19 Month Old Sick Flu ?

Updated on February 17, 2009
L.S. asks from Chandler, AZ
20 answers

My son got the flu 2 days ago and was throwing up and having diarrhea. We took him into urgent care cause the pediatrician said if he doesn't pee enough then we have to take him in. The doctor said if he doesn't drink any water then we will have to take him into the hospital for an IV. There is a trick he told us to do to get fluids down him by using the medicine dropper and put Gatorade in it and put it down the back of his mouth. But now he doesnt want this anymore so I am having a much harder time with getting this down. I did that last night cause he wont drink even water yesterday and it was scaring me. I don't want him to have get an IV poor baby. All he does is cry Mommy all day. He has been sleeping tons though. He really hasn't had much of a fever. He is just laying around all day and cries Mommy. He ate some yogurt, tiny bit of toast and a 1 1.5 (4 oz bottle) of water today. Now he just threw up again.
Is there anyway to know if he is too dehydrated?
Any other tips to get food or drinks down?

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone so much for all your help. Wow I just joined this yesterday and am amazed at how kind you all have been with all your help. You were all so helpful and had wonderful ideas. I really do appreciate you taking the time to help us out. I wish I could meet you all in person you all seem like caring and loving woman!!!
Last night my son threw up more. But he was hungry later and asked for food. The doctor at the urgent care said to give him whatever he wants just to get him to eat. He ate some more yogurt (stoneyfields) baby yogurt. I know it isn't good to give dairy but I was sick yesterday too with it and it was the only thing that didnt upset my stomach. I really think this helped get some good bacteria in there. Plus if he ate it something I was happy. Then later he ate applesauce and fish crackers! The crackers made him thirsty so he drank more water. This morning he was more himself, talking and dancing. I think his stomach still hurts but he ate cheerios, and applesauce.
I am sorry I forgot to put about the Pedialyte in there. The doctor's office (I called the first day) recommended the B.R.A.T. diet. and Pedialyte but he didn't want it at all. The urgent care told us about the Popsicles but I was too sick myself to go out and get them. Another tip my Mom always had us do when I was growing up (which worked on my son the first sick day) was shaved ice in the blender with Coke syrup (old remedy to settle your stomach) they have it at the pharmacy just have to ask where. Works great!!!!
I will try some of the Popsicles and other ideas though. Thank you again and I hope you all have a great day!!
~L. S

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W.F.

answers from Albuquerque on

Hi L.,
Try popcicles. My sons have had that before and we gave them popcicles and they loved it. They also have the Pediacare frozen pops that are good too. Good luck!
W.

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C.C.

answers from Flagstaff on

Besides the number of wet diapers, dry mouth, sticky saliva, and lack of tears, my doctor said the easiest thing she looks for is called capillary refill. You press gently on his stomach with your fingers flat for three seconds. It should look like a white handprint when you let go. That should disappear in less than 5 seconds. If it does not, his capillaries (tiny blood vessels) are not refilling quickly enough because he is dehydrated. My son was sick for 10 days at that age. The only thing we could get him to eat was popsicles. He didn't like the pedialyte ones (they taste gross!). I hope your son gets well soon!

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A.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I'm so sorry to hear how sick your baby is! It is so nerve-wracking to watch them when they are so miserable and there's nothing we can do to fix it. One way to know if he's truly dehydrated or not is if he has tears when he cries or if he's peeing even once in 24 hours. If he does have tears, then he's not dehydrated. If he pees even once a day, he's not dehydrated. He's going to be very lethargic from low blood sugar, but this is normal for the circumstances. Offer anything from the B.R.A.T. diet(Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast), but stay away from ANYTHING with dairy. It will be too h*** o* his little tummy and will come right back out. I would offer him some form of clear liquid every chance you get. Don't do grape juice or anything with color. Try diluted white grape juice or apple juice - pedialyte would be ideal. I've had success with my boys chewing crushed ice and this works great because it goes in nice and slow. Pedialite also makes popsickles and I'd offer him some of those too. My oldest son (now 10) got horrilby sick when he was a toddler. He lost more than 10% of his body weight over a weekend because of vomiting and not being able to eat. It was SCARY! So I know how you feel and my heart goes out to you. Lastly...all four of my boys have a blood disorder, and I recently learned from their hemotologist that Benedryl is good for helping an upset tummy. I've not had the chance to try this out yet, but have been storing that one in my memory for when I need to. I would try it just to see. It certainly won't hurt.

Good luck and HANG IN THERE! He'll be better before you know it. Take care.

Blessings,
A.

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S.F.

answers from Albuquerque on

make popsicles from gatorade or pedialyte. It will seem like a treat and kids love the cool. Good Luck. Healing prayers
Sara

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R.F.

answers from Phoenix on

I am a school nurse here in Scottsdale and dehydration is a serios issue here in Az. If your baby doesn't urinate or have tears when he cries , he might be dehydrated. Jello works as well ice popsare also good. You need to get fluids into him.

