DS not taking diarolyte...any tips?

[NewMum17]

y son, who is 1 and a half, was advised by the doc to take diarolyte as he had been projectile vomiting on Friday. He only has tiny little sips and I can't get him to have it. Any advice on how to get him to drink it?

His vomiting stopped yesterday but today he had had diarrhoea twice. Not sure what the cause is but am getting worried about him not replacing his salt and mineral intake. He still hasn't got his appetite back and is sipping small amounts of water often. He's also had his milk before bed.

Can you give it with a little orange squash? Or maybe in one of the plastic syringes by mouth?

Ah yes could try a syringe next time. How much would I add to the squash? Or shall I just add the diarolyte mixture as it is to one of those squashes instead of mixing with water?

My mum is a walk in centre nurse prescriber and says loads of kids won't touch dioralyte with a ten foot pole (cant really blame them it's vile) but that an isotonic sports drink (something like lucozade sport full sugar version) and a something salty like a couple of ritz crackers works just as well

If he's not vomiting any more, then the other option is any form of fluid he's prepared to take (though best to avoid any milk apart from breastmilk at this stage, as single most likely thing to restart the vomiting). Packet of crisps for salt. Banana for potassium intake.

Oral rehydration solutions are fantastic...but they're useless if the child can't take them.

Freeze the dioralyte into ice lollies. Much easier for little ones to take.

Another vote for lucozade

If he is at risk of dehydration then literally ANY fluids will do (now is not the time to worry about healthy eating). Coke, lucozade etc allowed to go flat can be tempting to little ones. Aim for 10 ml every 10 mins

Doctor suggested flat isotonic lucozade for me with some salted crackers.

salty crackers (mini cheddars?) and whatever liquid he wants apart from milk.

When I worked in paeds A&E we would recommend apple juice rather than dioralyte for kids with D&V - tastes much better and just as good for rehydration. But really, anything you can get him to drink is better than nothing, but try to give him something with sugar in it as kids are prone to hypoglycaemia when unwell in a way that (non-diabetic) adults are not.
Remember, ice lollies and ice cream are liquids by the time they reach your little one's stomach :)

If you are just not managing to get fluids into him whatever you try and you are concerned he is becoming significantly dehydrated he will need a medical review.

Sorry just noticed that you said he is sipping water often - that is good, hopefully he is managing to stay hydrated. Worth switching to something sugary until he is well again though.

Thank you so much everyone. This is really helpful. I will try these tips today. He seems better in himself, in terms of being alert and having energy to walk around and play, but will monitor his appetite and fluid intake. Off to get some lucozade and apple juice! 👍🏼😊

How is your little one doing today op?

Is he drinking/eating a bit better?

Pour a little boiling water in full fat coke/Pepsi/lemonade so it goes flat.

Give them that to sip slowly.

Orange juice is an irritant so I would avoid that at the moment.

I could never get any dioralite into my kids, usually give them extra diluted squash, either Vimto or Ribena. They drink it and it seems to keep thier energy up