Probiotics - Merrimack,NH

From past experiences with my son..I would say that using probiotics while on the antibiotics is pointless!! We start them right when he has taken his last dose and that seems to help with his immune system. As for the diarrhea try the BRAT diet while on the meds...Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast..that should help bind him up. Good Luck :)

N.:

Yes amoxicillian is the "diarrhea drug"! You can also buy probiotics at the drug store. They are powder that come in capsules (usually near the vitamin supplament section). I have opened the capsules and mixed the powder part into food or drinks. One a day is the dosing.

Also, the BRAT diet can help (Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toat). Try to limit the fruits, juices as well. Cereal is a good binder also.

Good luck!

N.,
go to walgreens or wholefoods get acidophilis in capsil form or powder form add to his food. L.

my daughter who s 2 takes a probiotic vitamin, its called Buddy Bear and they are orange flavor, bear head shaped, and chewable. She has ezcema and my sister in law recommended them. We get ours at a co-op. I know you can get them on-line too.

N.,

Hi! Our son is on low dose antibiotics long term due to kidney reflux so in addition to daily yogurt we also put a powdered probiotic in his food 1X per day. Whole Foods sells this and it is made for babies. Hope this helps! ~L.

I'm not sure where you live but Eaton Apothocary sells Florastor (a probiotic packet) for kids right on the pharmacy counter. My daughter is on prophylactic antibiotics to prevent UTIs (which appear to cause kidney damage for her) and we've had very good luck with Florastor when she was an infant. Best wishes!

Hi N.,

When my son gets diarrhea we always follow the acronym BRAT...bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. My doctor also told us to stay away from lots of juice...water is best.

Hope this helps and good luck!

you can get kefir at whole foods -- it has different strains of probiotic bacteria than yogurt. you can also get kombucha, a delicious beverage made from fermenting tea. start real slowly with the kombucha, some people don't react terribly well to it.

kimchee and miso are also made by fermentation, and thus will contain probiotic bacteria. oh, and raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, just a tablespoon or so.

there is also the option of getting probiotics in a jar -- there is a refrigerated section in the "whole body" part of whole foods. they are very helpful there.

good luck!

You can buy this as a supplement. I think Whole foods even has a children's version, but they don't always carry the same products. You can always mix the contents of a capsule into something else.
Best of luck to you and your boy 8 )

Hi N. - That is awful, the poor thing. It's obviously wise to take the antibiotic, but the diarrhea part is NOT fun. Anyway, there is actually a product called "Baby Jarro-Dophilus" that I found in Whole Foods when my youngest was colicky. It's in a powder form. We used to put a tsp. or so in her bottles during the day, and it helped her digestion so she wasn't as gassy and fussy at night. I was told that you can't overdose a child with this, since it's the good, live, active cultures we need. Since your son is older, you could give him more and mix it in his yogurt, put it in water, anything that mixes easily. The container is about the size of an Advil or Tylenol container. There may be even more out there that might work for you - I don't know if you live near a Whole Foods but their natural remedy section is wonderful. Good luck - hope he feels better soon!

An old fashioned recipe for stopping diarrhea in children is as follows.
Boil two cups of oatmeal..what you are after is the starch in it...little clumps of white jelly-like stuff. Use enough water so it does not burn, strain the grains out of it when you have a cup or so of starch.
Now mix up a jello that the child likes but do NOT gel it.
Mix the oatmeal starch into it. It should be a liquid.
About 1/2 to 1 cup of oatmeal starch to the two cup box of jello.
This will stop the skitters in most children and most of them like it quite well.
If he doesnt like that then oatmeal itself, should help.
Wish you the best.
God bless
Grandmother Lowell

"Culture-elle". Worked like a charm when my daughter was on anitbiotics over 5 times this past year. Don't even get me started about the antibiotics.
Anyway, she had really bad diarrhea and culturelle resolved it.
It is around $22 at CVS.
Good luck,
N.

