Hello all,
My son has been sick for a week or so. Friday I took hiim tot he doctor with a fever and cough. Doctor sent us home with Albuteral, prednisone and azithromycin for possible pnemonia. He was OK Saturday then Sunday early morning threw up around 4am. He was sick all day sunday throwing up everything he ate so I called the doc again and he prescribed zoltran and anti naseua medicine. That worked and he ate and drank a little and kept that down. Then Monday he was ok in the morning then by the afternoon he was feeling sick again. He had a little fever so I tried giving him motrin and as soon as he took that he was throwing up again...Then that night he had diarreah and big belly aches. I took him to the doc Tuesday and he was admitted for possible pnemonia and dehydration. Stayed ovrnight he had an IV for fluids and antibiotics. He definitely perked up WEdnesday and ate a little cereal and some juice. We were sent home around noon. He compl;ained of belly aches all afternoon and night. He ate a little rice and am hour alater threw up again and again a little while later. He slept through tthe night and is sick again this morning. Threw up twice already....after some juice and 2 bites of cereal...so basically my question is does a stomach bug last this long? Do I need to do seomthing else? HE is seeing the doc again today but wanted some other mother opionions...Thanks for your time..
I'm struck by how many meds he was put on. I think a steroid (prednisone) is fairly normal for pneumonia (my mom's pneumoia was treated with steroids).
Did they take a chest x-ray for the pneumonia?
Poor kid!
Did the doc check for appendicitis?
Obviously, keep in otuch with the doctor to watch him. But in my esperience, yes, stomach bugs can last. My 2 year old had rotovirus (which she gave to me, ugh) and it lasted 2 1/2 weeks with really intense GI symptoms for over a week. If he has two things going on, like pneumonia and a stomach bug, it could be worse too. Poor kid, poor mom!!
has he been on this antibiotic before? is he still on it? could be a side effect of the antibiotic?
I can't think of a single good reason why your child was put on prednisone! Between that and the antibiotics, it sounds like it has reeked havoc with his gut flora which is completely counterproductive to healing. I'm sure the antibiotics are the reason behind the diarrhea. Probiotics will be really important in getting him back on track.
Ginger, fennel seed and chamomile are all wonderful anti-nausea agents and work far better than any pill your doctor will prescribe.
Hope the poor guy feels better soon!
You said he was prescribed "azithromycin". I was prescribed a medication once called "erythromycin", and the symptoms your describing was what happened to me when I had a major allergic reaction to it. I ended up in the hospital over that. I would suggest asking his doc about that. Good luck. I hope he feels better soon.
When the body gets sick it is trying to adapt. It is a healthy response for anyone to get a fever and cough. This is how the body expels toxins, germs, bacteria, etcetera. It is hardly ever wise to shut down the body's adaptive pathways. When you prescribe (esp. overprescribe as I think your doctor may have) you do just this and force the illness deeper into the tissue. Thus, a fever turns into a bellyache. If you shut down the body's ability to vomit or have diarhea you force the illness deeper still. In fact, many people recognize that a fever is not completely productive at it's main job (producing white blood cells) until it reaches 103 degrees. The best thing for a fever is rest and lots of water to keep the child hydrated. Note here, nothing hydrates the body as well as water. If you feel he needs electrolytes use Recharge or an ionic trace mineral supplement.
With my son, I use a homeopathic remedy and chiropractic adjustment as my first approach to support his body's adaptive pathways. For stomach aches and recovery I would suggest a probiotic. If he has been on antibiotics than he should take probiotics concurrently and for at least an additional 10 days after he has finished the antibiotic.
I hope this helps.
S. L. G., Jr.
Exec. Director
Active Healing, Inc.
www.activehealing.org
____@____.com
P.
So sorry for all the mess and sick son! Two points.
1) My 4 YO was the first in my family to get the recent stomach bug. She was vomiting on and off for 6 days. We have an older child and we have never had a bug that last for this long. It then went through my 5 YO (3 days) and my husband (1.5 days). Point is that it lasted for a long time in the youngest and in my very recent experience I recently discovered that a stomach bug can last for a week. The young ones never had fever but my husband and I had a quick bout of flu-like symptoms and in my husband it was accompanied by vomit.
2) The other point is that when my girls start throwing up accompanied by a fever I worry about a urinary tract infection. They both have had them and both are predisposed. The first time my eldest had it, it was misdiagnosed as a stomach bug. It can cause the same type of symptoms (vomiting and fever) and the constant belly-ache could actually be the kidneys instead of the belly. The only way they thought of the diagnoses was when the stomach bug was not going away and the fever seemed to be getting worse. Boys are far less likely than girls to get a UTI but is something to keep in mind.
Good luck and get well soon!!!
K.
Hi P.,
My son gets sick like this! He has asthma and food allergys as well as a sezure disorder. Last year he threw up for a week, then he had a seizure and I took him to the E.R and he was admitted. Our stay was 1 week. I felt hepless to do anything, upset that I couldnt do anything to make it go away, and hopeless it would ever get better!
Their immune sytems get weak and cant fight off other infections. The stomache bug going around is bad, everyone I know has it (including my son)
I guess what im tryiing to say is your doing a great job! Sometimes you have to let it run its course and be there for them , with hugs! I would contiue to go to the doctor when you think you need to and it should eventually resolve itself! But also very important...take care of yourself!
Hope he feels better real soon!
My guess is that it is a combination of mucus from the congestion, the dehydration from the vomiting (it becomes cyclical), and all those drugs which are hard on little tummies! You are spending a fortune for your poor little one, and not getting results. I think you might want to get him off the albuterol and the steroids asap. You can work nutritionally to build his immune system and get nutrients into him in liquid form - I'd be happy to give you more info. I have a friend whose child spent a whole year going through what your child is going through - pneumonia, nebulizers, the works. Never healthy for more than a week at a time. He's now 7 and hasn't been sick since they added a great kids' supplement. I live not too far from you and would be happy to help you.
