Diarrhea Since Sunday :(

Hi P. ~

Cut the milk! Diarrhea is the inflammation of the lower bowel area and is where all the "water" comes from. Milk products have a tendency to keep the lower bowel inflammed. Keep him hydrated, of course, and after 7 days slowly introduce the milk back into his diet. If the diarrhea comes back, get to the dr as your son may have developed a milk allergy (my son had issues with Vit D milk; had to start from non-fat, to low fat, which he tolerated very well but when the vit D came back in, so did the diarrhea).

Good luck.

Something is going around. Many kids at our preschool have had it. Basically, my daughter had diarrhea for two weeks, my son for three weeks. I read (in What to Expect, the Toddler Years) that some kids are lactose intolerant when they have diarrhea so I eliminated all dairy - milk, yoghurt, cheese - until they were solid again. Several other kids we know have had it.

I will say we had no vomiting, fever or any other issues - just diarrhea. I gave my kids whatever they felt like eating, except dairy. We went through a lot of oatmeal. I figure that when I'm sick, only certain foods sound good. Why would the reasoning be any different for kids? In speaking with other families, the kids seem to get sick, but the parents seem to be avoiding it.

Good luck.

You sound a lot like what my week has been like. :) Try the B.R.A.T diet that's Bananna (forgot he doesn't like) rice, applesauce (not apples) and toast. Always seems to do the trick for me. Good Luck

Dear P.,

From my experience, when a infant or toddler has those problems, the last thing you want to give them is milk. Though it seems like a benign food item, it is prone to curdling in ones stomach especially when a sick or sour stomach is present, and it is one of the heavier foods to stay away from. We use Gatorade rather than pedialyte. Our children are more likely to get it down being that it is less sweet than the pedialyte. It is actually in most cases a lot less expensive. My hubby swears by gatorade. If they are catching a cold or the flu he gives it to them right away, and as much as I would like to resist, he is right, their symptoms, if they do not go away completely are far less severe than those of the other children around us. Good LucK!

Did your son perhaps eat hard boiled dyed easter eggs or help dye them?? If so, he might have salmonella poisoning and probably ought to go to the doctor for antibiotics. It could also simply be one of the nasty stomach viruses which can last from 24 hours to 10 days!

If it is one of the stomach viruses, all of them are highly contagious, so your son needs to stay home from school until his stool is basically solid and everyone around him needs to make sure they wash their hands a lot. I actually got really neurotic about cleaning everything with Lysol wipes when we were going through this... For my son this lasted about 4-5 days; for me, I had this for 8 days! (Right after I had my second baby... talk about easy weightloss plan!)

Anyway, regarding diet, our pediatrician said to feed my son anything he would eat, the Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast diet didn't make a difference. So, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, etc are all fair game. I know that when I was ill, really nothing sounded interesting, so I think the point is simply to make sure your son keeps hydrated and gets as many nutrients as he is interested in.

I hope your son feels better and the rest of your family stays healthy!

Hi P.,

When my children were younger the doctors recommended no dairy products. Clear liquids, popsicles, and gelatin Jello not pudding. These are things that are good to keep them hydrated and they like them.

Good luck.
Y.

Hi Penelope,
my mother-in-law is a nurse and mother of 2 so I always ask her for advice. She is a great resource. Anyway, on several occassions when I or my kids have had diarrhea she has always told me not to put solid foods in the tummy. Regardless of the cause, the gastrointestinal system needs a break so-to-speak. Drink plenty of clear fluids, no milk. So my advice is to stop giving him solids. My peditrician has always said as long as they are drinking they will be fine. Pedialyte and Pediasures are a good source of hydration and nutrition for sick little ones.

Good luck!