Diarrhea - Irving,TX

T..

My son had diarrhea once and he wouldn't take fluids very well which was frustrating. However, the doctor recomended giving small amounts more often. We got out the syringe and filled it full of pedialyte and did that very often. My son at the time was throwing up as well, hope that doesn't become a problem too. We also would soak his "bottom" in warm water a couple time a day to get rid of all the acids and viral goo that will cause a diaper rash, thus avoiding that problem altogether. But, just as a warning. You ask if you should give him something to possibly solidify his bowel. No. Just like when we get ill, His body is getting rid of somthing bad. Let it do it's thing. It's amazing how the body works itself out most of the time. Good Luck! B.

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He probably just has a virus, young kids get them all the time. (mine did) Try the BRAT diet, it works wonders. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. It sounds crazy, but if you feed him only these foods, it gets under control very quickly. You could also try a little yogurt. Most viruses are in the intestines, they just show up in many different ways in our bodies. The acidophilus in yogurt helps to get rid of the virus. Don't feed him any other dairy, or sugar. They make it worse. Also no proteins while he has diarrhea. I hope this helps!
Julia

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Hi T.-
I have my pediatric nurse hat on- diarrhea in little ones can last up to 2 weeks. If they are fever free (over 101.5) and do not have any vomiting that lasts longer than 36 hours we usually don't recommend seeing them in the office.
The best thing is diet control- BRAT diet- bananas, rice applesauce and toast. That can also include rice cereal, bagels, banana bread etc....
Do NOT give any dairy or fruit juices. Water, gatorade (or powerade, or whatever ade) is fine. Pedilyte is fine but tastes pretty nasty.
Signs of dehydration (which needs to be treated by an MD) include no urine for 8-12 hours, dry insides of the mouth and no tears. A dehydrated child won;t play or interact and usually doesn't even have the energy to cry- they wiper a lot and lay like a little rag doll.
For the inevitable irritated bottom do soaks in a baking soda bath and slather the bottom w/ diaper cream.
If you have any other questions please feel frr to e-mail me!
D.
____@____.com

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BRAT! I was sorely offended when my pediatrician told me to put my precious (then first born baby) boy on the BRAT diet.... but it works from cradle to grave. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast. That will help, is cheap, easy and natural. Hydration is CRITICAL. When my kids were vomitting in particular, and babies, I set a timer for 10 minutes, made a drink of gingerale and water and used one of those medicine droppers from the pharmacy. Forced them to take 2 TSP every 10 minutes. The time I was tired and didn't do it for as many hours and days as I should have, my daughter ended up in the hospital for 6 days with a urninary tract infection. No fun and very scary. Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Monitor outcoming fluid levels. If your baby isn't urinating, they need more fluid. If in doubt, pay the copay and get to the doctor. Or if you aren't usre about going to the doctor, call and ask for the nurse. Often they will help you decide if you need to come in, or what you should look for to determine on your own when it is time to come in.

Good luck.

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I would just monitor him to see if he is acting like his normal self and that he gets plenty of fluids, like water and pedialyte (if he will take it). Sometimes you just have to wait it out and get whatever is bugging him out. If he does start looking dehydrated and is not acting like his normal self, i would make a visit to his Doctor.
My son who was six month old at the time had a very bad viral bug which caused him to have severe diarrhea, it took him close to ten days to get it out of his system. Not to mention on his worse day, we went through ten diapers.
Good Luck and Hang in there!

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There is a bug going around. You need to watch him and give him as much fluids as he will take without forcing it down him. If his bottom is chapped go to the feed store and get a can of bag balm and put it on him it is the best thing I have found and it doesn't have harsh chemicals in it. Pedilyte is the best for him to drink or water. I hope he gets better soon.

