Baby sick for 5 days now what should I do?
Okay my daughter is 1 year of age. She started vomiting on tuesday and ever since then she has vomited at least once a day and had at least 2-3 loose stools a day. I have been giving her formula and pedialyte with a bland diet, rice, bananas etc. My question is she is still sick she vomitied around 6:30 p.m. and she doesnt want to drink because she is teething currently. We brought her to the e.r. yesterday and they gave her some anti-nausea medication and sent her home. I’m lost as of what to do..it seems that she’s not getting that much better. She was cranky today, although she was playing earlier for a bit. How long does the stomach bug last? any ideas or advice would be appreciated, thank you!
also i am recovering from the stomach flu myself so i am trying to give her fluids through a syringe that i squirt into her mouth…she just wants to sleep being that it is 10 at night. anything that i should look for throughout the night?
Tagged with: Baby • Days • Should • sick
Filed under: Anti Aging Diet
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go to the doctors
thats a little serious. check for medical studies only and working treatments.
I would take her back to the ER. She might be dehydrated, and perhaps there will be a different doctor in rotation at the ER who might actually be able to help you!
Pray. It could be the swine flu or something else but i would pray. Actually ill pray for her.
=3
Take her back to the ER and do not leave until they have diagnosed the source of her vomiting and diarrhea. Also, they should check that she is adequately hydrated.
Small children can dehydrate quickly! If she cannot take liquids by mouth, she will need to get them intravenously!
Dehydration can result in kidney damage, heart damage and death!
She shouldn’t be getting milk based formula right now, that will make things worse.
Did the ER send you home with more anti-nausea meds? Or a prescription?
Will she such on Popsicle? You can make your own out of diluted juice or oral re-hydration solution.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081500.asp
# Eliminate irritating foods. Here are some liquids and foods known to increase diarrhea. Refrain from these until whatever is causing the diarrhea has resolved:
* Dairy products, except yogurt
* Cow’s milk-based formula – if the diarrhea is severe and has lasted more than 3 days, we suggest you switch to a soy formula for two weeks while the intestines have time to heal. Intestines that have been damaged by severe diarrhea cannot digest cow’s milk.
* Apple juice, pear juice and cherry juice – the high sorbitol sugar content of these juices can worsen diarrhea. White grape juice is a good alternative.
* Note – it is virtually never necessary to temporarily stop breastfeeding during the course of a diarrhea illness.
# Determine the severity of the diarrhea and dehydration. Is baby playful and wet (eyes, mouth, diaper)? Perhaps except for more frequent messy diapers, you wouldn’t know anything was amiss. In this case you don’t have to change anything (except more diapers), and observe what direction the stools take.
To make sure the diarrhea, is not causing dehydration, weigh your child daily, preferably undressed and in the morning before feeding, using the most accurate scale you can obtain. As a general guide: no weight loss – no worries, and no need to call your doctor yet. Both the degree and the rapidity of weight loss determine the severity of dehydration. If your baby has not lost significant weight, she is not becoming dehydrated. However, if your child loses 5 percent of her baseline body weight (for example, a weight loss of one pound in a twenty-pound baby), she has experienced mild to moderate dehydration, and this merits a phone call to your doctor. A rapid weight loss is more of a concern than a gradual one. A twenty-pound infant who loses a pound of body weight over the period of a day is much more worrisome than one who loses the same amount of weight over a week’s time. But infants usually appear very sick if they are losing weight rapidly; they do not act as sick if their weight loss has been gradual. Ten percent weight loss, especially if occurring within a few days, suggest serious dehydration, and you should call your doctor immediately, preferable even before this degree of weight loss occurs.
[...]
Mild diarrhea – defined as 2 – 4 loose stools in a 24-hour period.
* BRAT diet – this is an age old, time-tested diet.
2. Bananas
3. Rice or rice cereal
4. Apple sauce
5. Toast, unbuttered
6. Yogurt (See Intestinal Healing Properties of )Yogurt
* Breastmilk or formula
* White grape juice or oral electrolyte solution such as Pedialyte. Popsicles also work well.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T083300.asp
# Third stage – vomiting is now only 2 – 4 times a day or stopped altogether.
* It is now okay to try some foods.
o Bland foods such as crackers, toast, soup broth, etc.
o Continue breastfeeding.
o Restart formula if formula feeding. You can mix half formula and half Pedialyte at first. This may be more easily tolerated.
o Continue liquids as described above.
