My Son Is Dehydrated from the Flu

I would try some flat 7up. For some reason when my kids would not drink anything else they loved pop. If you have to buy it and immediately serve it, put it into the cup and stir it up with a spoon so it loses the fizz. Try to get rid of as much fizz as you can because it will make it easier to keep down. Also try popsicles. Even take kool aid and put it in an ice cube tray and freeze it. He will get liquid without even taking a drink. I have 3 kids I have been through it. Just hang in there.

Take him into DR right away...
We use pedilite, mixed with juice.
Also the BRAT diet
Bannans
Rice
Applesauce
Toast
Helps thier little tummies...we all had the flu, it lasted a week, for a family of 5, nasty bug!
Good Luck :)

We ended up in the hospital with my son for this same thing, but it did happen much quicker. If he is not taking any liquids in, I would call the doctor. It was very scary and was so hard to watch my little guy get an IV. Just a word of caution!

Have you tried ice chips?

I would take him to urgent care ASAP - good luck :)

Try the Gerber electrolyte, my kids' ped recommends this over pedialyte. Juice will only give more diarrhea. Milk isn't a good thing to give for the flu, it's really too thick & not hydrational. Rule of thumb for the flu is if they are throwing up, don't give anything for 15 minutes after they puke, and then give small sips of fluid often. If he takes drinks, then he'll end up expelling it all. Water will hydrate him, but he needs the extra calories and better hydration. When in a pinch I use Gatorade/Powerade - my older boys drink it a lot and we never know when the flu is going to come about! But just keep offering small sips as often as you can.

If he doesn't pee, doesn't have tears, and has a dry mouth, take him to the ped or the hospital. Acting lethargic is usually comes with severe dehydration. I would suggest at least calling the ped in the morning, if he's been sick this long. The ped may wish to monitor him. Sadly, some flus can take up to 2 weeks to get over.

Your child should be getting about a liter of fluid each day, mostly from milk (or an electrolyte solution like pedialyte, juice or gatorade if he's sick) and some liquid from food. Feel inside his mouth, see if his eyes look a little sunken. While I wouldn't rush him to ER since he's acting energetic, I would DEFINITELY call your pediatrician. Most likely he's going to start drinking and eating more today since he feels better. Babies get dehydrated very quickly, toddlers can too. One or two wet diapers is NOT enough. I'm sure he's going to be better today! Good luck and call your pediatrician anyway!

N.
(PS. I'm a pediatric ICU nurse)

I would take him to the doctor ASAP with so few wet diapers. He may need IV fluids.

M.

I would take him in, too. The first question they always ask is about the wet diapers. Also, my toddler is sick & throwing up today and my doctor said NOT to give her straight water. Also, no kool-aid, sprite or anything else with all that sugar because it can irritate the tummy more. Some suggestions they gave:

* really weak tea
* dilluted juice
* Pedialyte
* Pedialyte popsicles (not regular sugary kind)

For us (for the vomiting) they also suggested feeding a half slice of dry toast (no butter or dairy)

Also, I realize this is water - but ice chips might be a way to get your child to eat... I use my regular refrigerator ice dispenser on crushed ice and then take out all the bigger pieces so my daughter won't choke on them.

My son was constantly ill the first 1 1/2 of his life. He too, would go a day or too w/ no wet diapers. It fresked me out, but the doctors always said that kids wont dehydrate themselves. They told me to look for lethargy, or whne you press on his nails, see if they return to pink or white. White is a poor sign. We used a medicine dropper and squirted water down his throat every hour at some points. He fought like heck. But, the one time we had him in the hospital for dehydration was so traumatic, that we resort to the dropper alot, now. So, use the dropper, check his nails and wait it out. even if he has a drop or two in his diaper, it means he is still functionig all right.

I've gone through the same thing with both of my daughters, and I agree that he should be seen by your Doctor. My first daughter also ended up with IV's and let me say, that's horrible for them. Meanwhile, you need to take a dropper or a tablespoon (which ever one will work better for you) and put the water in his mouth for him every 5-10 mins until he begins drinking on his own and/or until you start to see his diapers with more urine. This can take hours on end to see positive results and it can be tiring, but very well worth it for him. My Doc and his nurses advised me to do the same thing with my girls and it worked. They fought me off for the first few times, but as a parent and a Mother we do what we know is best for them even if they fight you on it. ;-) I also agree with the other Mother in trying other foods that contain water like popcicles, jello. Watermelon or fruits like those also contain a lot of water.

But all in all, take him to see the Doc. Even if you think it's not that serious, it's always better to be safe than sorry especially when it comes to our children. ;-)

Good Luck. I hope your son is feeling better very soon.

When my son was ill and refused liquids I gave him a clean wet washcloth to suck on. For some reason he liked it, and it kept him hydrated. The nursing extra long at night is a great idea, too. Good luck and best wishes

Take him in for an IV. If his urine output is down to next to nothing don't wait until he is lethargic. Don't take him to daycare and expose other children until he is all better drinking and eating. Most ped offices have a triage nurse you can call also, make sure you tell them that his urine output is down so low, if this was my child I would be in he ER for IV fluids. Good luck!

I would also try popsicles, I think pedialyte also makes popsicles or even if you can get him to suck on ice cubes. Good luck!

