Sick son....what to Do?

My son had the same thing at that age - I felt so bad for him! My Ped. (Who I love) told us to give him tiny sips of Pedialyte mixed with flat coke - you can add ice too. The trick is that you give him sips about every 10 minutes and just a few. We actually had to set the kitchen timer. It was time consuming, but so was cleaning up the vomit if he had too much liquid at once (: We also gave him the good old "BRAT" diet for upset tummies (Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast). We couldn't get him to eat so we gave him Pedialyte over ice chips which also keeps them hydrated, but slows down the intake of fluids so they can digest them.

The main trick is to keep him hydrated as well as keeping him from vomiting and spacing the liquid does wonders. It last about 2 and a half days of vomiting and a week of not really eating.

This same virus is going thru our playgroup, all but 2 families have had it. The symptoms mainly include vomiting & very wet diarrhea, but some kids/parents have also have fever, sneezing & coughing. In between vomiting or diarrhea, the kids usually play & seem ok. It can last from a few days to 1.5 weeks. My son had it for 2 days, then was fine for 2 days & had another vomiting spell yesterday for a few hours. He seems much better now. Initially when it was worse, I only gave him about 1 oz of pedialyte or water every 20-30 min. If he kept it down, then I gave him another oz, but did not give him food until he had kept down liquids for about 2 hrs, unless he cried for food. The pediatrician said keeping kids/toddlers/babies hydration is more important then eating at this point. When my son did eat, I gave him saltine crackers with no salt or 1/2 a banana. Most people recommend the BRAT diet (if vomiting, hold off until the child keeps liquids down for awhile & NO DAIRY- this makes vomiting worse). The BRAT diet is this:
B-bananas
R-rice
A-applesauce
T-toast

Good luck & watch for signs of dehydration (very dry lips, no tears when child cries)- if these occur, take the child to the Emergency Room immediately. If in doubt, call your pediatrician & have your child evaluated. Dehydration in babies, toddlers & children is very serious & can be life threatening. Good luck & disinfect everything ASAP (especially toys & doorknobs), this including washing your hands & all soiled laundry often to reduce the spread of the germs. -S.-

My pediatrician suggested giving a sip of water or pedialyte every 7-10 minutes to keep hydrated while also keeping the amount of substance in the stomach to a minimum to prevent the vomiting, which can lead to further dehydration. It may seem like a constant and tedious task, but I know how heartbreaking it is to watch a sick little one. (Also how frustrating it is to be constantly cleaning up the mess while trying to comfort a sick and upset baby) Best of Luck.

I have went through this with my on daughter. I would recommend if it last to much longer, change doctors. He can dehydrate and they would have to do an IV. Something must be causing this if it lasts more then a week.

I would make sure he is getting enough electrolytes. A child who is vomiting will need to eat smaller amounts more frequently(BRAT Diet). (Fruit juices and soft drinks can make diarrhea worse and should be avoided.) Call your pediatrician immediately if your child is showing signs of dehydration or take them straight to the ER. Im surprised they didnt want to see him to get a stool sample and test it. Where we were living before, I took my son to the local ER and they sent him home to get worse and he ended up being flown to children's hospital where he spent a week getting IV fluids etc. HTH and good luck.

Pedialyte makes popsicles that seem to work well with my daughter when she's sick. When she's sick I'll give her one of those medicine syringes filled with pedialyte and she sucks on it until it's done and refill and repeat throughout the day. That way she's constantly getting little doses of good fluid. I think the smaller amounts sit better on her tummy and they stay down a little better. Good luck! There's nothing worse for mommy and baby when the baby's sick.
C.

Hi R.,
Like some other people said, it is something that is going around. My 9 mo old has had it, and now my boyfriend has it (so prepare yourself to get it!). We spread out an old blanket on the floor, and took turns sitting/playing with him on it. That way if he threw up, it didn't get on the couch or floor. My mom told me about the BRAT system when a baby is sick--Bananas, Rice (or rice cereal), Applesauce, Toast...those are supposed to be the easiest things for the baby to keep down. You should also keep giving him pedialyte to be sure he doesn't get dehydrated. Other than that, just bear with him, and ride it out. There is not much else you can do with a virus. Good luck!

Hi, I am sorry to hear that your son is sick.Make sure he is drinking his fluids. Toast, crackers....if he is also teething, freeze a washcloth, so he can suck on it.I would do that even if he is not teething, just to keep him cool.Does he have a fever.How you can tell if a child is dehydrated, just pinch him slightly on the belly.If it returns imeditately, he is fine...if it doesnt call the ped, and if he doesnt want to see him, you take him to the ER.BRATS diet is great for diarrhea, although if he is vomiting it is not.Watch him closley.

THere is nothing you really can do. He probally has the flu. The only thing I would give him is Pedialite. It is in juice form. You can get it anywhere. I would not give him any fruits. It will just give him more diarrea. I usually give my kids dry toast, or crackers.

Good Luck!

Both of my children have had the same flu!! The bast thing to do is give him a tablespoon of pedilite evry half an hour. the flu will probly last a week or more and all hes gonna do is throw up and have diarrea. If his diarrea starts to smell really really bad call the dr. back he might have Roatta(SP) virus which is bad you just have to watch he gets enough fluids.

Hi R.,

I'm sorry to hear your son is sick!! Make sure he keeps drinking, if he does not he could get dehydrated. That's not a good thing. If he doesn't feel like eating, don't force him. If he does want to eat, make sure is plain toast, saltine crackers, anything bland and easy.

The most important thing is that he keeps drinking. Make sure you give him teaspoons at a time if he is still vomiting. He will be very subdued if he is dehydrated, to make sure he is not, check his diaper, if it's been a long time since he had a wet diaper call you doc again and ask him/her what to do. I had that happen with my son and he had to go to the ER to get an IV. He did perk up right away and felt much better, but we had to stay there until he peed!!

I hope he feels better soon, I know it's not fun when your child gets sick!!

Take good care!

P.

Does he like popsicles?? If so, try giving him popsicles. Pedialyte makes popsicles for children who are vomiting or have diarrhea and are dehydrated. Giving him something clear and fizzy like 7-up, sprite or ginger ale might calm his stomach. How long has this been going on?? Is he running a fever?

Sounds like stomach flu. Not much you can do. If he'll eat just give him some dry toast and some juice or water to drink. Just keep him hydrated and keep a bucket and what I used to do if the kids were sitting on the couch I'd cover everything that they could reach with towels for easier clean up.
Make sure you wash your hands every time or you might get it.
the diahrrea might last a few days to a week.
Good luck

Rina, there are a few stomach viruses going around right now.
we're still getting over this one. started thursday night with both of my girls (28 months) ghrowing up ALL night. and the n ext day diahrrea for 6 days now
here's the thing, according to my girls' ped vomiting lasts about 24 hrs whereas diahrrea can take up to 10 days. he said best thing to do is keep them hydrated best you can, change frequently to avoid diaper rash (failed miserably in that one), and then start giving lil foods. the whole BRAT diet (banana, rice, applesauce and toast) went out the window. so i am feeding, or i should better say, i am offering soups (no veggies), banana, PB and J (very little, just for taste) and such.
there shouldn't be any fever associated with what's going on around. mine hate pedialyte, so i am using a bit, just for the color, amount of juice completely diluted with water, and giving that pretty prequently. if your sons drinks water then great. mine don't at ALL.
good luck
vlora

it sounds like he has the rotavirus and there really is nothing you can do but make sure he get plenty of liquids. get pedialite ice pops and drinks