* Don’t be alarmed if your child throws up this food. It may be too soon to start feeding again. Just take a step back to the second stage until the vomiting calms down again.
* RECTAL ACETAMINOPHEN – if your child has a fever but can’t keep down any medicine, we suggest acetaminophen suppositories. Click on it.
* ANTI-NAUSEA MEDICATION – there are suppositories that can be prescribed by your doctor for kids two and older that can suppress the vomiting to get your child through the worst of it. These medications should only be used when absolutely needed. A commonly used brand is Phenergan.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081500.asp
TESTS TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DIARRHEA
Because diarrhea usually is due to an untreatable viral or bacterial infection, it is therefore usually not necessary to test the stools to determine the cause. By the time anyone really starts to worry and think about testing, the diarrhea resolves. Your doctor may want to test the diarrhea if it is bloody or continues for more than 2 or 3 weeks. Here are the common tests your doctor may consider. They require you to pick up a special sterile container from the lab first. Ask the lab for any special instructions on collecting or storing the specimen before you bring it in:
* Routine culture – this will look for a variety of intestinal bacterial infections such as Salmonella and E-coli.
* Ova and Parasites (O and P) – the lab will look for a variety of parasites in the stool sample.
* Rotavirus antigen – this will detect the most common cause of diarrhea infection in infants and young children. Usually your doctor can diagnose this infection without needing this test.
* Giardia antigen – this is a parasite, and is a fairly common cause of abdominal pain and diarrhea. It won’t be found on O and P test.
* Hemocult test – this checks for hidden blood in the diarrhea, which can help your doctor determine the cause.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081300.asp
WHEN TO BE CONCERNED
MODERATE DEHYDRATION – many children will progress to this stage during a gastrointestinal illness. In general, this stage is not dangerous either. Signs include:
* Less active and playful, but still alert.
* Will make eye contact and respond to you
* Lips are dry and chapped, inside of mouth is slightly dry
* No tears when crying, but eyes still appear moist
* Urinating about half as often as usual
* Urine concentrated like apple juice
WHEN TO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION
SEVERE DEHYDRATION – seek medical attention if your child shows these signs:
* Limp, inactive, makes minimal eye contact and not response to your voice or touch. This is the definition of lethargic.
* Lips chapped, inside of mouth is dry and sticky with no saliva
* No tears, eyes are dry and sunken in
* No urination for 12 – 18 hours
* Extremely unusual fussiness along with the other symptoms
* Pale
* Very fast heartbeat
NOTE: A child is more likely to get severely dehydrated with vomiting and diarrhea – dubbed a “double-ender” than with either alone
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T083300.asp
1. Stomach flu – this is a virus that causes sudden onset of vomiting, high fever and stomach pain. Diarrhea usually begins during the first or second day. The length of vomiting varies from the “12 hour flu” to the dreaded “72 hour flu”. There is no blood or stool test to diagnose this.
[...]
3. Other intestinal viruses or bacterial illnesses – there are a variety of these. Some examples include Rotavirus, Salmonella, and E-Coli. The initial vomiting pattern, stomach pain and fever of these illnesses is the same as the stomach flu and therefore difficult to distinguish from the flu. However, in the initial period of vomiting, it is not really necessary to determine which of all these illnesses is causing it. Instead, you simply need to know how to handle the vomiting.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081500.asp
TOP FOUR CAUSES OF DIARRHEA
1. Intestinal infections – most of these are not serious, not treatable, and will resolve on their own with time:
* Rotavirus – one of the most common causes of diarrhea, especially during late fall and winter months. It causes very foul smelling, watery, green or brown diarrhea that can persist for weeks. Fever and vomiting are common at the onset of the illness.
* Other viruses – there are a variety of these, none of which are serious.
* Bacteria – these include E. Coli, Salmonella, and several others. Vomiting and fever may be present at the onset. Blood in the diarrhea is a common finding with bacterial infections. Even these infections rarely require antibiotic treatment.
* Parasites – there are a variety of these. They are usually caught from contaminated water (e.g. Giardia) or during travel to foreign countries. The telltale sign of a parasite is very watery diarrhea that lasts beyond two weeks.
* CONTAGIOUS – these are all generally contagious as long as the diarrhea continues.