7mo d&v - how to keep him hydrated please?

[addictedtofrazzles]

Hi there,

My 7mo DS2 has a bad case of d&v. His dirty nappies are not even brown - just watery with undigested food and foul smelling.

I always thought that giving milk would worsen the problem? He will take a few sips of water but no where near as much liquid as in formula.

However, he is on Neocate for a dairy intollerence. Given that Neocate is not strictly dairy can I/should I still give it to him?

Also, at what point to I go to A&E (given that it is now Friday pm and GP is not open till Monday)?

Sorry for so many Qs!

Thanks in advance :)

If he is still being sick then I wouldn't try milk. Just sips of water or diluted juice. I use a medicine syringe to get fluids in. Has he got a temperature? Are you giving him medicine? If his nappies remain dry for a few hours and he gets listless and unresponsuve phone your out of hours go to be on safe side

sorry for typing. Sick 12 month olf skepibf on lap!

I would continue giving the neocate - he needs the nutrients and as I understand it neocate isn't exactly milk.

Is there an Out of Hours doctor you can ring? Better that than A&E on a Friday night.

Are they allowed rehydration fluids at that age? The syringe is a good idea, I think you can give as little as 2.5ml every 5 minutes, water or rehydration fluid that is. How long is he going before vomitting?

I would consult a pharmacist about rehydration sachets and maybe see an out-of-hours doc. It's not an emergency (what A&E is for really) but I think you need professional advice.

DD1 had appalling D + V when she was that age and was prescribed electrolytes (rehydration sachets) by her doctor. Unfortunately she refused to take them and vomited everything she drank anyway, so we took her to A+E the same day and she ended up in hospital (with me) for a week while they got her rehydrated via a drip.

I was still BF at the time, which the doctors totally encouraged - in fact I had to suddenly go back to EBF after a month of weaning. I'm not sure if that was because it was milk of any sort or because it was breast milk, though.

To answer your question, we took her to A+E at the point where it was clear she wasn't able to take in any liquids at all. I seem to remember her fontanelle was depressed, which is a sign of dehydration. Best of luck with it your DS.