8 month old severe diarrhea - unable to drink dioralite - any advise please????

[tweety2000]

hi,

I am in desperate situation. MY 7 month old DS is having a severe diarrhea and high fever (for the last 4 days fever). I have been to see my GP yesterday, he advised to stop breatfeeding and to give 4 sachets a day of dioralite (rehydrating fluid). I try hard to get him drink it, but he is having none of it. ( in total about 90 ml during entire day - including the spilled one)

In the end I went to A&E last night. The doctor there said keep on giving little sips of liquid to him about 1 ounce every 10 mins.
The only thing noone seems to tell how to give it hi. and when i try to say that he is not takig any bottle doctors do not seem to want tolisten me at all.
I tried to use syringe for it to. he is only stressed out from it, as I have to force it into him.
but i donot find that it is right. only i ended up having screaming baby who hates even the sight of syringe or any kind of bottle. before he would try to drink water from thhe cup, now he is so scared that even that he is avoing.
I do not know if i should call gp or go to A&E as I been to seee gp twice already and twice to a&e and not much luck.
please any advice would be welcome how to get him to drink as he is getting dehydrated now.

From what I believe, there is absolutely no reason why you should stop breast feeding and I'm sure your GP was wrong to advise this.

I would quickly call the Breast Feeding Network or similar and ask to speak to somebody about it because my GP told me that when DS was having diarrhea, to keep BF him. He said the only thing was that the gut wouldn't clear the bug as quickly but it wouldn't be harmful.

The fluid your DS will be getting from BF will keep him hydrated and yes, it might take a while longer for him to get over the bug, in the long run, the great stuff in breast milk will line him little tummy and help fight the bug.

Are you givng him Calpol to get his temp down?

He might not be as dehydrated as you think - it's winter so he he won't be losing sweat, he's not being sick at the same time(which makes dehydration worse). If you press his fingernails, does the colour come back straight away? That's a clear sign of dehydration if not.

Don't forget, BF babies have looser stools anyway so it might just take longer for them to firm up again. I would definitely ask a BF counsellor to chat to you and if you're still worried, call NHS direct.

I was told BM was the best stuff in this situation . Try tiny tiny feeds of BM - aminute or two sucking every half hour - to help him keep it down.

Think your GP is talking crap, myself.

It's really annoying me lately of just how many GPs advise mothers to stop BF unecessarily.

Just breastfeed as much as he wants. It really is the best thing for him. Also, if you stop breastfeeding, that could lead to blocked ducts and mastitis for you, which you really don't need! Breast milk is not the same as formula and will not aggravate diarrhea.

Offer your breast really often - breastmilk is absolutley the right thing for babies with diarrhea - I have just checked the research papers, and its better than diarolyte for them.

Yes keep bf him that will keep him hydrated bf as much as you can get him to take.
Like celery said breast milk is not the same as formula.

I was advised when ds AND 3 year old (at the time) dd both had stomach bug at them time actually to see if I could get dd to take some expressed milk as well to get some "good" calories in her on top of her drinking water. (cool doctor, older man too)

Hi there, I'm the mother of two boys aged 13 and 3. I know it's frightening, but please try not to stress yourself out. Just keep your child comfortable, strip him of his clothes if necessary or even sponge him down with lukewarm water to lower the temperature. Give him Paracetamol (calpol) and offer him room temperature boiled water from a bottle every now and again. Continue to try him with the breast, but as long as he gets some form of fluids down him he'll be absolutely fine. Try some novel ways to get some liquid into him, does he like Lollies for example or ice-cream; these would also have the benefit of cooling him down.

Is he teething by any chance?

My DS who suffers from Reflux caught the vomiting bug just before Chrismtas and we went through hell, but I did learn the following:-

Get 'Natural Flavour' Dioralite not the flavours and rather than mixing it with water mix it with a concerntrated full sugar squash (I was told that the slight risk of damage to teeth was completely outweighed buy the need for fluids). I then had to syringe 5ml every 10 mins and it worked really well.

hi,

thank you everyone for your advice.
i continue breastfeeding him, as breast is the only thing he takes.
dioralite so far managed to give him 20 ml via syringe. but what goes in is already out from his butt.

he stopped drooling and no tears whn he cryies, and very sleepy and unresponsive.
i am giving breast all the time, ( i mean i nap next to him to feed him even)

i will se how it goes, maybe another night at A&E for us. i was thinking maybe they would offer fluid by IV for him

i do not know if he is teething.
i was told hat if he drols too much which he is since 2 month old, but until now not a single tooth yet.

so i am not sure what the teething symptoms would be.

his fever is upto 40 degrees. i give him ibuprofen and calpol at the same time, as alternating them one aftre another did not work for him.

Keep breastfeeding. I found ibuprofen better for high temp then Calpol.

But if he is sleepy and unresponsive maybe go back to A&E? Or at least give NHS Direct a call?

I went to a&E yesterday when he was lethargic. when i got there he got a bit active from all the stimulations that was around him, screams of other kids, people walking so when the doctor saw him she ot impression that I am lying that he is actualy very weak. once we were home he was drowsy again.

I will keep him breastfeeding as much as I can.

It sounds to me like he's teething. Children tend to get feverish, and drool like crazy during this time. Also, they tend to have constant diahorreah and earache. My little one's bottom got so bad it was blistered and weeping, I had to keep his nappies off and let the air get to him. Don't use wet wipes to clean his bum use just plain water and cotton wool, let the air get at the skin.
Ibuprofen is great for pain and Paracetamol is great for the temperature, why not try him with some Calprofen which is the combination of both. I must say I swore by the stuff when mine was teething.
As I mentioned earlier just keep him cool and comfortable, offer him drinks but don't panic if he doesn't want to be hassled. Teething is a miserable time for the poor mites and often makes them feel fluish.
Remember Ibuprofen and even Calpol can cause drowsiness in such a young child. I would strongly advise using Calprofen and try to get hold of some Ashton&Parsons teething Powders, they are remarkable for settling upset stomachs and easing the gum pain.
Please try not to worry, you are doing everything perfectly, he's lucky to have such a great mum.