Hi N.,

What brand of yogurt have you been offering your son? I work at Stonyfield Farm, and their yogurt contains the most probiotic cultures of any other brand (6 different one's). Plus, it's an all natural organic product. You can check out their website for nutritional information at www.stonyfield.com. When you click on the products icon at the top of the home page, then choose specific products then flavors, you can view the nutrition label. I truly feel the yogurt is the best option for the probiotics. Pill form does not get the acidophilus fully through the digestive system like yogurt does - it's the dairy that protects the probiotic from the acids breaking it down (which begins in the mouth, through the stomach and so on). Unless your son has issues with dairy, I wouldn't see why offering 2 yogurts a day, or even some yogurt drinks, would be a problem. I would recommend a discussion with your pediatrician as well. Good luck. S.

your local health food store will carry actual probiotics (you keep them refrigerated) they come in capsules and you can sprinkle them in his food... talk to the customer service dept of the store for how much and/or you doctor, good luck!

Hi N.,

It's also important to ingest the probiotics at a different time than the antibiotics, so each can work properly! Otherwise, you're counterproducting the job the "biotics" are intended to do........Good Luck!

Go to Wholefoods, (maybe Trader Joe's), look for Udo's children's probiotics (powder form, can add to his liquids or take directly from spoon). If they don't sell at Wholefoods anymore, you can either buy another brand or go online and find it, but make sure the seller will send it to you cold-packed!

you can buy probiotics at the health stores like whole foods- they have childrens versions - my kids take probiotics year round. Probiotics really support immune system and overall health - good luck

If the child can swallow, acidophilis does come in tablet form.

I have used packets of probiotics that I recieved from the pediatrician in the past. I believe they have it over the counter now. Try calling your pharmacist. You add it to yougurt or applesauce. I'd stick to the brat diet(banana,rice,apples and toast) for now.

My son is 18 months old and I recently started using something called "Infant Probiotics" by Udo's Choice from my local health food store. It's in a powder form, I use 1/2 a tsp daily or could do up to 3 times a day for full strength according to the directions on the bottle. It is expensive, $20 for 2.64 oz, but a friend passed it onto me. I hope you find what works for you.

You can buy cherry flavored acidophilus (sp?) pills that will just melt in his mouth or he can chew - my kids just love them! Make sure you get the kind that says on the bottle to refrigerate after opening. They're available at CVS, and probably all drug stores.

Go to Whole foods or other like "natural" pharmacy and talk to someone there. They have probiotics that you can give him. Good luck!

Hi, Whole Foods carries Probiotics and Acidopholis (sp?). You can mix it in food and give it to them, its great.

Good luck!

hi N.,
I use Flora Baby. It has the most strains of bacteria in it. You use the smallest amount with the enclosed scoop (it's like 1/8 tsp) and mix it into juice, water, applesauce etc. All my kids and infant take it. I get it at my local health food store, but here is the link from amazon.com to take a look. Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/Flora-Baby-Renew-Life-Grams/dp/B001...

L.

Hi N., you can get probiotic powder made for kids to mix in juice or yogurt at Whole Foods. We use it whenever we have to give our kids antibiotics and it seems to help. Good Luck!- A., SAHM of four

Hi N.-
I've used "Culture-elle" when my kids have diarrhea (you can buy it at CVS). You can open the capsules and put the powder in juice or cereal. I do this twice/day when the kids are on antibiotics or get a bad case of diarrhea.
Good luck!

Kefir (similar to yogurt). There are several products on the market now with Probiotics. Check the cheese section for LiveActive cheese. Also, I believe there is a line of LiveActive granola/cereal type bars in the cereal aisle.

I found a probiotic chewable dinosaur "vitamin" at Whole Foods. The kids often feel queasy a few hours after taking them so I haven't been consistent with them. I think I should just keep giving them one a day for a couple weeks and have them ride out the queasiness and gas until there gut is repopulated with the good flora I know they are missing after too many antibiotics. Maybe your kids would handle it better. Worth a try, I think. Good Luck!

Hi N.,
My son was diagnosed with Lyme Disease back in May this year after having joint swelling and pain that moved around to different joints. He took the amoxicillian and the probiotics in powder form. We went to Whole Foods to get it as others here have suggested.

We also had him taking a Homeopathic Lyme Nosode which was prescribed by our homeopath. It's not something you can buy yourself but if you use homeopathy you can talk to your homeopath about it. Another good homeopathic remedy that helped with the pain and swelling was Rhus Tox. You can buy that at Whole Foods and self administer.

