He's STILL puking!!!! HELP - UPDATE post 14

[Super~Single~Mama]

Ugh. Ok, ds got sick Wednesday, and puked about 8 times. We had to go to the ER b/c he couldn't keep anything down - they gave him an anti-nausea pill.

The All day Thursday he was having diarrhea. I swear I used at least 20 diapers that day. Then he threw up once Thursday, once Friday, and I thought the puking was over. Well, NOPE! He just threw up again.

He's at his dad's house right now, I'll get him back tonight at 7pm, and then he'll be at his dad's again tomorrow from about 11-5pm (I called his dad last night and told him to come get him, I was sick of being puked on and cleaning up diarrhea over and over and over again - I really needed the break!!!)

What would you be feeding ds? How much? How often?

I think a few oz pedialyte, and one or 2 crackers every hour.

His dad is giving him a few oz almond milk (he kept down about 10oz last night after he got picked up by his dad), and some crackers, and toast - but I'm not sure exactly how often.

WWYD??? HELP!

ETA - the diarrhea has slowed down, but hasn't stopped completely. He also has diaper rash, which makes me feel like an awful mother b/c he's NEVER had diaper rash before ever. We're using desitin, and making sure his diaper is clean - what else should we be doing??

[LynnS6]

Time to go back to the Dr. Do you have an urgent care clinic? Any child who's been throwing up for 4 days needs to be seen. This could be rotovirus, and while there's not much you can do, he should be checked for dehydration.

How old is he?

[Super~Single~Mama]

We saw the ped yesterday (sorry, should have mentioned that before). She said that he looks good (he does, he's hardly acting sick, still has tears, def. NOT lethargic AT ALL - talking, playing, engaged in everything), and that it could take a few more days.

She said not to really worry until he started looking "dried out" - which I'm guessing means no tears, and getting more and more lethargic.

How do we help his stomach heal though??? How do we get the vomitting to stop???

ETA - he's 21 mo.

[KayTeeJay]

Nak so this is short, but did they check for an ear infection? Also, the best thing ever for a sore bum is Resinol. You have to ask for it at the pharm but you don't need a prescription.

[LCBMAX]

I was really surprised when my son had a similar thing at the same age -- he kept throwing up, almost a week after the first awful day. It was really random, so just when I'd think now he's surely all better... blaaaaaaagh! But similarly - cheerful, playing, and not dehydrated. So just my experience of a tummy not settling all the way down in a few days to offer reassurance.

[2boyzmama]

Is there a distinct smell? It sounds like Rotavirus from your description, but you'll know for sure by the smell. Rota is the most awful smell I've ever smelled. My oldest had Rota just before age 2, he vomited constantly the first two days, then the diarrhea lasted 8 days total. Like you said, at least 20 a day the first several days, and an immediate rash. There was no way to avoid the rash. I let him be naked (which was easy, because he was so lethargic, I just laid him on a stack of towels and pulled away the dirty towels each time) I kept a spray bottle of warm water to help clean his butt without wiping it, and kept a layer of any barrier diaper rash cream I could find.

My middle son was hospitalized with Rota right before he turned 2. (he has underlying medical issues, so he required careful monitoring and IV fluids) Again, the smell!!!

It sounds like your guy is acting okay. The dr that we had with our second son in the hospital said that they don't recommend the BRAT diet anymore for vomiting or diarrhea (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) because it was too high carb with no protein. She said new thought processes support letting the child eat or drink whatever they ask for, the theory being that children are capable of listening to their bodies better than adults. So I'd let your son eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Try to pace him, don't let him stuff himself, but I doubt he will anyway. Encourage frequent small bites.

For fluids, again almost anything goes, except caffeinated drinks that might contribute to dehydration. If he'll drink Pedialyte, then good. If he wants almond milk, let him. Gatorade, water, diluted juice, whatever you can get him to take. Small frequent amounts.

Otherwise, just ride it out!! The good news is, if it is Rota, most kids get it only once. If he does get it again, it is likely to be much more mild.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Thanks everyone. I get him back in an hour and a half - I think I'm more miserable about it than he is! I hate puke!!!!

Thanks though - how long would you keep him home from daycare?????

