My 1 Year Old Has Had Diarrhea and Doesn't Want to Eat or Drink..

Updated on August 03, 2010
A.S. asks from Chicago, IL
17 answers

Hello,
My 1 year old has had diarrhea for almost a week, she vomitted 3 times yesterday after I tried giving her formula because she wasn't taking milk. She turns down her sippy cup, so I got a bottle out. She did take some pedialyte today but is VERY lethargic, all she wants to do is lay on me, sleep. I'm afraid she is going to get dehydrated. How long should this last, what else can I do to get her better. She doesn't seem to have a fever, is this contagious?
Thanks

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone, she is much better today. I pumped her with pedialyte. And, yes we did see the pediatrician. Most of her signs were good, the bug just really hit her hard yesterday. She was only lethargic yesterday but after getting fluids and some banana, toast in small doses, and a lot of sleep she is bouncing back. Still not 100% but doing so much better. Thank you for all the responses, I was so worried.

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C.H.

answers from Chicago on

sounds like she had the stomach bug (she can only eat a BRAT diet) - bread, rice, apple sauce adn toast. Also go to Whole Foods and get a probiotic for her so next time she gets sick, you can crack open a pill and give her some. It will reduce the length of the illeness and help get everything back in order again.

~C.

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D.D.

answers from Chicago on

I would take her to the ER or her doctor. Lethargy and dehydration are not good combination's. I wouldn't hesitate to take her to the ER. She probably needs an IV.

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D.B.

answers from Tampa on

Please call your pediatrician (they should have after hours coverage) and talk to them. You need to be sure she is getting enough fluids, and the pediatrician is the one who knows how much is enough (or not enough) and can direct you to urgent care if necessary. This site can help, but it should not be a substitute for a conversation with your doctor.

I do know that when our son had a virus and didn't want to eat or drink, the MD said to give him the appropriate dose of Tylenol (he did not have a fever, just was obviously not feeling well) and try again. Sure enough, once the Tylenol kicked in, he starting to eat and drink more. Good luck.

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

Poor thing. We have been through this so many times and it is not fun.

I wouldn't give her any milk or milk products as they can upset the stomach. Breastmilk is okay, though if you are still nursing.

Push fluids....water, pedialyte, popsicles, gatorade, Crystal light, koolaid. Pedialyte is the best by my daughter couldn't stand the taste of it so I would always try several different liquids

Don't worry so much about food. But, if she seems hungry then bland stuff works best....crackers, toast, rice

Since it has been going on for so long and she is still pretty young I would see if your doc has Saturday hours or if she hasn't had very many wet diapers (can't remember how many they are supposed to have) then take her in to the ER.

Good luck. I hope she feels better soon!

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D.

answers from Chicago on

You may have already waited to long. Call a Doctor rather than asking here.

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J.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

Have you taken her to her ped? She may be dehydrated and need an IV.

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M.V.

answers from Houston on

This happened to my son when he was 18 months old, except he was vomiting. He refused the pedialyte, grew too weak to nurse, and would only take sips from a spoon of water. After a few days of vomiting he could barely hold his head up. The ped. told us to take him to the ER for an IV drip. She didn't even want to see him as there was nothing she could do at the office for dehydration. We took him to a local hospital (not a children's hospital) and he ended up with an IV. We were in and out in a few hours, but if I had it to do all over again I would've made the trip to a children's hospital. They blew a vein trying to get the IV in and it was torturous having to hold him down until they could get it right. We took him to the ped. the next day and he had lost four pounds in one week. (He had just had his 18 month check up the week before). He had never been so sick. I would definitely take her to the ER and a children's hospital, if you can.

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S.M.

answers from Columbus on

I would definitely take her to the urgent care or emergency room immediately...those symptoms normally don't hang around that long...something else is going on with that wee one.Take care! God bless!!

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T.T.

answers from Chicago on

if your child is lethargic and wont take in fluids she need to go to the ER immediately

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E.F.

answers from Chicago on

She needs a doctor!

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C.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Lethargic and not eating or drinking. It's Saturday, so I'd say the ER. I'd hate to see baby with an IV, but that's what they may have to do. If you have a children's hospital close by, I'd take her...soon

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A.S.

answers from Chicago on

I would contact her pediatrician if she has had the diarrhea for a week, especially since she is lethargic, because that could mean she is getting dehydrated. When my daughter was a baby she had diarrhea once for 14 days. The pediatrician told us that young children can sometimes develop a lactose intolerance when they have diarrhea. That happened with my daughter. At that time there was a formula (sorry, I can't remember the name) that was made specifically for babies to drink when they had diarrhea because it did not have the lactose. We were able to use that for a few days until the virus was out of her system and then she was fine and able to tolerate the lactose again. I'm so sorry to hear that your baby is sick; that is so hard. I hope she feels better soon!

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C.S.

answers from Medford on

My 3 year old just had the stomach flu for a week, couldn't keep anything down for the first several days. His pediatrition said to avoid milk as it will upset the stomach more (until they are feeling better). To keep them hydrated give water or pedialyte, wait 2 hours after they throw up and then give 1t every 10 minutes for an hour, then 2t every 10 minutes for an hour, and then 3t every 10 min for an hour. Yes, takes a lot of time but he kept it down like this, and then I was able to give him about 1/4c at a time with longer periods of time inbetween. I am not big on giving kids drugs, but I did get some Zofran which helps with neasuea and vomiting and that helped him keep water and juice down much better. Good luck!

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K.L.

answers from Chicago on

If she's very lethargic she's probably already dehydrated. Another thing to look for is wet diapers and tears. With diarrhea and vomiting they can become dehydrated so quickly - this happened to my oldest son twice in one winter when he was around a year old, bad stomach bug. Take her to an urgent care center or children's hospital ER - I agree with the other posters that she probably needs an IV to become rehydrated. Good luck!

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N.L.

answers from Dallas on

I agree w/the other moms, becuz of her age and the fact this has been going on almost a week and is lethargic, I would call her doctor too and prob take her to a Care Now at the very least.. My dad who is 72 threw up for 3 days and couldn't keep anything down and when he finally went to the doctors they rushed him to ER and said his kidneys were shutting down cuz he had gone so long w/out fluids. So it can be serious! Better to be safe than sorry!

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K.V.

answers from Phoenix on

My daughter had this about 3 weeks ago, (she is 3) I called her pedi cause we were on vac. The told me there was a stomach thing going around that lasts about 5 days (vomiting and diareaha). She vomited for about 2 days but the diareaha lasted the full 5. They told us just to give her pedialyte to make sure she doesnt get dehydrated. There is an age diff between our two so if you are really worried aI would say take her to urgent care. My daughter slept for almost two days and didnt really start eating again till day 3 or 4. As long as she is drinking the pedialyte and not running a fevder I woudl give it another day, also try and give her some crakers (that was the 1st thign my daughter was able to hold down). Hope this helps. Oha nd as far as teh contagious part, I am not sure (maybe TMI but i got the diareaha part just not the vomiting about 2 days after her)

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K.K.

answers from San Diego on

maybe the teething?

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