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Hi T.;

Is so funny you send this message, My Little boy just had that happen to him it seems that is b/c they're cutting their molars it will pass but make sure that you are giving him liquids they now sale pedialite in Ice pops he will enjoy it and you will have the peace of mind that he will not be dehydrated. Good luck! Ofcourse if it continues more than a week it could be more than that so.. Get him check with your physician.Oh and if his getting red on his butty put DOCTOR SMITH cream. I tell you that cream gets them in great shape in no time... I love it! and I am sure our little ones too! :0)

Eva

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YES… give him Pedialyte, not only will it firm up his stool but stop him from dehydrating. Also, Apples and Bananas will help to firm things up. If he will not eat the fruit, try bread, crackers, etc… and call the pediatrician if things don’t get better. Watch for dark circles under his eyes as it can be a sign of dehydration.

Good luck!
E.

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keep fluids in him like crazy -- no fruit juices though.. pedialite, koolaid, propel, gatorade, crystal lite, water, etc. whatever you can get him to drink... do.

Usually cases of diarrhea just run their course...

We were always told to do the BRAT diet - bananas, rice, apples, toast.... and when mine got it that's exactly what we did...

Bananas for breakfast... toast... applesauce.. he never ate rice but I've had a friend give her kid rice cakes...

Hope that helps! :)

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Hey, I just asked my best friend who I roommate with who has a 5 year old what to do for diarrhea and she said that it usually causes dehydration and if he has had for a couple of days that he may be dehydrated so pedialyte will be a good thing for him. Also bananas, green vegetables will help to stop it. Hope that helps!!

I just had this with my 14 month old & have been wondering if something is going around. It is the first time ever he's had diarrhea. I think the main thing is to make sure they don't get dehydrated, but am not sure the best way to go about this. Am anxious to hear what others have to say.

I believe the doctor's say to bring them in if it lasts more than 3 days. Your main thing will be to keep him hydrated. If he doesn't like pedialyte, gatorade is fine. Just watch sugar content, as sugary things can make it worse. NO JUICE. Avoid dairy, except yogurt. Yogurt with live active cultures will help him right now. The organic brands will not have all the added sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Rice and applesauce are supposed to help thicken the stools. However, the point of diarrhea is that his body is flushing out something that's causing an illness. So, you have to let it run its course. I'd invest in a can of lysol and be sure you wash your hands a lot and lysol the changing table/area after every diaper change. Definitely follow everyone's advice about protecting his little bottom with some kind of cream or ointment.

My daughter is currently going through the same problem. She is 10 months old, so I am not sure if the treatment would be the same. She has been going like 6 times a day! I have also been giving her pedialyte. The doctor said give her lots of bananas, rice cereal, apples, and toast. Yogurt will also help replace some of the bacteria that is needed. I don't know about your son, but my daughter hasn't acted sick at all. She did get her first diaper rash which was horrible! Good luck and I hope this helps.

This must be going around, as my 17 month old daughter had it last week, then her parents got a mild case of it too. The fun never stops! She wouldn't drink the pedialyte, but did drink lots of water. It was so not fun, good luck, and hope that you don't get sick either!

T.,
Sorry to hear your little one is sick. Try Yo Baby yogurt, or any yogurt. The active enzeymes in yogurt counter-act the bad bacteria causing diarrhea. It's always worked for me....give it a try.

T.,
I have been going thru this as well for almost 2 weeks. He just developed a fever yesterday. We had been talking to the doctor for the last 1.5 weeks via phone, but today I took him in. Most likely a viral infection, but they took a stool sample to make sure it was not something more. And he pretty much recommended everything that all the other moms here are saying. My son is 13 months and we had just begun introducing whole milk. The pediatrician is having us put that lovely experiment on hold until he is 15 months.

My question to you mommies is this....
He has totally lost his appetite and has lost a lb and is now under 19 lbs at 13 months. He is not in the mood for baby food or solids. I've been trying the BRAT stuff, but he eats 2 spoonfuls and that's it. He will do a little Yo Baby Yogurt. So, I've been giving him formula as a meal replacement. But I am seeing "no dairy" on this thread. Should I try soy-based formula now?

