Gastroenteritis in 12month old - what should I do?

[love2sleep]

DS2 has been very poorly for a few days and the doc now thinks he has viral gastroenteritis. What should we expect? He hasn't kept anything down for nearly 2 days and is very very sleepy.
I am supposed to be travelling to the US with work tomorrow and don't know what to do. DH and MIL will be fine to look after him but could this turn into anything serious that I should be here for?

Fluids are very very important, try little and often, just plain water or something like Dioralyte...if he won't keep any fluids down and seems dehydrated (ie his mouth and lips are dry) then take him to see a doctor ASAP. My DD has the same thing at the moment and this is what we have been told to do.

11 month old DS had this last week, 2 days of vomiting followed by 2 days of diahorrea. He was fine in himself though. NHS direct advised me to take him to my GP or a walk in clinic if he had been vomiting over 8 hours due to his age. Might be worth you taking DS to be checked out to ensure it's nothing more serious and to check he's not dehydrated, especially if he is very sleepy.

The GP who said that gastro can last anything from a few hours to a week. The important thing is to keep him hydrated. Give him regular sips of Diarolyte (sp?) from the chemist made up with whatever DS will drink (apple juice in my DS's case). My Ds would also keep down short breastfeeds but no solids. Once DS had stopped vomiting he would take a small amount of bland food - banana puree, apple puree, toast. Hope your DS feels better soon.

GP said signs of dehydration are sunken soft spot on his head, dry nappies, sunken eyes, skin that doesn't "spring back" when you pinch it gently.

Thanks HCTG and Zebedee.
DH has just picked up some Dioralyte. I think that part of the reason he was so unwell this morning was that we had not persisted hard enough with the fluids yesterday.