Getting Fluids That Will Stay in for a Sick Kid

Updated on November 03, 2009
R.S. asks from Salt Lake City, UT
27 answers

Hi everyone. Thanks for any advice here. I have a sick 4 year old. He seems fine in all ways - no fever - no real illness symptoms etc - but he started getting sick last night and hasn't been able to stop. It's not too much candy. He didn't eat any yesterday. Every time he tries to eat or drink something it comes right back up. If we're lucky enough to get it to stay down, then he'll drink something about an hour later and it's back up.

How do I get him re-hydrated when this happens? We're doing small sips of water, or Gatorade. The only food we've tried is a banana and crackers. This happened to him when he has a year and a half old and we had to go to the hospital for an IV to rebalance his system.

Thanks everyone. Hope your Halloweens were all good ones.

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E.C.

answers from Denver on

I've found that pedialyte popsicles/freeze-pops work well. I find them in the kids medicine section of the drug store - not in the cold section.

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S.T.

answers from Denver on

Sorry to hear that. I'd try to get just fluids to stay down before introducing any food which could be complicating the situation. Write down what you are getting in him and what is coming out, so you have more factual info for the dr. Watch for signs of dehydration. Call the dr now to ask what the minimal fluid intake needs to be before they want you to bring him in. Don't wait until he gets dehydrated to act, but doing fluids alone might just work.
Good luck.
S.

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K.H.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Have you tried ice chips? My little one seems to be able to keep those down when she is sick. Good luck!

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N.W.

answers from Salt Lake City on

1 - wait 1 full hour after his vomiting before you give him anything. (So, if he vomits again, restart the timer)
2- give him 1 tsp of pedialyte or weak tea or water then wait 20 minutes (use a timer)
3- repeat step 2 three times
4- 1 tbsp pedialyte/weak tea/water(repeat every 20 minutes for an hour)
5-1/4 Cup pedialyte/weak tea/water (followed by 20 minute waiting period. Repeat twice)
6-1/2 cup

He should be good after that. Don't rush it because if you go too fast you'll have to start over at step 1.

Don't give him any food at all until he can hold down the liquids. My kids like to drink Miso Soup after they've been sick and then have some unbuttered toast.

Remember - give them the prescribed amount of water but don't force them to drink it all. Most kids will be so thirsty they'll want to take more, but their tummy will reject it.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.F.

answers from St. Cloud on

I would dissolve some honey in warm water and put in a bit of lemon or lime juice and a 1/4 tsp. salt. So, about a half cup warm water, 1 tsp. honey, 2 tsp. lemon juice (or to taste) and 1/4 sea salt.

At anytime you feel that his mouth and eyes appear dry and he stops sweating, the IV is the way to go.

I hope your son feels better soon!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.T.

answers from Pocatello on

hey R.
Try some chamomile and mint tea, if you don't know where to get it you can go to the store and get "celestial seasons sleepy time" it is a good one. My youngest got a flu bug one year and she was propulsion vomiting everything up, and to I stuck her in a warm bath with baking soda and a pinch of ginger (helps draw toxins out and warm the body up) and the tea is all she could keep down, it made the difference when nothing else would. another help liquid acidophiles is a good one to use as well he may have a stomach virus, health food stores and Fred Meyer have it. avoid gator aid and the store brand hydrating drinks they cane make things worse. Especially withe the sugars or artificial sweeteners they have in them, and the food coloring which most of the time is made from coal tar or toxic sources. something else I use that helps heal the esophagus is powdered slippery elm and cinnamon in unsweetened applesauce (helps them to get it down). that is what I do and it works well when nothing else will.
good luck
have a happy

1 mom found this helpful
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K.R.

answers from Grand Junction on

Use warm Jello Water. It's nice and thick in the stomach. It coats the stomach from all the acid and the warmth makes the muscles stop contracting.

Pedialyte works a lot better, it has an awesome balance of electrolytes that absorb into the tissue faster. If he can old 2 tablespoons down for 15min his body will absorb it. This fact helped me relax so much when I had morning sickness.
Salt will also help keep the fluids in. Chicken noodle soup is good- lots of protein, liquid and the cool part about eating salt is-- it makes your body crave more fluids.

