child not eating with covid

[Rachel1310]

My daughter, nearly 2, has recently tested positive for covid, she has completely lost her appetite and has hardly eaten anything in 3 days and as any mum would do I'm worried sick about this, little pieces of food/fruit have been offered with little interest. She is drinking a lot which is a bonus but has anyone any similar stories, any advice or things I could try. TIA

I usually go for scrabbled eggs
Mashed potatoes
Jelly
Custard

She could well have lost her sense of taste.

Fluids are good, keep offering food . Hope she makes a swift recovery

It is always worrying when kids won't eat but it is really common when kids are ill with anything. I have always been told as long as they are drinking then not to worry too much. Obviously if it goes on too long then seek help

As long as she is drinking she will be fine and her appetite will return.

You could try a few treat foods to tempt her, maybe some ice cream with fruit.

She will soon make up for it when she is feeling better, try not to worry.

DS2 (7) had Covid recently and completely lost his appetite. He's usually a bottomless pit so it was quite alarming for us too. We were offering 50/50 fruit juice and water to try and get some sugars into him with his fluids, and offered his usual favourites (which he turned down or had a tiny nibble of before leaving), but he essentially ate nothing at all for a week. It's gradually been coming back, and he's spent most of today asking for snacks.

When mine are ill I can usually get them to have a banana milkshake.

Banana, milk, honey and a few porridge oats and sometimes a bit of ice in the blender.

They’ve survived on those through very hot days and through weeks of illness. I don’t give them this if they have vomiting bugs though 😂

Does she have energy? If not we were recommended diluted apple juice to give some energy and hopefully help dc feel like eating. (For tonsillitis rather than covid though)

My 1 year old current has covid and has been the same. She has finally eaten a bit of food today, 1 week after symptoms started.

My 12 yr old was the same. Barely ate for nearly a week.
We had sucess with milk and tomato soup (nog together!). So maybe see about drinking calories?

2 of mine have recently had covid and dramatic loss of appetite was one of their symptoms too. Ice lollies and choc ices was all they could manage for a while.

I struggled to eat when I had covid. I lived on miso soup (made properly by DH from a paste) and tinned peaches.

I'd try juice smoothies made from real fruit and baby food pouches to try to get some nutrients and fluids in.

This is quite common when kids are ill, covid or not. Try and get her to drink something sugary like apple juice. Does she still have milk?

If she’s drinking, you can buy pedisure ( not sure spelling), which is a fortified paediatric milkshake type powder. You make it up with milk like you would formula. I think boots sell it, but you can prob call local pharmacy as well to ask.

Try her w crispy, crunchy things. If she's lost her sense of taste then textures can be helpful to create interest. But, as above, I wouldn't worry as long as she's drinking.

I agree with others, the fact she’s taking fluids is great and you can build on that for the short term. When dd was around the same age I had success with spoon feeding her soup and other easy to eat foods when she was ill whilst she was engrossed in something else. It’s not great for table manners but you will feel better if you can get something down her.

I’m not sure you could reliably tell whether her sense of taste has been affected so it might be a bit hit and miss. You can make a weak broth to drink from marmite (love it or hate it!) which will provide some extra vitamins you might struggle to get in otherwise but be mindful of the sodium content; she will need some salt due to not eating but obviously you don’t want to overdo it. There’s also nothing wrong with letting her have ice lollies etc. for a week if that’s something she’ll tolerate.

If your budget allows and you can get hold of the ingredients I would recommend finding a kosher chicken soup recipe. There’s a reason it’s such a popular dish for ill people and that’s because it’s packed full of goodness.

Hope she’s feeling better soon.

Maybe just tell her she can eat anything she wants. Make a list and buy the stuff.

Can she eat in the living room in front of the tv for a treat. Or off paper party plates with food on little sticks?

When dS was this age we were still bf so if he lost his appetite when sick he just drank milk. If she likes milk I’d just offer that for a few days and not worry about food

Thankyou all so much for your comments and advice, it really does mean a lot!!! Shes started to nibble on a bit more food this afternoon, even though its a bit of watermelon and plain biscuits but I'm taking this as a positive (little) step forwards.

Thankyou all!!!

I lost my appetite completely for about 5 days. Then it returned with my taste. Hopefully your daughter will be the same.

When mine are ill, covid or otherwise I concentrate on fluid but yoghurts are calorie dense - even better if you can get some full fat Greek and mash a banana into it.

We are just recovering from a stomach bug over here. My 16 month old has hardly eaten anything in the last 4 days.. you do worry but I did an e-consult & the GP said just get sugary fluids down. The flat lucozade was her main recommendation. Then apple juice/orange juice. Salty foods also, crisps, salty crackers. & any biscuits she’ll tolerate. I’ve had success with ginger biscuits today, might be worth a shot!

Hope they are OK @Rachel1310 !

Good she's started eating. My toddler lost appetite for quite a few days recently with a bad cold - ice cream or baby fruit pouches worked in small doses a couple of days in.

When kids are ill I make eggy bread with honey spread on top and put sprinkles on

If she is only having liquids, try giving her coconut water

Ds1 had flu when he was about 18 months. He barely ate anything for 2 weeks. Drank lots of water and ate things like yogurt and the odd banana.

Milk, yogurt, ice cream , jelly, and food she finds yummy
Biscuit, crips, chocolate
But fluids are most important