May 3, 2018

Dr. Gellner: The stomach problems, how do you know when to keep your child at home, and how do you know when you demand to bring them into the doctor? That'south what we're going to talk over today. I'yard Dr. Cindy Gellner, on The Scope.

Announcer: Keep your kids healthy and happy. You are now entering The Salubrious Kids Zone, with Dr. Cindy Gellner, on The Scope.

Breadbasket Bug or the Flu?

Dr. Gellner: We all take at one betoken or another and we'll all have it once more at one point or another and we're seeing a lot of it going around lately. It'southward the stomach bug. It's not the flu. Anybody says, "I've got the stomach flu." Well information technology's not the influenza; it's not caused by the flu virus. At that place are a lot of other viruses though that can crusade vomiting and diarrhea, including rotavirus, and adenovirus, and a bunch of other viruses we could proper name. Just the bottom line is information technology's no fun, and it's a big risk for kids who tin can sometimes go dehydrated.

Vomiting & Diarrhea

When practice you lot know when to bring your kid in for vomiting and diarrhea? Most vomiting is caused past the breadbasket bug. It's usually not caused by food poisoning that frequently. However if more than one person gets sick at the verbal fourth dimension, food poisoning is something that you lot want to consider.

If your kid has vomiting without diarrhea and it lasts for several days or yous see blood in it, that's the time to get checked out urgently, considering that could exist something much more than serious than the tummy bug.

Just vomiting commonly stops in about vi to 24 hours. If yous accept a infant and they are vomiting and it's like beyond the room shooting, that'southward not the stomach issues going effectually either. But most kids who vomit, if they are a babe they can spit upwardly some, or y'all know, if they do grab this virus from somebody, then you lot're going to know. Information technology'southward going to be a different form of vomiting than reflux or these other scary things.

So when your kid has airsickness you tin can usually expect diarrhea to come also, and ordinarily within 24 hours. How do you take care of your child who has vomiting and diarrhea? The virtually important matter with vomiting is you need to brand sure your kid is hydrated. That means they have enough fluid in them and then that they accept a moist mouth, they are still making tears, and they can have a wet diaper or use the bath to pee at least once every eight hours. If they are not doing any of those things, then they are dehydrated.

Should I Make My Child Eat?

When your child is airsickness, you practice not want to make them eat. That's a very common misconception that I have parents make. They retrieve, well my child's airsickness. They don't want to eat because they are vomiting, and so I need to make sure they get food because otherwise they're going to lose weight.

It's okay, we await your kid to lose a little fleck of weight with the tum bug. Don't make your child eat if they're not hungry, because if yous do brand them endeavour to eat something earlier they are ready, they are going to bring it right support and you're going to exist cleaning it upward. But brand sure they have small amounts of clear fluids and no solid foods for about eight hours one time they outset airsickness.

Keep Them Hydrated

Clear fluids are of import, but don't requite them milk. Their tummy won't be able to digest milk. That's going to come correct dorsum up, too. You desire to give babies Pedialyte, and you want to give older kids ice fries, or water, or you lot can give them some of the low sugar versions of Gatorade, like 1000-2 or Powerade Nada. But yous want to make sure that information technology'due south clear fluid.

You want to as well brand sure you requite small amounts. If your child just guzzles a whole agglomeration, because they are really thirsty, their tummy is but going to bring that all right back up once more. So you need to make sure information technology's a small corporeality, merely a couple of sips. You want to make certain that they continue it down, because the more than hydrated they are the less probable they will be to vomit. Kids who are dehydrated, these are the kids that end up going into the emergency room. The ones that take been throwing up then much they are dehydrated and they cannot keep annihilation down, and it'due south a vicious cycle. They'll try to keep something downwardly, just information technology comes dorsum up, on and on.

After your kid has gone for eight hours without vomiting them yous tin can commencement bland foods. These are like bananas, crackers, breads, applesauce; things like that that are very bland and not going to be hard on the breadbasket.

Should I Give My Child Medicine?

Equally far every bit medicines, at that place are not any really good medicines for kids to get them to stop airsickness that we recommend on a regular basis. In that location are some cases where the kids are in the emergency room they can get some anti-nausea medicines, only a lot of those have side furnishings. And then we normally don't requite them in an outpatient setting.

What Can My Child Swallow to Help With Diarrhea?

What almost the diarrhea? Information technology doesn't matter what you give your child to eat for the diarrhea. If they've stopped airsickness your child can take their normal foods. Now the just exception is babies. If they have gone for several days with the diarrhea, and it's severe diarrhea, and they are on a milk-based formula, sometimes the digestive system isn't able to process milk proteins then well after several days of diarrhea. So you can switch to a soy formula for about ane or ii cans. And after that that will help you child's digestive system go dorsum on track.

The old BRAT diet, yes, at that place is some controversy as to whether information technology still works or not. I usually yet recommend it. It'south bananas, rice, absurdity, toast, things like that volition assist. Bananas and apples quite often are constipating, so those the foods that you want to give when your child has diarrhea.

Yogurt is also bang-up, because it has probiotics in it. The probiotics will actually assistance your tum fight off the virus, and information technology will tedious down the diarrhea. You can also buy over-the-counter probiotics, like Culturelle or Fluorogen. Those besides assist a lot for diarrhea.

And so while the vomiting can final only 24 hours, diarrhea can concluding upwardly to two weeks, and so don't be surprised if it lingers. The offset few days are the worst, just it tin can however linger for awhile.

When Do I Need to Bring Them to the Physician?

So when practise yous need to bring your child to the dr.? Well if your child just has airsickness and they are yet hydrated, they are still able to be woken up even if they simply want to prevarication effectually and sleep. That's non anything you need to bring them in for. Because we're but going to tell you exactly what I just mentioned, all of the advice I just mentioned.

The same with the diarrhea; if they are having it for a couple of days, simply they are all the same happy and playful and running around, you don't need to bring them in.

If your kid looks really dehydrated, their rima oris is dry, they are not peeing annihilation like that, and y'all're really worried, then it's time to bring them in. If they look really sick and yous can't wake them up; their rima oris is really, really dry, no tears. They haven't peed for over 12 hours, and so it's actually time to go to the emergency room, because they might need the IV fluids to help rehydrate themselves.

But the stomach issues is one of those things that there is not a whole lot that can exist done for it, other than supportive care. Then the all-time matter to practise is to go along your kids home, let them remainder, and if they are looking really sick you can always telephone call your pediatrician for advice, and we can tell you if the office is the best identify, or if the emergency room is.

Journalist: Have a question about a medical procedure? Want to larn more most a health condition? With over 2,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, there'southward a pretty expert run a risk y'all'll find what you desire to know. Cheque it out at TheScopeRadio.com.


updated: May 3, 2018
originally published: August 22, 2014

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