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M.B.

answers from Albuquerque on

HI L.,
I am so sorry to hear about your little one. Its hard when they get sick. My doctor told me that if you don't pee for about 8 hours then you are dehydrated. This is for an adult so I would think that it is lower for a child. If you are really concerned about him being dehydrated then you should trust your mommy instincts. IF you don't want to take him in to the doctor, call the nurse. They are usually really good about getting back to you and can answer all your questions. There may be a nurses line that your insurance has you could try them also. Good luck!

M.

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C.R.

answers from Las Cruces on

Poor baby and poor you! My little one is sick right now and I am concerned about his food/drink intake.

Have you tried pedialyte? If he'll drink it, it helps with the dehydration. I was also advised to get my little guy in the bathtub - hydration through the skin counts for something apparently.

I hope he is feeling better soon and you are able to avoid the IV.

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S.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I was told not use Gatorade,, use the Pedylite...(pardon the spelling) ,,, or try fruit popcicles. I have some Anti Nausea medicine, it is called,Emertrol (it is over the counter).. That seemed to help my little ones....

S.

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B.B.

answers from Tucson on

To help stop the throwing up you can try a product called ematrol. It is absolutely disgusting, but it works really well. I'm sorry your little guy is sick. It is really hard to see our babies like that. Good luck and I hope he feels better.

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V.N.

answers from Santa Fe on

Poor thing! You and him! My little one was just sick, too, and I know how you feel. Everyone is telling you about Pedialyte- and my girls don't really like it, but a couple sips is better than nothing! I buy the popsicle variety, and they will suck on those for a little bit. Jello can be good, as someone else said. If water or gatorade doesn't work, I would try any liquid- even watered down juice, sips of Sprite, even little bites of yogurt. I have even heard of soaking a clean wash cloth and letting them suck on that (my kids love to do that in the bath!) Ice chips of water or something else frozen can taste good to them, too, and be a fun way to get something rather than a popsicle. I'm trying to thing of everything I can! Best of luck with your day, and I hope this goes by soon for you!

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C.B.

answers from Flagstaff on

If he is lethargic, take him into the hospital immediately. But you can give him pedilite in a bottle. ABC diet for the runs - applesause, bananas and carrots. Rice too.

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N.S.

answers from Albuquerque on

I was once told by a nurse to give liqiuds in timed incriments like this. After he throws up wait 30 minutes before giving any liquids then give 1 Tbs of liquid (pedialyte, gatorade, etc) Wait 30 mins. If it stays down give another 1-2 Tbs. Wait 15 min. If that stays down repeat again in 15 mins. If all of that stays down you can give a few ounces more. The trick is to let the stomach slowly adjust to keeping liquid in. I have done this with my daughter and even myself the last time I had stomach flu and it really helped. I threw up a lot less than my husband who kept trying to drink several ounces of liquid at a time.

As far as the baby being dehydrated, he should be peeing every few hours.

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C.D.

answers from Phoenix on

I am so sorry baby is so sick! I certainly wouldn't mess around w/dehydration. I had no idea I was dehydrated when I had mastitis and the Dr. put me in the hospital immediately. If you aren't getting many wet diapers, if his mouth and nose seem dry, eyes look a little sunken - any ONE of these (and I know there's more, but calling 911 or the Dr. would be the best thing to do), I would get my baby to Urgent Care. We are not medical experts. Even call after hours to the Dr. for advice. Dehydration is serious.

I am sure you know about Pedialyte. Your local grocery store or drug store should have it around the baby area - Target and Walgreens has it, too. I would buy the popsicles and freeze them right away. That helped my kids not get ill from the liquid, which can happen when there's an upset tummy. The idea of a popsicle was fun; they didn't have to know it was a way of getting electrolytes into them. And if you can't get straight water in him, try some with a little sugar in it for enticement. At least it's something. But have someone go out right away and get the Pedialyte pops so you can freeze them.

Keep a bowl nearby, ck. his temp (I recently got one of those temporal thermometers and it's great. I can even use it while they are sleeping), and cool down with wet, cool cloth on forehead if needed. Lots of hugs. Keep the toast dry. Rice can help, too, as it helps bind the stuff in the digestive system. If baby won't eat rice itself, perhaps some baby rice cereal can help. Let him sleep. But do call the Dr. (or even 911 if you can't get a quick answer on how to tell if he's in the dehydration danger zone- even the Dr. office should have a nurse that can speak w/you immediately.

And know that there are some nasty viral things going around. My son had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago and now both he and his sister got hit with the fever, runny nose virus. So Drs offices are busy; you may have to be aggressive and persistent so your little one isn't lost in the shuffle.

Let us know how he's doing tomorrow. Best to both of you.

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C.H.

answers from Flagstaff on

If he is dehydrated, when you pinch a spont of loose skin it will take some time to go back to shape. Skin should relax back after you pinch, if it takes some time, he is dehydrated. Pinch, as in taking in some skin, not hurting.

