2yr old lost appetite after virus. Any ideas??

[dionnelorraine]

My dd is getting over a horrible virus (we all are in this household actually!) it was like flu, tummy bug and conjunctivitis all in one. It has lasted over 2 weeks and we are all still snotty and headachey. She asks for sweets and icecream but refuses normal food (i dont give her the sweets and icecream btw) she used to love pasta but she wont eat it now, or any breakfast / dinner food. she throws tantrums and then coughs so much she is sick! I dont know what to do. Do I just give it a few more days as still not 100% recovered or carry on trying? Any tricks or ideas are very welcome

I wouldn't worry about making her eat proper meals at the moment. Just give her anything within reason that is nutritious. I agree about not giving her sweets, but I don't see anything too wrong with ice cream.

My son has just recovered from an operation and, although he had not been ill as such, I found his diet became very plain and limited for a while - just wanted sandwiches and biscuits for a few days. I picked up a great leaflet when in hospital which gave suggestions for food for a convalescent. It was not what you might expect - lots of small things like cereal bars were suggested.

My ds does this every time he is sick it normally takes him about 3-4 weeks before he starts eating normally, I just continue leaving food out for him in the hope that he will get hungry and start eating. Although I don't give in to his demands for constant chocolate cakes etc I must admit I do let him have ice cream as it seems to kickstart his appetite.

she does like the nutrigrain bars actually, she calls them cakes! I suppose icecream is good for sore throat, will give her some later maybe.
thanks guys

ddg, hopr your ds is ok and op wasnt anything to serious xx

will she eat yoghurt if you're worried about icecream? Or you could try and find a "wholesome organic" icecream?! If she isn't eating much else, then a full fat icecream, like a Yeo Valley or something at least has calories. You might be able to sneak some fruit in too - maybe make a fruit smoothie which is easy to drink and very nutritious - banana, strawberries, apple and some orange juice or something. Maybe eating anything more solid is scratching her throat? It does always take my DSs quite a while to eat again properly after a bug. And little and often seems to work.

just thought, you could be v.v.v. sneaky and get some of those ice lolly moulds (from Ikea), and freeze some smoothie, so she thinks she's having yummy icecream, which is in fact loads of fruit!!

He is fine now thanks - it took 3 weeks before I could say that though

I just had a look at the leaflet I picked up. If you want any other ideas, they suggest:

fresh fruit, small packets of dried fruit, cakes, muffins, flapjacks, biscuits, shortbread, chocolate bars, cereal bars, small boxes of cereal, crispbreads, crackers, savoury biscuits, (eat with sweet or savoury spread), cheese straws, crisps, cereal snacks, rice cake, oat cakes.

I told you it was not necessarily food you would expect to see!

Also, go easy on these if dd has had a stomach bug, but they also suggest milk type foods: cream desserts, rice puddings, custard, yoghurt, jellies and soya puddings (whatever they might be!)

These foods are obviously more about building your child up rather than what is good for a bad stomach. But as your dd gets better you might like to try some of these things.

Thats great ddg, thank you, thats really helpful. I think I might have to hit the shops and stock up a little!
Im glad you ds is better now, its amazing how much we worry about our little ones isnt it! x