[Llyra]

A child's first bout with rotavirus can be ROUGH. It can hang on for up to about ten days or even two weeks. But as long as he's not dehydrated, and not excessively lethargic, I don't think there's any reason to be too worried. As far as food-- I try and give them stuff that is slightly less offensive coming back out again... Or what they ask for. I discourage dairy, since the virus sometimes leaves kids temporarily lactose-intolerant, due to intestinal injury, and dairy will just aggravate the diarrhea. I avoid things with too much fiber, or too much juice-- anything that will aggravate the diarrhea. Otherwise, I feed them according to their appetite. The BRAT diet is no longer recommended, but that doesn't mean those foods aren't okay to try, too.

He'll likely have repeated bouts with rotavirus through childhood-- most kids do. But each successive bout should get easier and milder, until by the time he's adult, he won't even really show symptoms.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Oh yeah, There really doesn't seem to be a distinct smell to the puke or diarrhea - it just smells like puke or diarrhea to me. But maybe it is rota. Who knows. This SUCKS.

[tzs]

DD had a nasty stomach bug a couple months ago and the puking lasted on and off for a WEEK!
thing is...after she had gotten over the first couple days and a bout of dehydration she was acting fine....just randomly puking.
i called the ped to see if there was something i should be doing...if she should have a dose of zofran or something and learned that it was probably reflux. apparently at such a young age, having a bug can weaken the esophogial muscles so even after the illness has run its course, the reflux can cause vomiting. she prescribed zantac or prevacid which i ended up not giving her. in retrospect i probably should have b/c she continued to vomit randomly and was having sleep issues and could have been in pain from the reflux.
it's worth asking about.

[tzs]

oh...and in our case since she was feeling fine and it was no longer a virus she went back to daycare. one day she actually puked in the car on the way there and the director ok'd her to stay (maybe because i work there and they didn;t have a sub...i dunno....but probably b/c she wasn't really "sick" anymore)

[kcstar]

My mom always taught that for vomiting, the BRAT diet is easier on the stomach:

Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast

That, and plenty of clear liquids. (Not tomato juice! I tried that once, for myself, it wasn't good.)

One of the times DS was sick, the doctor we saw even recommended the BRAT diet.

[karanyavel]

Let's see:

Keep an eye out for no tears, sunken eyes, loose skin, dry mouth, all of which can be signs of serious dehydration.

Pedialyte for sure, if he'll take it (that stuff tastes awful). Otherwise, clear liquids. A bit more salt than usual, too. Avoid acidic food and drink, as it'll make things worse and also make the diarrhea more burny.

If you can, cover his bum with a thick layer of Vaseline (not sure if you're CD or not, sorry) to help protect against diaper rash from the irritating poop constantly coming in contact with it. Warm baths, too, especially oatmeal baths, can be really soothing for a sore butt.

The diaper rash might also be caused by all of the wiping from all of the dirty diapers, so you might want to consider using a peri bottle or gentle sprayer with warm water to clean his bottom for a while.

I would medicate if ped was okay with it, but I'm a medicate-y kind of mom (with the exception of psych meds, which I think should only rarely be used in kids).

Lying down can help with nausea, and as someone else mentioned, the B.R.A.T. diet can help too. Also, slightly underripe bananas will slow diarrhea... fully ripe ones, not so much.

Oh, and ginger (tea or crystallized ginger) can really help with nausea and vomiting.

Best of luck... I feel your pain (been there, done that, UGH!).

--K

[Super~Single~Mama]

AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok seriously, WHEN will this STOP???!!!! I thought we were done with it yesterday, but NOPE - he puked again in the middle of the night, had diarrhea twice, and was up.all.night!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going insane.

He's puking once/day, having diarrhea once/day or not at all (with the exception of last night, but thats b/c his dad fed him peaches grrr...).

My ONLY HOPE is that my uncle was right. He's a dr, and has 2 kids, and he said to get him tested for strep throat. So, we went to urgent care yesterday to get him tested, and the rapid test came back negative, and we're waiting on the culture (not sure if it takes 24 or 48hours though??? Don't know. forgot to ask) - and I'm PRAYING it comes back positive b/c then a simple round of anti-biotics will FIX THE PUKING!!!!!!