When my son's were this sick, I would let them have their favorite drinks just to get them to drink. I make my own pedilyte drink (you have to be careful and measure exactly when making your own) and my boys seemed to like that better than the store bought stuff.

Watch him carefully, when in doubt take him in.

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A.G.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi L.,
It sounds like you have been doing a great job for your little guy, and you've already gotten a lot of good advice. You're through two days of this sickness so he should start doing better soon. If I were in your position, I would put a call in to his regular pediatrician if he is still having diarrhea and vomiting just as frequently as he was two days ago, just to see when and if they would like to check him again.

As others have said, pedialyte is good for preventing dehydration, and they have popsicles, which my kids will take when they won't take anything else. If he doesn't like the pedialyte, you can try mixing it halfway with water; the stuff is super, sticky sweet, so sometimes diluting it will help. If he won't take the pedialyte or pedialyte popsicles, at all, let him have regular popsicles to help prevent dehydration. If that doesn't work, you can also offer him small sips of ginger ale, or 7Up (not too much though, as too much bubbles can irritate an already fragile tummy--you can let it get "flat" first). Be careful about fruit juices; if you do give them to him, dilute the juice. They contain a lot of sorbitol, which can cause sorbitol dairrhea when drank in excess.

You said that you gave him a little yogurt, which is a good idea (though other types of dairy should be restricted until his tummy is better). Just be sure that you are giving him yogurt that contains "live and active cultures." Too much diarrhea flushes out our good bacteria that live in the intestines, which allows the bad bacteria to take over the place; this can prolong the diarrhea. So, giving him little bits of high quality yogurt (not the super sweet kiddie kind, or yoplait-type stuff) can help replenish the good bacteria which will help him get better sooner.

I hope that he is better soon!

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D.H.

answers from Phoenix on

When I was throwing up a lot, especially water, the doctor told me to eat things that had a lot of water in them - grapes, watermelon, canataloupe, popsicles, etc. If I had a little one, I would make popsicles out of pedialyte and have him suck on them. It really is true that dehydration is serious and if he doesn't get water down, the IV is better. Good luck!

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D.S.

answers from Albuquerque on

Have you tried to give him Pedylite? Pedylite has electrolytes that prevents dehydration. It tastes like juice to the baby and there are various flavors, so it's a little easier to drink. Your son probably doesn't like the taste of water right now because it tastes like nothing and he's probably starving, even though he can't keep food down. You can buy Pedylite at any store, usually in the babyfood isle. In regard as to whether he is dehydrated, if you pinch his skin and his skin doesn't flatten out and look normal, then he could be dehydrated. If his eyes are starting to sinken in, that could mean he's dehydrated too. Try and give him Pedylite and see if he'll drink it. I wouldn't give him more than about 2 oz every half hour or so since his tummy is suck.
Food isn't as important now as fluids, so don't worry about food especially if he can't keep it down. Good luck and hang in there. I know how scary it can be when they're vomiting. GO BUY PEDYLITE NOW!

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K.S.

answers from Albuquerque on

Try and give him homemade popsicles made from Gatorade, yogurt or watered-down lemonade. Also keep an eye on his diaper to make sure he is peeing. If you gently pinch his skin under his eye and watch to see if it takes awhile to flatten back out, he is dehydrated. Yogurt helps to replace the good bacteria in his gut. Good luck! Don't hesitate to take him to the doc if you are concerned.

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M.J.

answers from Phoenix on

dear L.,

had my share of sick babies, and yes, even the iv:
First - do not give yogurt or anything milky.
Second -try pedialyte or a gatorade or some think powerade is better, instead of water. Did you try popsicles?
Third - maybe most important - DO GO GET THAT IV if you have to!
Does he cry tears? IF he hasd tears, thats a good sign, but if he cries without tears..I would get him to an IV ASAP
AN IV sounds bad, but I guarantee you it is harder to get the IV into the vein the more dehydrated the child is...and if you dont like the IV idea , then you REALLY do not want them to do what they have to if they have to try and fail to insert the iv repeatedly (because the veins are smaller because of more advanced dehydration) Dehydration itself is the most serious aspect of getting sick. You are far better off taking the child in while not that bad off than waiting too long.
God Bless you and your baby. I always squeezed my babys other hand and warned him "tiny owie coming" and then told him hed be all right. I have also been able to talk to my child who remembers having to go in to get an IV in the middle of the night with a terrible tummy flu, how the pinch hurt but it made him feel so much better so fast. It actually made them more positive to doctors and shots later.

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E.K.

answers from Flagstaff on

Pedialyte popsicles. It's the equivalent of a gatorade popsicle, but for kids. Even when they're sick, they'll usually go for popsicles. Good way to hydrate, and they have electrolytes in them, which he needs. Good luck, it's no fun having a sick baby. :(

ps. It would probably be good to get him on a pro-biotic when he's better to help balance his system back out and recover.

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