Daughter Has Stomach Bug

Hi M.,

My granddaughter has had the same the doctors say that it is viral. Try giving her popsicles and pedialyte (store brand works too). I hope that this helps.

Soda drinks, popsicles and jello all have sugar in them which isn't great for a kid anyway, but it really won't help a sick child at all. My girl is 5 and her doctor always says give her Pedialyte, you can get the store brand it's cheaper. They make it in popsicles as well.
Hope she feels better real soon.

Hi M.!

When my 4 year old daughter had a stomach bug recently, I gave her Gatorade and sweet tea. She likes orange and lemon-lime flavored Gatorade and the tanic acid in tea helps to settle the stomach. Don't make the tea too sweet because too much sugar can also upset the stomach. I made it sweet enough to taste good to her and it worked. I tried the tea first and then moved to Gatorade to help with her electrolytes. I would add a little water to the Gatorade too, since it also contains quite a bit of sugar. Once my daughter could keep the liquid on her belly, I gave her saltine crackers. I called them "feel better crackers." Hope it works for you and I hope your little one feels better! Take care!
S. A.

I'd recommend calling your pediatrician's office, but I'll also tell you what mine told me when my son had this. They said to let his stomach "rest" for 2 hours after throwing up and give him NOTHING, and then to just give him a tsp of water every 15 minutes for 2 hours (he's only 1 year old, I imagine it's more for an older child), and then double that for the next hour and then try the clear liquids and jello, etc. Of course you don't want her to get dehydrated, and hopefully this will work for her. I also gave him a warm bath to help his stomach muscles relax and to soothe them and that seemed to help a lot. In our case, it passed fairly quickly. I hope it does for you too. God bless you.

My son wouldnt drink Pedialyte so I gave him gatorade its the same thing and taste much better and also I agree with stick to the B.R.A.T. diet most important thing is that she is getting fluid i wouldnt worry about eating. you can also try ginger ale

Hi M.,
My 22 mo old is at the tail end of it. Luckily he has been drinking water a little bit. Don't give her any juice, will make it worse, sugar feeds the infection. Try Pedialyte, they have new single servings. Also, Gatorade is really good, I dilute it. I think the doctor will say as long as she has 2 wet diapers in 12 hours and cries tears she is not dehydrated. Also, when you stick your finger in her mouth does it seem dry? He had fever up to 103 but mostly vomiting and diarrhea. My son LOVES milk so if that I all he would drink, I gave it to him.
One more thing, if you are giving her anything for fever, use tylenol over advil, advil can be more rough on tummy and she is more likely to eat and drink with tylenol.
Have you heard of the BRAT diet? Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast? All bland for tummy stuff. Stick to starches and bland foods.

Good luck! I know it is hard to see her feeling so awful. My house has smelled like vomit and diarrhea all week-YUCK! Use LOTS of Lysol and wash your hands alot!

J.

My daughter and I went through the throw up stomach bug and diareah this past Christmas and it's not fun. I have a 3 year old and we both were throwing up so perfusely I thought it would never stop! You have to let it run it's course, don't eat. Lot's of ginger ale. If she get's to the point of dry heaving, give her water. Let her throw up the water rather then dry heave, it is so much better.
They have an over the counter medication called Emtrol. There is a rainbow on the front. This will stop nausea and throwing up. I took it, my family takes it, it works.
Good luck!
Brat diet includes
Banannas
Rice
Apple Sauce
Toast

I take away solid food all together and give Spoonfuls of pedialyte (or i use a medicine dropper cause its easier) until their tummy calms down and then I add the BRAT diet until that stays down and usually at that point they start feeling better.

My kids tend to get vomiting and diarrhea at the same time so once I can keep food in them I add an acidopholis (sp?) powder to their drinks to help the diarrhea.

Hope this helps.

Hi M.,
Pedialite is good to give her because it has the elctra lites it and will help keep her from getting dehydrated. Jello and chicken broth is also good.