Ugh. I'm SO DONE with PUKING BABIES!!! I WANT MY BABY TO GET BETTER - IS THA REALLY SO MUCH TO ASK??????

I have SO much work to catch up on. I have 2 20 page papers to write for school in the next month, I have the MPRE test this coming weekend, I NEED to go to class again someday, I HAVE to finish all my work this semester b/c I MUST graduate in December!!! I can't fail ANY classes b/c then I won't have enough credits! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. I'm done ranting. Any advice on keeping my sanity during this mess?? Oh yeah, I've done 7 loads of laundry so far, and theres another 1-2loads sitting in my bathtub from the last 2 nights puke fests. UGH.

[prettypixels]

When a kid is already having diarrhea and vomiting, antibiotics can really make that worse. At least they always make me feel like hurling, and I almost always get really awful diarrhea. I hate them! Have you tried pushing thinned out yogurt, chewable probiotics, anything like that? Is he keeping anything down? If he is still not keeping anything at all down I would probably take him back to the ER personally. So sorry your little guy is feeling so miserable.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Yeah, thing is, my uncle's son had the exact same symptoms when he was around the same age as my little guy - and when they had him tested for strep it came back positive. And the antibiotics cleared it up - so if its strep it needs to be treated with antibiotics anyway.

He hates yogurt, and I don't have any probiotics (well, I have acidophilous for me, but no kid probiotics), so that won't help. And he's keeping SOME stuff down - he's just throwing up once a day in the middle of the night. It's not a lot, I just need him to STOP throwing up so that I can go back to school and he can go back to daycare.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Thyra, I just saw this in new posts, and I want to give you a heads up that your NOT GOING TO LIKE.

Last year, right after Matts first birthday, he started with a diarhea bug VERY similar. it turned into puking once or twice a day as well. It last for 3 weeks. Im not joking, and I just want to prepare you that it very well could last that long. Fortunatly for your son, hes a little older, and if you can get some probiotics in him, it might help.

One thing that really seemed to help us at that time was cooking white or brown rice in a pot with chicken broth instead of water. Its lite, has some flavor, and will hopefully stay down and help with the pooping. Also, when the puking seemed to have subsided, I found that Silk made a dairy free yogurt with lots of cultures in it. He has one EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and has ever since he got over that bug. (I cant remeber if your little guy has a milk allergy, which is why I bring it up)

The first GI bug for any baby can be a doozy. I feel your pain. I was convinced Matt had worms or something. Im lilke, 3 WEEKS?!?!?! REALLY!?!?!?!

When its over, you are a bit shell shocked for about a month. Oh, and the kicker, Matt was a butt scooter. Yea, that was GREAT!

[Super~Single~Mama]

This CANNOT go on for 3 weeks. I have TWO 20 page papers that NEED to be written by 12/17. I HAVE to take an exam this weekend. I MUST graduate this semester. If this lasts for 3 WEEKS I won't. B/c theres NO WAY in HE!! that I'll be able to finish all my work by the end of the semester if I can't do ANYTHING for 3 weeks. UGH.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Originally Posted by thyra

Yeah, thing is, my uncle's son had the exact same symptoms when he was around the same age as my little guy - and when they had him tested for strep it came back positive. And the antibiotics cleared it up - so if its strep it needs to be treated with antibiotics anyway.

He hates yogurt, and I don't have any probiotics (well, I have acidophilous for me, but no kid probiotics), so that won't help. And he's keeping SOME stuff down - he's just throwing up once a day in the middle of the night. It's not a lot, I just need him to STOP throwing up so that I can go back to school and he can go back to daycare.

Woops, we crossed in cyberspace.

How about getting Kids Culterelle and putting it in his Pedialyte? The PP is right about the Anitbiotics. They will kill all the good bacteria in his belly along with the bad, and then the diarhea just gets worse. Im willing to bet that if the rapid came back Neg, the other test will too. Just a gut feeling.

Seriously, try the rice and broth.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by Barbie64g

Seriously, try the rice and broth.

We gave him rice the other day. It didn't digest AT ALL and came up many hours later in the middle of the night. I REALLY wish he was at least SLEEPING at night instead of PUKING at night. GROSS.