My first born son also had the flu when he was about 15 months old and he also didn't seem out of sorts (happy, playing) but didn't want anything to eat or drink for 2 days and then minimal food and fluids for about 4-5 days after that. I tried juices, milk, pedialyte, and a Gerber brand electrolyte juice and nothing worked. I figured that unless he started acting differently or if he didn't start having some kind of nourishment after 2-3 days after he was sick, I would bring him in to see his Dr. I know that being a mother you do worry about dehydration because everyone tells you to "push fluids" but sometimes even when adults are sick...it's best sometimes just to not eat or drink anything right away until you feel better....not trying to eat or drink just because you think you should or someone tells you too. I would suggest that if his eating/drinking habits aren't back to normal on Tue night/Wed morning maybe he should be seen by his Dr. Most likely, your Dr. will tell you bring him home and continue trying rest/fluids. Definately find out your peditrician's take on the situation. If your son is on medications for any reason, I would bring him in as soon as possible. Hope this helps.
~J.

R.
It is really important to bring him into the doctor before it gets bad and he gets dehydrated fully. When my daughter was 19 months she got dehydrated severely and ended up in the hospital for four days with an iv the entire time. It was hell! I would bring him in just for piece of mind especially if he is not wetting or drinking and vomiting and pooping. I guess I would rather be safe than sorry.
Good Luck
B.
SAHM 5yr old daughter 15 mo old son

You seem to be on TOP of things. UR watching his signs. Keep pushing pedalite or similar product. Some juice make bowels loose, He will eat when he's ready. Good Luck.
S.
mother of 4

When my son had rotavirus at 8 months old, he was drinking small amounts of pedialyte like the Dr had recommended (12 hrs with nothing to let the stomach settle, then 1 oz an hour and slowly increase so that it doesn't upset his stomach). The next day he seemed back to normal, happy and playful, and I thought it was over, but then the next morning he developed a fever of 106 on Christmas Eve, and I had to take him to the ER. He was really dehydrated, and the Dr told me that once you get really dehydrated, even drinking pedialyte sometimes can't rehydrate you, because your body won't absorb it. They gave him an IV to get him hydrated and after that he was fine and got better. They told me that an IV was the only way to get him hydrated when he stopped having we diapers/diarhea (which started up again as soon as he got fluids in him... but that was the only way the virus would get out of his body). I don't know your full situation, but I would talk to a nurse and see what they say. They may want you to bring your son in for an IV, which most clinics can do right there, and that might be what he needs to get back to normal. My son was mostly normal again once he got the fluids. I think calling the clinic would give you the best advice for your sons situation. Good luck!

J.

When I can't get my son to drink anything I use a dropper and just squirt it in to his mouth.
Good luck.

What an awful thing to go through - I hope he feels better soon. Some advice that I received from our pediatrician was to give the child a teaspoonful (or less depending on the age of the child) of liquids every few minutes - just a bit at a time to avoid further tummy irritation. When you're feely yucky it's hard to take anything, but if your son can manage just a couple of drops every few minutes, he'll gradually be able to get rehydrated. Just feel him out to see how much he can take at any given period - even a sip every half hour is better than nothing. Good luck!

If you're really concerned about his fluid intake, I would suggest nursing him during the day as well if he will accept it. It might set weaning back a little bit, but it would be much better than having a dehydrated baby needing IV fluids.
Watch for sunken eyes, pale skin, lethargy, dry mouth and nose (mucous membranes). If his skin seems to be losing some elasticity that can also be a sign of dehydration.
Good luck!

Have you tried feeding him a popsicle?

try popsicles..regular ones or they have the pedialite ones...if that dont work try jello.if that dont work take him in.my daughter had to be in the hospital cuz she was dehidrated.take care

His body has to adjust from being sick, and his appetite will come back slowly. Encourage him to drink water from a sippy, or a regular cup, or from a straw, spoon, whatever you can get to work. Small sips are good, and if he is nursing at night that is great, his body needs that to heal.

As long as he is acting ok, just give him a few days to get his appetite back ,and push the water drinking. Keep a cup around at all times and offer it often.

Sorry you're dealing with this! You can try and see if he'll eat jello, ice cream, soup, popcicles, etc. Just keep trying and he'll eventually take something. Otherwise, call his pediatrician and see what they suggest. Good luck!!

If he isn't having wet diapers, please take him to the doctor. Things can get very serious quickly.

My son ended up in the hospital for 6 days after thanksgivng with a gastrointestinal flu, he was dehydrated and would not keep anything down, he was 6 months at the time. One thing I would suggest is try to feed him at least 1 ounce of liquids an hour, I would try to do maybe half pedialyte and half milk or juice or somthing. It does sound like your son may be a bit dehydrated, and the last thing you want to do is let it get out of hand. My mistake with my son when he was vomiting was trying to get as much down him as possible, babies need at least an ounce an hour to hydrate themselves, so I would start with that.
I hope he gets better soon, this is a horrible thing to deal with, but at least he is home with you!
Good luck, btw, if he does not like the pedialyte, you can also try gatorade and dilute it a bit, babies need the electrolytes!

Try popsicles for rehydration. They actually contain quite a bit of fluid. You're right, watch for decreased activity or lethargy.

My son had the flu at 15 months. He was hospitalized 3 times. He was dehydrated among other things. We fed him liquid with an eye dropper constantly to hydrate him. We used juice, sprite, water and kool-ade. It is so important to keep them hydrated. My son actually lost his hearing in one ear from being so sick. He now has a hearing aide. I am not blaming his hearing loss on just dehydration, it was his whole illness. I wonder if we could have changed the outcome at all by at least being aware of complications.