You can relax now. He's holding stuff down for an hour- that's good. That's plenty of time fo rthis body to use some of it. The goal is: look at the amount coming up and try to put at least that much back into his body. Kids are very durable, and your doing great mom things here.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.H.

answers from Denver on

I know this will sound crazy but it worked for me as a kid and I will live by it for my daughter. Heavy Peach surup. Go buy some peaches and make sure they come in heavy peach surup. Then every 15 minutes for an hour have your son drink 1/4 cup of the syrup. My moms pediatrician told us about it when I was little and it does stop the vomiting and help to get some fluids in afterwards. Please note that he cant have anything else to eat or drink until that hour is over. My mom usually made me wait about an hour after I was done with the syurp before she would let me try to eat or drink anything but water. But it worked. Everytime I got sick. I even did it when I was preggo. lol

1 mom found this helpful

A.G.

answers from Pocatello on

My daughter got really sick once so I called my doc. I was told it's ok to do complete stomach rest for 24 hours. It's the best way to keep you child from throwing anything else up. As long as he is still peeing some he is ok. The nurse also said that when you do start giving them fluids again to give them about 1 TBSP of whatever (Gatoraid, soup broth, water, etc) then wait 15 min. If they keep that down then give them another TBSP and so one. The nurse said as long as they keep the fluid in for at least 15 min. then there body is absorbing some of it even if they throw up again after that. But if you feel he is getting really bad then take him in to the doc. good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Colorado Springs on

Against the doc's advice (which I honestly feel would have landed my baby in the hospital) I drowned my kiddo in Pedialyte. We waited 4 hours in the ER when he was 6 mos old & he downed an entire bottle. I got in trouble, but it had been 26 hours since his last wet diaper & I got him to pee. I'd pick up a bottle of every flavor of Pedialyte you can find-generic & not- & let him pick which one he wants to start with. Let him drink til he's done.
Good luck! Hope your lil one starts feeling better soon!
*just read what Melissa wrote. We've suffered through gastroenteritis once before too-was caused by a friend not washing her hands after changing her baby's diaper. We kicked it-after she went home from her weekend stay-with TONS of handwashing. We literally washed hands every hour. I lysoled doorknobs, remote controls, stair rails, keys, light switches...

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B.P.

answers from Denver on

Ice chips!! Everything else is perfect for when he has stopped vomiting. And poor baby is probably so thirsty, so chop up some ice with a rolling pin and let it melt in his mouth. Good luck!

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K.C.

answers from Denver on

Hi R. - Have you tried Pedialyte popsicles? They work really well and help to rebuild fluids and strength.

Good luck! Hope your little feels better soon.

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K.G.

answers from Denver on

R.,
Have you tried popsicles yet? They have the juice popsicles or regular ones at this point it does not matter what you give them as long as they take something in something. The food does not matter at this point they can go without food for awhile it is the liquids that is important. Another thing is how about freezing a clean wet washcloth they can suck on it and it will provide a little bit of liquid in a small amount so it does not mess with their tummy too much.
Just a few tricks and remedies I have learned or tried over the years. Sometimes they work sometimes they don’t. Whatever you give them make it small portions and space them out over 20 minutes in between to see if the tummy will keep it in or not.
Hang in there this is the hardest part of being a mommy you feel so bad for them because you feel helpless in making them better.

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C.H.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Pedialyte. I don't recommend the store brand because that never worked on mine. Pedialyte, and I"d skip the bananas. Water as well. Then with the foods, I would stick to saltines and a slice of bread. Small bites and sips. Once he is able to hold down a little more you might be able to try a chicken broth.

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A.Y.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Popsicles. Kids love them and they have to eat them slow because they're cold. You could even freeze your own pedialyte to get the vitamins in too.

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M.G.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I am so sorry about your little one. Just to add to the already great advice, a pediatrician told me you can use liquid jello. I have not tried it but my MIL said she used it all the time with her kids. Good luck!

