its tough...

S.,

My daughter went through the same thing a few weeks ago. Her doctor said that even though the vomiting would stop, the diarrhea would continue for about another week. She said not to give her any milk or apple juice as that can upset their stomach and make the diarrhea worst. I gave her plenty of fluids and she was fine. It went away in about a week. Hope this helps....

Use the BRAT diet...Bananas, Rice, Applesauce (not apples), and Toast (bread items)...until the diarreha goes away. Pedialyte or diluted Gatorade to get electrolytes in him.

S.:

The best advice I can give in this case is to stick to the BRAT diet. Bananas, rice, applesauce and dry toast. They really do work wonders. And if you're having trouble getting him to drink alot of liquids, try those freeze pops or some type of popsicle. Other than that, maybe you guys could switch to disposable diapers until it goes away. Atleast that would save you on the extra wash and mess. Good luck and take care.

When my kids experienced the same thing I was told to put them on the BRAT diet: B - Bananas, R - rice, A - applesauce, T - toast. And, for liquids they could drink pedialyte or gatorade. It was challenging at time, but it's the best thing when they have diarhea that won't go away.

Hi S.,
You may want to try adding some flour to a cup of apple juice, mix it, and let him drink it. This is a simple way to stop it. Hope this helps.

My 23 month old recently got over a bad case of the flu. He had diarrhea for over a week afterward, but it turns out it was because of the antibiotics he was on. After 8 days on the antibiotics he broke out it a terrible and frightening case of hives (it was awful). I just thought I would mention that in case your son is on any medication. The diarrhea was just because it was hard on the stomache, but I had a bad feeling about the antibiotics from the outset and I wish I had handled things differently. If there is no medication involved, I would recommend the mild foods (BRAT). If you aren't completely opposed to disposable diapers, they will help a little with the clean up problems. I use cloth also, but I put my son in the disposables (one size slightly larger than his normal size) while he had the diarrhea and it helped contain the mess. There was still some leaking, but not as bad as with the cloth.

Hi S.,

It's L., Elijah's mommy. I am sorry that Ryan is so sick and I just wanted to let you know that I will pray for him to get better! Good luck with the diarrhea and everything. I'm sure this has been quite the experience for your husband to come home to. I'm sure it is nice to have help though at a time like this. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you all. Take care!

This may sound like the weirdest thing ever but when my daughter and I had the stomach flu back in December and it was Really bad. We had some rice or if its easier Rice Milk like the horchata that they sell at the mexican resturants and that cleared us it in a matter of a day to day in a half. Try that and see how that works.

I have always used the BRAT diet. Banana's, rice, apples and toast. Honestly though, I didn't do the apples. The rest seemed to really help. Pedialyte is great and I would decrease the amount of milk till they started getting better. I would still call the doctor if that doesn't help in a couple days. Hang in and hopefully that poor baby will get some relief.

Try the BRAT (banana, rice, apple and toast) diet. It should go away in aweek. For the diaper rash, use Aveno Zinc Ointment. Hope your little one feels better soon.