M.,
What I did two weeks ago with both my children. I didn't give them anything for the first 6 hours after vomiting, except ice cubes to not get dehydrated. I realized that they would vomit everything too. After that I just followd the B.R.A.T. diet. That is all I gave them for the first day and second day (bananas, rice, apple, and toast). After that I gradually added more solids and they slowly got better. Hope this helps.

C.

try some chicken broth luke warm... if she throws that up then put some saltines in a little broth and let her eat them. If it continues for more than 8 hrs. I highly recommend taking her to the doctor or ER. Also watch the sodium intake. To much will dehdyrate her more. Gatarade has alot of sodium in it so try flat sprite or pedilite.

J.

Does she have the runs as well? It's possible she may have a virus that is going around. Most viruses pass in 24 to 48 hours. I would try to give her some pedialyte or even a store brand. If it isn't a virus it may even be a food borne illness. I would look at the foods she may have eaten. Food poisoning has a lot of the same symtoms. Does she have a fever too? Give her small amounts of liquid in 10 minute intervals. Even something as small as a sip of water. If she continues to throw up I would think about taking her in to see the pediatrition. Dehydration in children can happen very fast especially if they have very wet bowels and they are vommiting. I feel bad for the poor thing. It happens though and it's just something that has to run its course.

Just try to keep her hydrated with water or even milk if she will take sips. My daughter went through this and as a matter of fact, almost all of my neighbors children passed it along.

Unfortunately I had to learn about it the hard way and my daughter ended up having to go to the emergency room. She's fine now but like I said, dehydration can happen very fast. Little sips in intervals. Signs to look for in dehydration are easily noticed if it gets bad. If she starts to refuse liquids, if she does not have any moisture in her skin or stops urinating. Fatigue.

If you sense anything I'd go with your gut instinct. You are her mother and you will know in your heart that something is wrong. Take her in to the dr. if you feel it needs to be done. And for yourself, take it easy and try to rest. You are probably so worried right now that you are stressed. Try to relax and just be the best mom you can. Sounds like you are a good mother already.

My best to you and blessings that your little one gets well soon.

When I was pregnant and caught the flu a few years back I couldn't hold anything down for 3 days. I went to the ER and my husband bought me an orange juice that just happened to still be frozen. I nibbled at the ice and after a little while I felt better. I mentioned it to the doctor because I felt ridiculous sitting there and feeling ok. He told me that the ice somehow calms the stomach. All he did for me that day was give me an IV because I was dehydrated. Now I keep those ice pops in my freezer all year. Whenever one of my kids can't hold anything down that is the first thing I give them. It works every time.

When my son had Rotavirus last year, the ER doc told us to start with a tablespoon of fluid every 15 minutes. When she's kept it down for 1 hour, you can increase the amounts gradually. If at any point she throws it back up, start the whole process over. Yes, it's a pain-in-the-neck, but even if she can keep it down for a little while, her body will absorb enough of the fluid that she won't be too dehydrated. They also suggested Gatorade or flat sprite (my son hates Pedialyte) but make sure you water it down because they have too much sugar, which could make her throw it back up. We've used this method anytime my son gets a tummy bug and (knock on wood!) haven't had to go to the ER since. Hope she feels better soon and you both can get some rest!

My girls recently had the nasty bug that was going around. Our doctor said just to let them sleep if they could and make them as comfortable as possible. Dont worry so much about her not being able to keep anything down. A good rule of thumb is to let her watch t.v and give her a teaspoon of something to drink (whatever she likes) each commercial break. If she's still not able to keep anything down, consider giving your doc a call to get something to help her stop throwing up and to rest.

The most important thing is to keep liquids in her. Make sure she doesn't drink too much too fast or it will definitely come right back out. Pedialyte (not sure if it is spelled right) or something like that would be good too. My kids prefer the Gerber brand. Good luck.

You can try some mint tea it usually settles the stomach. You'll need to buy some mint in the spices section of the store, then take a teaspoon of the mint leaves to a cup of water, bring it to a boil then drain it with a fine strainer. After that you can add a teaspoon of sugar to the cup of tea and a couple of ice cubes then have her sip on it. Also try just some ice chips sometimes it's easier to just suck on the ice rather then drink anything. Hope this helps you some!

A.