S.G. asks from Batavia, OH on December 20, 2006
Stomach Virus or Something Else??
My daughter is 3 years old. 5 times in the last 6 months, she has had the symptoms of a 24-36 hour stomach virus. She wakes up with a fever and vomiting. She will vomit repeatedly throughout this 24-36 hours. She holds nothing down at all and gets so sick that she cant even get up to make it to the bathroom. She cries and screams from the stomach cramps and doesn't want to do anything but lay curled up on her knees in the floor. I have taken her to the doctor 3 of the times that she was sick and they always say that it's just a virus. I figured they were right the first and second times, but after repeated occurances in such a short amount of time, I am afraid it is something more. The problem is happening every 4 to 6 weeks and I don't know what to do. Has anyone else had this problem before with a child?
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D.A. answers from Toledo on December 22, 2006
Well I recently had this problem with my 3 year old as well. I think that she was going around the house and picking it up all over again. Even though she is three, she still likes to put things into her mouth, even if only by habit. The only thing that worked for me was going around the house with a can of Lysol, scrubbing and disinfecting everything which is a daunting task, I know. But my advice to you would be to try the Lysol before moving on to thinking it is something more.
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R.G. answers from Cleveland on December 21, 2006
My daughter had similar vomit and sick for say 1 day but I figured it was this automatic air freshner thing I had and it seemed a certain fragrance did her in.
It was about 4-5 month intervals with her, but I really took notice when I changed the fragrance and forget which it was, but as soon as I changed it she got sick again.
If your daughter is doing this every say 3 months sounds like you may be updating you air freshners also or possibly a routine cleaning that the chemicals used affect her.
Just my guess.
Hope it may help trigger something that changes on or around that time she gets sick.
R.
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K.K. answers from Cleveland on December 22, 2006
Hi S.,
I read your request and wanted to share my story..My daughter at 3 also had the same thing. I took her to our fam. dr. and he kept putting her on different antibiotics. It wasn't until I finally (at her worst) packed up my stuff and went to Childrens. They evaluated her and took her right in to stay. She ended up having Rotovirus. And everytime she got sick, she was throwing up then dehydrated..then her stomach was building up with acid and making her sicker. Even on her good days she wasn't her usual self. Anyway...there they gave her some IV antibiotics and 2 bags of saline and after that she was fine. If your gut tells you its not right..then it isnt. Good luck.
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S.W. answers from Indianapolis on December 21, 2006
Wow, I've never had the displeasure of experiencing anything like this with my kids (thank Heavens). The only input I can add, is perhaps get a second opinion. If it were me, I would. Sometimes doctors can be too sure of their own expertise to actually LISTEN to what a patient or parent of a patient is trying to tell them. Good luck.
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T.N. answers from Cincinnati on December 21, 2006
The same thing happened to my son too and everytime doctor told me the same thing that it is stomach virus.once i cleaned the oven with bleach(somebody dear to me suggested bleach as a good oven cleaner),it was the first time i think it happened.I think ,its harmful to clean with chemical ,when u have kids around.Anyway whenever it happened,i started trying to keep my house more cleaner and free of germs.Just use harmless cleaners.
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K.A. answers from Cleveland on December 22, 2006
S.,
My daughter who is now 15yrs old also went through this very frequently at that age. It would be fever, vomitting, and intense pain for 24 to 48hrs every two months or so...if it helps my ex is a trauma doc and it really was a virus every time. She has rarely experienced it since she was five. If you feel the need to have your child checked out each time, DO SO...never feel bad about that. But from my own experience, some children are more likely to get sick quickly, but gladly recover just as quickly....hope this helps...
K.
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B.L. answers from Youngstown on December 22, 2006
Hello!
I'm so sorry for your little girl, that sounds so miserable. Even though food poisoning sounds like a serious problem, I have heard many times that 99% of what is called a "stomach virus" is actually a mild case of food poisoning / allergy. I would definitely keep a diary of what she eats and record each time this happens, because with an ailment that is so specific to her belly, it is very likely a response to something she is eating.
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M.F. answers from Cincinnati on December 21, 2006
My last son did this around the age of 6. He would go through the same cycles with the same response from the doctors as you have received. To this day, I do not know what it was, but he seemed to outgrow this. I always attributed it to his surgery as a baby for pyloric stenosis. Unsure if it was related, but he no longer does this. Hope that helps a bit??!! M.
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T.D. answers from Cleveland on December 22, 2006
I'm not sure what is causing this but I do have some advice where the doctor is concerned. When I was little I suffered from severe stomach cramps. My mother took me to the doctor and she basically made my mother and me feel really stupid and said it was just gas. Well unfortunately for me it was something worse that I had to suffer with until I was an adult at which time I finally got over my fear of being made to feel like I was stupid and brought it up again. My doctor listened this time and sent me to a specialist. I was diagnosed with IBS and a severely spastic colon. It's very simple to control through diet and medication which is great. The point of this rambling is that if the doctor in my youth would have simply listened to me and did some tests instead of blowing me off because I was a child and I couldn't possibly know that something was wrong with me I would not have had to suffer for years with something that is easily manageable. If you think something wrong, go with your instincts and make the doctor examine other possible causes. It is a much better idea to rule out other things than to just take the easiest way out even when it doesn't make total sense. Good luck and I hope that your child gets better very soon.
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