DS-sick-dont know what to do-advice needed

[samimanf]

Hi - Im very new to this and would like some advice. Im soon to be 21 and my little boy is just turned 18 months. Hes started to be ill and I dont know what to do for him so any advice will be helpful.

On Wednesday night (Thursday morning) DS was badly sick-threw up in his sleep the entire contents of his stomach-which was his lunch (not digested!)-then was full of beans once I cleaned him up (this was about 1 am Thurs Morn). Nothing happened then-he was tired through not enought sleep but otherwise fine.

The Friday night (11 pm) he was sick again-exactly the same as Wednesday. Then he had diarrhea (cant spell it!) and then went to sleep.

Saturday he was fine so I fed him his breakfast (one weetabix-usually can manage 2!) Then he didn't eat much during the day, had some small sausages in the evening but was fine-although very tired and off balance.

Last night though, he had very bad diarrhea, was crying in pain and very very tired. He tossed and turned all night-slept with me in my bed so I could keep an eye on him. This morning he woke me up crying-diarrhea again, changed nappy, then diarrhea again. Bathed him and put fresh nappy and vest on but nothing else (don't think hes got a temperature).

Hes happy but tired and weak-not eating anything, and now and again he clutching his tummy and moaning or crying. Went out and bought him 4 brand new bottles and given him only boiled water today.

Also possibly not connected but he has developed a rash around his mouth (got is before he became sick) and also on Tuesday he ran full pelt into the door at nursery (didn't stop for some reason) and does have a large lump on his right side of his forehead. Hes so off balance now he's banged his cheekbone and bruised it and banged his head at the back.

Both his sick and diarrhea are very nasty smelling-we had recently bought a new cordial for him to try (orange & pineapple) but thought it was that he may be allergic to-but hes still not well-getting worse I think.

He's wandering around whinning now-I'd better go I think he needs his nappy changing again...

[zebra]

It sounds like a basic tummy bug...
The standard advice is to take him off food completely until the bottom/tummy bugs clear completely. Give him a spoonful of water (5-20ml) every 5-10 minutes to keep him hydrated. Honest, it works! It starves out the bugs. That's what I would do. There's no standard way to tell when it's ok to offer food again, but I'd leave it as long as you dare.
Otherwise you can try to track down a GP today, maybe tomorrow, who will do a proper examination, and also suggest electralyte solution that you can dissolve in the water you're giving him (you can buy that over-the-counter today).

Good luck, tummy bugs in kids are horrible.

[emmatmg]

Our Ds2 has just got over something similar and as Zebra says the best thing ti di is not give them anything to eat until the nasty nappies etc clear up. Absolutely avoid milk (yoghurts etc too) as that's the thing IMO that makes it 100 times worse.

Our DS2 didn't eat for 24-30 hours and the hardest part is trying to explain to a 2year old that food will make them sick again.

All thins happened last weekend and now he's eating anything he can get his hands on.....probably thinks we're going to starve him again, bless him.

[manna]

I agree - my ds has had a sicky bug - milk was definately the worst thing. Take him off all dairy, water only to drink, toast, plain pasta with a little bit of butter, sausages etc. Funnily enough, ds was ok on porridge, or you could make it with water - easy to eat and very nourishing. He probably wont want anything anyway.

The important thing is to keep him hydrated, and take him to the doctors tommorrow if he's not better.

Oh, and pinapple - nightmare for poo's. My ds is 26months and one new juice we tried of a pinapple mixture went straight through him - Stick to apple - it's the best for them, and not acidic for their tummies - too much orange juice can be a diaretic too.

[samimanf]

Hi

Thanks, DS has decided that he won't drink water! So we've added a tiny drop of blackcurrent-just to make it purple-its working-hes drinking that.

Mother-in-Law is at the supermarket buying live yoghurts-apparently very good for poorly tummies.

The worst thing is when hes sick-hes not a sickly baby-so was scary for him and me!

Well thanks again-I've got a date with a sponge, bi-carb and a bed mattress...oh they joys of motherhood!

Sami

[Evita]

Good luck sami, hope he gets better soon. I can only mirror what the others have said, avoid food and get him to drink clear fluids only. After 24 hours he should be feeling better. But I would take him to the gp too if he's not at all improved by tomorrow morning.

[donnie]

have you taken him to the doctor ? he/she can prescribe dioralyte rehydration powders which are excellent.My dd has had 2 tummy bugs in her 2 years of life and both were awful.So keep to bland non dairy food and plenty of fluids, hope he is better soon.

[robinw]

message withdrawn

[Gilli]

Sami - agree with advice to see doctor if your poor dd isn't better, but don't worry about water - try Coke (not Diet) stirred until it's gone flat. It has exactly the same rehydrating properties as Dioralyte, tastes better, and most kids will drink it. Don't worry about the sugar in it as he will need that to help him recover. HTH

[Jimjams]

The only problem with coke is that it contains caffeine. A similar remedy I found in a hippy medical book was to use herbal (not fruit tea) with 2 teaspoons of sugar in it. Give one sip ever 5 mins initally slowly increasing. I tried this out with ds1 abut a month ago when he had been throwing up for 24 hours ((hadn't kept anything down- and it was a marvel). I rummaged around in my cupboard and found "women's tea" which worked out quite well as it contains ginger, but somehting like chamomile would do equally well.

I'd take him to the doctors tomorrow though, he sounds like he could do with getting checked out, even if only to make sure he isn't getting dehydrated. If you get worried during the night its always worth ringing the emergency doctor or NHS direct.

[Furball]

Or flat lemonade