Diarrhea - Barrington, IL

Updated on January 28, 2008
J.L. asks from Hoffman Estates, IL
10 answers

Hi Moms,

Like many my son has been aflicted with the wonderful cold virus :{
No fever now and congestion/cough have improved about 75%. The problem is that the diarrhea has persisted since last saturday. Will be a full week this Saturday. It is not severe. He has it about 2-4x a day. He is well hydrated...i.e. wet diapers. Periodically in between bottles we give him pedialyte per dr. for hydration.
Question is how long should this diarrhea last? Have you experienced this for how long. My son is not sleeping at night. We'll put him down at 8 p.m. for the night and he'll sleep for about 3 1/2 hours and then he is up and restless the rest of the night. I am tired :{ Could it be stomach cramps associated with diarrhea keeping him up at night? I don't know what to do as just prior to him getting sick he was starting to do long stretches of sleep at night 7-9 hours. Help

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone! Took my son to the doctor yesterday to find that he had a double ear infection as does my daughter. Double whammy in the house! Good news is that we got him started right away on tylenol for pain and antibiotics! While he still has diarrhea it should start to improve now. HE SLEPT 8 P.M. TO 5 A.M. THIS MORNING!!! YIPPEE WE GOT SOME SLEEP. Thanks for your all of your advice it really helps to know that I am not alone! Have a great weekend! J.

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A.K.

answers from South Bend on

Jennifer,
Diarrhea can go on for several weeks depending on the virus, I assume he is on no antibiotics? That will cause diarrhea. His he raw from the diarrhea? That would make him uncomfortable. Illnesses often disrupt sleep patterns as well. He is so young I think it is hard to know what to expect from him sleep wise. Some kids are better sleepers than others. I suspect he just isn't 100%. Could he have an ear infection? You said he did have congestion, ear infections will really wreck havoc on sleep!
Good luck!
A.

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J.S.

answers from Chicago on

i recommend trying homeopathic Arsenicum Album in a 6C (or a 12C or 30C if they don't have the lower number (potency)). It's available at fruitful yield next to Kohls near Fox Valley Mall or Whole Foods Market. Brand you can usually find is BOIRON. It works WONDERS and FAST for the stomach virus (vomitting, diarrhea) for ANYONE that gets it. It will likely stop the diarrhea with just one or 2 doses.
Give 1 little pellet 3x/day for one day. (if the baby spits it out, it is ok, just the little contact makes them "dosed.") If the diarrhea stops or gets at least 75% better, then stop the remedy. If it's still persistent, continue remedy again for another day.
my son (and nieces) had this a while back and it was cleared up in 1 day w/ this remedy. it's safe to give to your baby.
feel free to email me offline if you want.
--Jen S., Naperville, homeopathic FANatic

1 mom found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

I have found that the pedialite actually makes the diarriah worse if you use it for a long time. If he is staying hydrated now, I would cut it out. I bet the diarriah will clear up soon after. You could check with your ped. first.
Good luck!
And the sleep will probably come soon after he feels better. My daughter did the same thing. It took about a week and a half to get her back to normal schedule

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K.M.

answers from Lafayette on

We are just getting over this and my dr. had me remove any dairy from my daughter. She still drinks alot of milk so I was told to give her soy milk. within a day the diarrhea was gone and anytime I gave her dairy it would come right back. it has been about two weeks and she is just now able to handle a little dairy. The dr. told me dairy is hard to digest and if your already sick it is even harder. I also have her lots of toast and bananas.

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J.S.

answers from Chicago on

We have tried in the past to subsitute Lactaid milk for regular milk. Our doctor told us that it is the lactose in the milk that is giving him the diarreha. We would also water it down to like half and half when he was coughing so much. Good luck!

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J.Y.

answers from Chicago on

If he was on a antiboitic that could be it I would say if it last longer then 10 days call the doctor

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K.M.

answers from Muncie on

if he is four months old he may be alergic to his milk or if your giving him juice it will also cause diarrhea if it is too strong for his system. If you are giving him fruit, that may not like his system either. I have had four kids and my middle daughter which is now 13 years old had the problem with drinking juice, i had to add lots of water little juice.
hopefully this adivse will help you.

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S.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

We're going through this right now. It's such a pain! I feel bad for my dd because her little heiny is bright red. She won't sleep anywhere but with us. I gave her some Mylicon (sp) gas drops and they seemed to help her fall asleep at least. I've been giving her Infants Motrin at bedtime cause she's cutting three teeth at once. :o Our doc said to water down the bottles. Use two scoops of formula (or enough for a 4 oz bottle) and make a six ounce bottle out of it. He didn't want to take her off the formula completely because she isn't eating very well. Also, give him Gatorade or Pedialyte more often. It seems to help. In the meantime, I think all we can do it wait it out. :(

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J.E.

answers from Chicago on

He could have an ear infection. that is a sign and the pressure from not being able to lie down at night? He had or has a cold right? I would
wait no longer than 10 days of dirreaha and then get to the dr. I would make an appt today it is friday and if it gets worse by 10 days you probably shouldnt wait until monday
J.

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S.F.

answers from Indianapolis on

My son just went through a battle of this about 2 weeks ago. His diarrhea lasted for about 8-9 days. But got better as the days past. First, second, & third days were the worst. I just made sure to keep plenty of fluids in him. But I did notice that any juices made it alot worse so I diluted them as much as possible. Also I fed him starchy foods as my Ped told me they would absorb the virus in the intestines alot faster! You could always try to give your little one some of the Mylecon gas drops a little before bed time so see if that helps & then you could tell if it is gas pains that are causing him to wake up at night. Good luck & hopefully it passes fast so you can get some rest!!

S.

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