Ideas on Curing Diarrea

D.,
You really need to take your son to the doctor. He doesn't just have diarrhea, he has other symptoms. Even if he did have only diarrhea, he would need to go to the doctor to find the cause. You can treat and "cure" the diarrhea, and still have a sick child. It could be any number of things, not just from a virus, but it's important to find it. Especially if he is not eating. Little children burn a lot of calories and need a lot of nutrition and fluids. If that is not enough, diarrhea is the number 1 cause of death of children in developing countries. Please take your son to the doctor.

OAT water, take out your box of oatmeal pour some hot water over it let it steep, then strain into a cup. Mix it with something if you need to so your child will drink it.

If he won't eat anything, it'll be a challenge since basically most "cures" for diarrhea involve ingesting something.

While you wait for his appetite to return, do make sure he is getting enough water. Maybe he'd have fun eating ice chips (my children love this and it's a good way to get some water in them)

Once he is willing to eat, start with some plain yogurt mixed with unsweetened applesauce. This will provide probiotics in the yogurt and the applesauce will make it taste better and be easy on his tummy.

Hi D.,
It sounds like your son won't eat much, but have you tried coconut, or specifically macaroons? People swear by the healing properties of macaroons for Crohns disease and diarrhea. I bought a really good one at New Seasons bakery the other day and my 15 month old daughter had a couple bites, so I know at least one little one who liked it.
Good luck!

i agree with the probiotics. also you can try activated charcoal, open a capsule in some diluted juice and have your son drink it. if it continues for more the 7 days i would go to the doc.

I take a different approach to throwing up, diarrhea and fevers. Our bodies are really super designed and if we have any of the above things it is trying to get rid of a bug. I know that it sucks to deal with it but trying to stop it, in my opinion, is worse than letting it run its course and can cause the bacteria to stick around. Obviously that only works if it really is just a bug but it sounds like it is....best thing you can do is keep him hydrated and his electrolytes up. I suggest you make a homemade pedialyte type drink for him (recipes are all over the internet or get him some Recharge by Knudsen at Fred Meyer in the nutrition section) and just slowly introduce him back to food as he is able. Bananas are a great start as they help replace the potassium. I normally would agree with the yogurt comments however when coming off an illness any dairy product can be hard on a little system. Good luck, I feel for you. My oldest had gastroenteritis when she was about 16 months old so I feel your pain.

You can try bananas or hard cheese. Also, make sure he's well hydrated.
D.

One word: Acidophillus. It is a supplement of natural cultures (like the good stuff in yogurt, but without the irritating sugars and dairy that are in yogurt) that will balance out his poor digestive system again and put things right. You can find kids versions in many health food stores, but I've generally just always picked an "all ages" version in the nutrition center at Fred Meyer and mixed the contents of a capsule into applesauce for my son. It isn't an exact science, and is totally safe. I take it myself if I've been sick or been on antibiotics.

Good luck!