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S.

answers from Denver on

I would say pedialyte. My son also when he was little had to go in and get hooked up to IVs and get rehydrated. One thing I remember is they had me give him very small amounts of pedialyte, like a teaspoon every 5 minutes to see if he could hold it down. I would try very small amounts and see if that help. If not I would not hesitate too call...

Let us know how he is feeling, poor thing!

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K.B.

answers from Fort Collins on

Get a syringe that has CC measurements on it. Get pedilyte or smart water it has electrolytes in it. Give him 10cc of liquid wait 10 mins then give him another 10cc. Do this for an hour once he has kept it down you can up it to 30cc and do the 30cc in 10 min intervals. Do the 30cc for 30 mins then up it to 50cc. If at any point he vomits then start over with the 10cc every 10 mins. I hope he feels better soon. I have been down this road and its not fun. Good rule of thumb if you can't see through it don't eat or drink it :)...Good Luck!!

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N.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Yeah, there are pedialyte popsicles. I would definatly use those.

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J.N.

answers from Salt Lake City on

If he can't keep anything down, wait for a few hours. He's loosing more by throwing up, so if that prevents him from throwing up its better. If he hasn't vomited in a few hours, give him tiny sips of water or pedialite (it's better for little ones than gatorade). If that works well for a hour or so, then gradually give him a bit more at a time. Don't give him any solids or even full liquids until he can keep down clear liquids.
Watch for signs of dehydration - dry eyes and mouth are a big indicator, that's when you want to take extra steps.
Hope he feels better soon!

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M.F.

answers from Denver on

Hi R.,

My son has son had something earlier this year that sounds pretty similar to what your son has. It is called Gastrointeritis, basically a stomach bug.

It caused him to get sick everytime he ate or drank anything. The best thing to do is try to get them to drink fluids, like Pedialite. If you can't get fluids to stay down, you can do a little test on his fingernails to see if he is getting dehydrated. You press down on the fingernail with your nail until it turns white (just a second or two)and then count how many seconds it takes to regain natural color. If it takes more than three seconds to regain the pinkish color - your son is dehydrated.

Also if you can't keep fluids down, even with a teaspoon every 5 minutes I would get to the doctor.

My son was 1 when it happened as well, and ended up in the hospital with IV's. The drug Zofran worked really well and alloud us time when his stomach would remain calm. If you end up going to your MD, maybe you could ask them about Zofran and that might keep you out of the hospital!

Hope things get better soon!

M. Fastrup

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E.C.

answers from Norfolk on

try some pedialyte or chicken broth (some boulion in hot water works).
If he gets dehydrated then I would definitely call his doctor asap

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S.M.

answers from Colorado Springs on

if he wont swallow it try having him suck on an ice cube a couple of times before or a popsical giving him fluids then give him some pedialyte if that doesnt help i would take him to the hospital where the can give him an iv

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A.B.

answers from Colorado Springs on

Just to add to everyone's great advice - when my 2 year old is sick I give him popsicles made from juice or pedialyte (I just make my own at home). This helps him because it soothes his throat but also makes it difficult for him to consume too much liquid all at once - since he is so young he doesn't really know how to sip and is more of a "gulper".

With swine flu going around I would definitely call the doctor and list all of your son's symptoms and see what they would like you to do.

Hope he feels better and hugs for you both :)

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M.H.

answers from Denver on

Pedialyte of course.
They even makeit in powder packs, which I bought at Target recently.

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L.D.

answers from Cheyenne on

Dear R.;
I read some where a few years back to eat watermelon, grapes and their was two other fruits but I can't remember which ones they were. But the two I gave you are full of water. I think one of the other ones was canteloupe but not sure. But you might try these fruits and see what happens. From another mom source hope you have a great day. L.

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T.B.

answers from Provo on

If he is feeling nauseous you may want to try saltine crackers, just have him nibble on them to help calm his stomach, also sprite or 7-up help if you sip them. My mom lways gave these to us when we had the flu it really helps settle your stomach and keep things down.

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