Thanks mommies!

Don't let them get dehydrated you should be on pedelight and cut back on dairy and gains. Use lots of Vaseline on his bum to help. It may be Roto viruses check with your DR. Mainly Keep the fluids’ coming you can try soy yogurt it helps or yogurt live cultures insizmes you get them at the pharmacy you don't need an Rx. You can add them to food or drink.

YOUR CHILD IS PROBABLY TEETHING, HAVE YOU TAKEN HIM TO THE DOCTOR TO RULE OUT ANYTHING MEDICAL. ALSO TRYMORE VEGGIES AS WITH MY DAUGHTER BANANNAS GAVE HER DIARRHEA,AS DID MOST FRUITS.

Pedialyte on the top end and Dr. Smith's on the bottom end!!

Hey T.,
My 20 month old son had the same thing last week, lucky for us it only lasted 3 days, then back to normal. The DR told me that there is a virus going around that can involve just diarrhea and/or vomiting, thank goodness only the diarrhea for us. He did not run any fever, but was miserable from the rash. You know what I found that worked the best was the aquaphore with just plain cornstartch, the bottom was clear by morning!

Not sure if someone already said this but give him some yogurt. The acidophilus (active cultures) will help his body get the good bacteria working. My son does that when he teething or has had a recent round of anitbiotics.

What is he eating? anything new at the start of the diarhea?
Yes, give him pedialyte and pediasue as he is losing liquids and nutrients. Have you called and asked your dr? May need to monitor what he is eating and remove one thing at a time to see
if that changes his stool? Also cheese will solidify the stool.

Liquids (clear ones are better) are most important when they are so young. Pedialyte is good if he will take it. I gave mine watered down gatorade 'cause they didn't like Pedialyte. Also, Call you doc, the nurses will have ideas on what to feed him (bread / crackers) to help with the consistency/frequency.

For the diaper rash, let him air out a little. And coconut oil on the rash will help clear it up.

Hi T.,

Call your son's pediatrician. For now, stop giving him any milk or milk products which could exaccerbate his diarrhea. Pedialyte is good because it replaces electrolytes. He could be running the risk of getting dehydrated, so the pediatrician really needs to do an assessment on him.

Good Luck,
A., Pediatric Dietitian

My daughter suffered her entire first year with chronic diarrhea. The cause was never known, it just made her poor tiny bottom red and blistering. The best ointment for this is A&D Ointment. It's very thick and creates a better barrier than others. Although I gave her Pedialyte, she didn't like it and wouldn't drink it. So, I just gave her whatever she would drink, usually watered-down apple juice. Just try to keep him as dry as possible so he doesn't get a terrible rash like my daughter did that actually bled.

My son has a dairy intolerance, so he gets HORRIBLE diaper rash if he drinks milk. When it was so bad it began blistering, our ped gave him Silvadene creme, which is used on burn victims wounds. So, know if it gets worse, you can use that, and it works well. Also, as far as the rash, as annoying as it is, try to change him as soon as you know he's gone so the acid has less time to sit and irroitate his bottom. If it hurts and is irritated, you can also purchase Calmoseptine over the counter.It is calomine and zinc oxide and helps the irritation. They have it at CVS but you have to ask the pharmacist for it, though it's not RX.
R.

I would contact your pediatrician. He may have picked up a bug of some sort. I do give my kids pedialyte!!! It really helps. I give it to them when they have diarrhea, colds, and fever. I would rather give pedialyte then meds and my doctor is OK with that. I reccomend the grape, apple, or orange in the 4 pack of single bottles. Then I just squeeze it into their sippy cups. I have even given pedialyte to them as early as 3 months old in bottles. Don't get the red kind in case they are throwing up or diarrhea so that for some reason it is red you can determine whether it is blood or red from juice/pedialyte. Make sure to treat his bottom for diaper rash that will pop up with diarrhea. I like the ButtPaste personally for my 2 kiddos.

But, do call your doctor.