Vomiting & Diarrhea

Vomiting and diarrhea are usually caused by a stomach virus. Generally, there is no effective medication and your child can be treated at home without an office visit.

We need to check children if there is:

Dehydration

Fever of 102° or greater that does not go away within a day

Blood in bowel movement

Persistent vomiting that will not stop

Diarrhea may occur on its own or with vomiting. Loose (but not watery) bowel movements often indicate the beginning of the illness. Diarrhea is defined as watery, frequent bowel movements, 5 or more times a day. Often a child has diarrhea for up to 7 days, but you should see a gradual decrease in the number of bowel movements per day.

SIGNS OF DEHYDRATION
Your child needs to be seen if any of these signs are present:

Dry cracked lips

Sticky tongue that is not wet or juicy

No tears with crying

No urination for 4 hours in young infants; 6 hours in toddlers; 3 times a day for older children

Sunken fontanel (soft spot) in infants

Treatment of Vomiting:

Stop all food and milk. Wait 1 hour after child vomits. Then the stomach can be settled by using Emetrol (an over the counter sugar syrup) or Heavy Syrup from a can of fruit (but not the fruit itself), giving 1 teaspoon every 15 minutes for an hour, on an empty stomach. When the child tolerates this without vomiting you may begin small feedings of clear liquids or short frequent breastfeeds.

To begin these feeds, start with 1 tablespoon taken every 15 minutes for 2 times; then 1 ounce every 30 minutes for one hour; then increase to 2 ounces every 45 minutes 2 times. The key is small amounts taken slowly. Once the vomiting has stopped you may begin starchy foods. If vomiting occurs at any step, drop back to the previous successful stage.

Giving only water or juice for a prolonged time can be dangerous. The best clear liquids are Gerber Electrolyte Solution, Pedialyte or ReVital as they have the perfect balance of salts and sugars. You can add Nutrasweet or Koolaid powder to flavor or to disguise the salty taste; this will not change the sugar balance. In older children broth, juices and Gatorade may be helpful though Gerber, Pedialyte or ReVital remains the best treatment.

Treatment of Diarrhea:

It is not a good idea to use anti-diarrheal medicines when the intestines are not working properly. Immodium paralyses the intestines and will stop diarrhea but it doesn't make the intestine better any faster. If your child has prolonged diarrhea, you child can become dehydrated. It is important to replace fluids lost in the stools.

Younger children should not be given high sugar drinks like juice that can make diarrhea worse. Once vomiting has stopped, the best treatment is to feed your child plain protein foods like boiled meats, yogurt, soups and plain starchy foods like very ripe bananas, rice, noodles, potatoes and breads. Avoid high fat foods.

Realize that the more your child eats, the more stool will be produced.

A Good Eating Plan for Diarrhea:

BREAKFAST