Stomach Virus

[ColesMom]

My 2 1/2 year old ds has been vomitting every two hours for the past 12 hours. The pediatrician says it's probably a stomach virus that's been going around. I'm worried because he can't even hold down a sip of water or breastmilk. If I can't keep him hydrated he'll have to get IV fluids by the end of the day, according to the pediatrician.

I'm wondering if any of you have any tried and true methods for hydrating or comforting a vomitting child. He has a little diarrhea and is running a low fever at the moment.

THANKS FOR ANY HELP YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO OFFER!

[Inwe Surion]

I suggest Rescue Remedy on the top of his head. Just a few drops should help him feel better.

[ColesMom]

Thanks Clancysmum, I'll give it a try. He's sleeping right now so it shouldn't be a problem. He hasn't thrown up in about 3 hours so cross your fingers!

[briar]

I hope that by the time you read this he is doing better but...
I just went through this with my family. A big thing that helped us is I made sure my dd didn't nurse or drinfor at lease 2 hours before I offered. And then i only offered a bit then distracted her and watched to see if it stayed down. At 2 1/2 it might be hard to distract him but maybe you could reason with him? Then just a bit every 15 min. Also keep in mind that BM is so easily absorbed that he may be getting some even if most comes up.
Isn't the stomach flu the worse! I hope you get lots of rest so you don't get it too

[daylily]

Like Briar, I hope you no longer need this advice, but years ago, our ped gave us a "stomach virus formula." You give 1 teaspoon of water and wait 20 minutes, then another teaspoon of water, wait 20 minutes. Repeat a third time. If during that first hour, no vomiting occurs, you can give 1 teaspoon diluted ginger ale (this advice was geared for older children--you could probably adjust this and maybe express a bit of breastmilk and give 1 teaspon of that.) Anway, if the vomiting has stopped, you then can move to a clear liquid diet and the following day, the BRAT diet. If, at any time, the vomiting begins again, you go back to the beginning with 1 t of water.

One of my dds is particularly miserable when she has a stomach virus--she'll vomit often for a good 12-18 hours--and there have been a few times when we thought she'd have to go to the hospital, but she always turned out fine. (Whenever she's sick like this, it's always either a weekend, or we're out of town.: ) The very worst time, we were staying with my BIL who was a pediatrician. He told us it was an up-in-the-air call about whether to take her to the ER or not, so we decided not and she gradually improved.

[ColesMom]

Thanks Briar and Daylilly - Unfortunately, he's still very ill. I am so worried - I could handle the illness if I knew he'd be fine but I was reading the Baby Book and it freaked me out that the symptoms of the flu virus are similar to the symptoms of meningitis.

He has been vomitting every two to four hours since Saturday night (almost 48 hours!). His fever is around 101.4 - 101.9. He is totally lethargic today - all he wants to do is sleep. Good news is he's urinated twice today. I think I'll try the teaspoon method - I've been letting him drink a few sips at a time and breastfeed for about 30 seconds at a time, but I guess it's not working.

I wish he'd wake up so I could reassess his situation. The doctor said that if he's still not improved by tomorrow we may need to take him to the hospital, which I consider an absolute chamber of horrors after a visit last year due to a febrile seizure.

As you can tell I'm not being very strong at the moment - just kind of freaking out. I hope I can get some perspective on this soon.

Thanks again for your advice.

[daylily]

I'm sorry your baby is still sick. You may be right that it's not a stomach virus, but that doesn't mean it's something scary like meningitis! I wish you the best.

[SunnySkies]

My son was just hospitalized with rotavirus, your son's symptoms sound very similar to his. Maybe you could take him to the doctor to have him tested, then at least you would know what he has, and if he is dehydrated or not. Rotavirus is a nasty virus, my son became severely dehydrated. The advice here is all good. I wish I had received it before my son got so ill! Update us and let us know how he is doing. It is so awful when our children are so sick, it makes us feel so helpless. I hope he gets better very soon!

[briar]

Colesmom How is your ds???? I've been thinknig about him and you. I hope that no news is good news!

[ColesMom]

Thanks you guys for caring! Cole is doing much better. He had a rough night the night of my last post (as you could tell by my panic!) - but his temperature finally came down a bit and he perked up before midnight. My mom came over and spent the night because she was so worried. It was quite a night - my mom, Cole, and I in the family bed with my dh in the other room. Everytime he'd stir my mom would lift his head and I'd spoon some sort of liquid into him - either flat ginger ale, gatorade, or water. We didn't get much sleep but he definitely got stronger - he threw up only once (as opposed to the 4-6 times a night he'd been averaging!).

Anyway, things have petered down and now we're basically dealing with some diarrhea and its accompanying irritability.

His pediatrician noted that this was a very nasty virus and that if the diarhea didn't resolve itself in the next 4 or 5 days that we may want to test for salmonella or some other bacteria.

I just hate it when he's sick - it's the worse feeling in the world. But I really appreciated being able to turn to the Board for some support and wonderful advice.

[SunnySkies]

I am so glad to hear he is doing better! What a wonderful mom you have!!

[briar]

I second the wonderful mom! Isn't it scary when they are so sick! I hope you never have to go through that again!
Glad to hear he is doing better! The diahea can be just as bad! Keep those fluids up!
We just got over the same thing... and now I have 2 dd's so I know how scary it can be! Glad you came here! Its good to know I'm not the only one that gets a little panicie!

[ColesMom]

SunnySkies and Briar - I'm going to forward your messages to my mom. I'm always thanking her for being so wonderful to us but I don't think she realizes that she REALLY IS wonderful - literally!

Everything's A-OK at the moment - thank goodness! Thanks again for your very kind support and concern.