I would personally keep taking him to GP/A&E if he is losing too many fluids. They kept asking me if he was having wet nappies, if so some fluids are going through iyswim.

At Christmas DS went to A & E and then into the Childrens Assessment unit and they offered for him to stay in so they could help me re-hydrate him if necessary.

Okey, if you're still worried there is a little test you can try to see if he is dehydrated or not.

Pick up a little of the skin on the back of his hands between your finger and thumb when you let go does it spring back into place immediately (hydrated) or take a long time to go back into place (de-hydrated); try it on your own hand to see what I mean.

If he is de-hydrated take him straight to your GP or A&E, if not just keep doing what you're doing.

Check his gums are they hot, can you see any white little nubs just below the surface at the front of his mouth (the four front teeth come first)If so then he is teething.

The main thing is to keep a check on that temperature and keep him comfortable.

shootoo- are you really suggesting he's just teething?

tweety2000 - if you think it's necessary, take him back to the docotrs or A&E. My dd1 had something similar this time last year and ended up on a drip in hospital for three nights.

Hi there

We had this very same problem when my little one was 9 months old

You just have to go with the syringe... trust me when i say its better to stress little one out with this than ending up on a drip in hospital

I am not sure what syringe you are using.. we found the plain round one you get with a bottle of children's nurofen ideal for adminsrating it.. its a nice easy shape to get in his mouth and its marked in mls so you can see exactly how much he has had.. good luck

Yes I am, both of mine had a terrible time with teething; fever, diarrhoea, lethargy and irritability. Neither had any interest in food or drink. This poor woman is worried sick out of her mind and her doctors' seem to be less than helpful. Like Tweety2000 I was back and fore the A&E and the GP, the most they could manage was to offer me a prescription of paracetamol and zinc and castor oil cream. The folks at the A&E even had the cheek to say that my youngest was putting it on! So I understand her frustration.
If after all the medication he is still showing no signs of feeling better then I agree she should go back and force the issue with her GP or the A&E, after all it is better to be safe than sorry. Try the NHS direct helpline and see what they suggest. I suggest teething as a possible cause due to the age of the child, and the symptoms she has listed.
All I can say is trust your instincts,if you feel that things haven't improved after all the pain relief then go to the A&E, don't take no nonsense, a demand a thorough examination; refuse to leave until they do.

shootoo - your advice is correct regarding taking the baby to a&e if necessary. But I really disagree with putting such severe symptoms down to 'just teething'.

Temperature of 4O°C, lethargy, diarrhea, not eating/drinking as normal - all going on for four days - I am at a loss as to how anyone can put that down to 'just teething'.

I put it down to teething due to the fact that my youngest who is now three went through the exact same thing on and off for weeks. He had an absolutely dreadful time.

At first the doctors' at A&E put it down to a viral stomach bug and told me he would be better in a day or two, the second time they told me he was putting it on! He was 9 months old! By this time his fever had been raging for days, we were concerned that it might cause him to have fits and he was becoming dehydrated.

In my case it did turn out to be teething.
But as I said earlier, if in doubt force the Doctors' to pay attention and carry out an examination.

shootoo-you took him to a&e, doctors diagnosed virus illness, it went on for weeks, and you still think it was just teething?

In my opinion, the fact that he was teething was probably a coincidence.

It is possible I agree, however nobody could actually agree on what was wrong with him, each individual had their own ideas and solutions.

In saying that my eldest who is now 13 had the same problems which is hard to believe is simply co-incidence.

Also my sister had the same problems with her daughter last year.

Hence my belief that teething was the primary culprit.

It may not be so in this case, it was simply a suggestion to check out and try to ease some of the worry.

Thank you shootoo and belgo and everyone.

I checked his gums and hey seems normal (not hot, no litles buds) so I do not think he is teething.

When yesterday I was at A&E I said that he had only 3 wet nappies during the entire day (we were at A&E at 19 pm) the doctor said that is fine, even 1 wet nappy in this case is fine. I was shocked by this response. I persisted saying he is not taking a botle and even with the syringe it is a nightmare to give him fluid,she keeps on persisting saying just try small amount evry 10 minutes. SO I was looking like a idiot - because she is the health professional I am jsut a paranoid mum.

I know giving him fluids intervenous is a last resort but if it is neccessary I would have to take hm to have it. But they are not offering it. Do i have to insist in this case?

As for my GP when I saw him in the morning he said the kid had no more temperature, while I knew for sure that he did, and when I got home I remeasured it and it was 39'7
While at the surgery I shopuld have taken my own termometer and show him he is wrong, but I was too embarrassed to make him feel uncomfortable in this situation.

I am presume that he got a viral infection. But I am trying to keep him more comfortable while his body is recovering. But some doctors are not helpful, and they do not want to be nugged all the time.

by the way I tried yesterday to put some calgel on his gums but he also was having none of it. my kid just is terrfied at the moment by anything that goes in his mouth. I will definetly will pressurise doctors this time to provide help to rehydrate him if my breatfeeding is not enough. Mind my GP will not be happy if I say that I did not follow his advice to stop breastfeeding.
At least my health visitor is supportive and encouraging to continue breastfeeding.