My son had a blood test to actually confirm he had Lyme Disease so if you haven't seen any symptoms (there are many, not just the classic bull's eye, which my son never had) then your son may not get the disease. We couldn't figure out why his joints were swelling up and he was tested for Rhematoid Arthritis, Mono and Lyme Disease. So I recommend keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and getting his blood tested if any symptoms arise. We know my son had a tick bite in late fall and the swelling didn't show up until early spring. He was also having trouble focusing in school around that time which is also a symptom.

Chances are if he does have the Lyme Spirochete in him you are catching it early and should have good results with the antibiotic. Incidentally, my son has had no more symptoms since his treatment and he's doing much better in school.

Good luck. Feel free to contact me if you want any more info.

B.

HI N.,

Try going to whole Foods or any Nature Store. There are also drinks and snack bars with probiotics. The employees are more knowledgeable about products in those stores and can show you what you are looking for.

Try Jarrow-dophilus made by Jarrow-sold at Whole Foods. It's a powder you can put in their drinks/food I give it to my kiddo year round-helps with digestions and prevents colds!

My family likes "Kefir," a pro-biotic smoothy-like drink that you can find in the dairy section and/or healthfood section of the grocery store. It worked wonders on all of us when we got hit by a stomach bug last spring. It comes in different flavors, like raspberry and peach, or you can buy plain and flavor it yourself.
Good luck!!

Hi N.,
I get probiotics at Whole Foods - I purchase the All Flora brand powder; I used it with my daughter when she was on antibiotics and I take it regularly, too (I can't do dairy).
It's a powder, I used to mix it with breast milk for my daughter when she was a baby. Now I mix it with some water and she likes to drink it. She asks for it! (for her, I use about 1/4 teaspoon once a day - while on antibiotics I give a slightly larger 1/4 teaspoon and give 2x/day).

From what I understand other fermented foods have probiotics in them, like Kefir, but I have not used them.

good luck.
E.

N.,

Sorry that you have to go through all of this! And your sons poor little belly! You can actually purchase probiotics at a health food store, and give him a higher dose until he is off the antibiotics and his stools are better (a higher dose will do no harm). Yogurt is really the only food that contains these lovely little bacteria. My family and I actually take probitics every day, as it also helps with your immune system. The adults have pill form, and the children (and adults too if they want!) have a chewable that is tasty.

Good luck! I hope he feels better soon!

Hi Nkki,

We use American Health's CHEWABLE ACIDOPHILUS with bifidus - MILK FREE - Natural Strawberry Flavor.

Those with diverticuli should probably be wary. A family member took a different company's formula of probiotics and ended up in the hospital with diverticulitis. He realized that the same thing had happened years before when he had first tried it. (Forgot what had caused it the first time! Or hadn't realized the cause.)

: ) Maureen

You could get Kefir... it's a yogurt drink that has 10 times the amount of probiotics and it tastes good so your son will probably like it. You could also just get some probiotics in powder form and mix them into applesauce or other food (as long as the food isn't too hot.. heat kills probiotics)

Good Luck

Probiotics is something that should be given on an empty stomach 1hr after a meal or 15 minutes before a meal to allow them to flourish and nourish the stomach lining. The probiotics in yogurt is counteracted by the sugar. It's a nice concept but not one that will work with a system compromised by antibiotics.

My suggestion is to find a health food store, and usually there is a health nutritionist affiliated with the reputable ones. Ask to speak to one and ask for a probiotics product specifically beneficial to your child.

My kids take bio-gold.
Best

N.-

You can actually go to your local Health food store and buy Pro-biotics. It comes in a capsule form but you can just open it up and pour the powder into your son's drink and he can drink it. One kind is called JArro-Dophilus, in a yellow container. Good luck!

If you go to the health food store, I would ask for Saccharomyces Boulardii- it is a friendly, probiotic yeast that is not killed by the antibiotic your son is taking- so it will be able to start helping immediately with the diarrhea (within 2-3 days). I'd also pick up a lactobacillus supplement from the store's refrigerator section (always go for the refrigerated stuff for better viability.)That will be good to take for a couple of weeks following treatment. The yogurt will still help to get the probiotics established in the gut.