Help! Any Advice on Stomach Flu

When my kids got the tummy bug, I asked the doctor about the BRAT diet and she pointed out that, if all you feed is liquids, you can't expect the diarrhea to go away.
Try a baked potato if he'll eat it. It's easily digestible and provides some nutrients. The suggestion seemed to work well with my kids. Rice water is also helpful for diarrhea.

Hi T.,
I love this website:
http://www.oil-testimonials.com/essential-oils/879
Simply click on search type in your question and find all kinds of remedies for various aliments. This is so neat! All natural and it really works, my family is a living testimony of it. If you find something you would like to use contact me: www.youngliving.org/sherylhawkinson
For disinfecting I use Thieves and or purification. You can order a really neat cold air diffuser and simply place the oils in. Then the oils are diffused into the house and are said to kill many types of bacteria and viruses. You can even just put a few drops on your hands to disinfect. Remember the door knobs and toilet flushing handle! Most people forget about those.
For stomach problems I use peppermint oil and or DiGize blend essential oil. Check it out. And please let me know what you think.

T.,
We offer a homeopathic product with zero side effect, only health benefits. It is called AllFlu. It will shorten the flu time and act as a preventative to those who do not have it yet. You can puchase it without a prescription at our office. ###-###-####.

Be well,
Dr. Duve

Keep everything disinfected. Lysol everything. Try to keep the sick child away from the others as much as possible. Make sure he is drinking plenty of fluids to keep him hydrated and it will help to flush the virus out of his system. Make sure everyone takes vitamins like a multivitamin and vitamin C to help keep them healthy now and all the time. Good luck.

Yuck. not fun.. Actually, I have heard the opposite about BRAT--as much as your child will tolerate--try to ease him back to regular food--I heard BRAT diet can do the opposite. Who knows! Try to keep things clean, but really what can you do--these things get passed around!

When my kids are sick like that I usually focus only on them not dehydrating. They get little to no food and can only suck on ice. It is my understanding and experience that solid foods and even water will cause them to throw up more and therefore have a worse side effect of further dehydrating them. Have them suck on ice cubes throughout the day because anything in large quantities may be thrown up. They tend to not want to eat or drink in this state anyway. As they want to eat/drink, it is a sign that their stomach is getting well again and at that point I would give toast or crackers and water only and wait 30 minutes. If no throwing up then I would add more as their hunger/thirst grows (such as BRAT). Also monitor how often they urinate. This is how I measure dehydration. Ask your doctor about the frequency when sick. Adjust the ice cubes accordingly.

call your doctor(s) and ask for the preventative. There is a drug out there they can prescribe. However it is expensive even w/ insurance. The copay is the max. but it does work. My oldest daughter had it and no one else got it. Good luck..
I would stay away from the fruit, Bananas and applesauce. If your little one has diarrhea it will only keep it going. Rice is good however. I dont' know what fluids you are pushing but keep him hydrated. Also, if you are making tea or koolaid or something you have to add water to the mix use the water that you boil w/ the rice. it will help the diarrhea stop..i don't know why but it does work.. best of luck. the flu is no fun...

Pick up most of your toys!!! When my son had it, I picked up the majority of the toys that BOTH my boys would share. It saved me a LOT of cleaning!! Wipe surfaces of tables/chairs/toys/couches/coffee tables/BR faucets/toilets & flushers and keep laundry under quarantine! My older one will see one of his blankets in the dirty laundry and dig it out!! That will help you and your older one.

Two, you're gonna hate this, but the first sign you get of a stomach ache/nausea...take 2 tablespoons of Heinz brand apple cider vinegar. Ease the taste w/ honey and a little water. But the best way is as strong as possible. The vinegar kills virus and bacteria cells. You can google it for more info! Works like a charm!! Also works for food poisoning. Cheap, fast remedy!!!

Then when your sick one isn't vomiting anymore..but the diahrea is still there..firm it up w/ baby cereal or baby oatmeal. BEst of luck

YUK, no one likes the punies. Hope he gets better soon.
In my house when someone gets sick, they get sent to the "lepper colony" That's what my husband calls it anyway. The sick person gets the extra TV in their room and a baby monitor if they need me. We are lucky enough to have 2 bathrooms, so the sicko gets the one closest to their room, and everyone else goes to the other one. When ever they leave their room for anything they must use purell, and I follow them with the can of Lysol.
No matter what the weather is the window in their room is opened all they way for about 10 minutes every 4 hours, i time it with the Tylenol doses to keep track. This helps get the icky stale air out of the house be for it gets recirculated through the air ducts.
They get one cup and straw that stays in their room til they are better.
When they are better everything in the room is sanitized, the carpet, floor, bedding, and walls. It either gets washed in super hot water, or sprayed several times with Lysol, or wiped down with Lysol wipes.
I know it sounds like a lot, but I have worked in the health care field for many years and this is the best way to keep from cross contaminating the rest of the house and family members.

Oh and i also wear rubber gloves when cleaning up after them.

Washing your hands and Lysol..I spray it on all door knob handles,toilet seats and handles,everywhere that you might touch. It really does help. Be sure and get rid of old toothbrushes,too. I was told to do this when every my kids had a cold or flu. Always get new toothbrushes once they are well..

Any time my older one gets sick with the Flu I Literally carry a bottle of Lysol (spray) around with me. Since I have done that no one else got the flu. Make sure you wash everything they touch (including the toilet).

If it indeed the actual "FLU", no amount of cleaning, washing, or spraying Lysol is going to prevent anyone from catching it.
The flu is a virus and cannot be washed off!!
There is a wonder drug out there, but it's kind of pricey, called Tamiflu. If taken right away, it will prevent other members of your household from getting it.
My husband brought it home. I slept on the sofa and fogged the house with Lysol. I still got it. My daughter was put on Tamiflu and never caught it!!

Have the sick child use his own towel when he washes his hands, change all hand towel daily and wash in hot water with a little bleach. Also wash all blankets and other items your sick childs has had contact with daily. When my kids had a stomach bug years ago I put all their washable toys into the bathtub and soaked them in bleach water, & non-washable items spray with lysol. It's a lot of work but well worth it!!

I don't know if the 6 yr old could swallow them but charcoal capsules from the health food store will absorb the virus or bacteria if you feel like you are getting sick. I don't suggest taking them as a preventive, only if you begin to have symptoms. It is the same thing they give in the ER if someone has had a drug/poison overdose. The charcoal absorbs the virus. It might make you have a loose stool which will be charcoal color. It is designed to absorb the stomach contents and hurry it out of the body. If you take the charcoal then have diarrhea, do not follow with antidiarrheal meds. Let it rid your body of the virus. HTH

Keep your six year-old from picking his/her nose, biting fingernails, sucking fingers, etc. You too. The only way that the disease is transmitted is through ingestion of infected stool. You need to make sure that every time you change/wipe his diaper that you do wash well. Also take chlorox wipes to the tv remote, refrigerator handle and any toilet that the baby uses if he is potty trained.

The biggest thing for your son is to keep him hydrated. Dehydration can present like the virus even if he is over it and can cause stomach cramping and diarrhea. Make him some lemon jello (least staining color when it is thrown up) and let him eat pink pop-ice popsicles (also least staining). You can also dilute ginger ale.

Even though they say to give applesauce, I wouldn't. I would avoid applesauce and fruit juices because they make the intestines draw in water and makes the stool runnier. My kids never drank pedialyte, but even koolade (they make a clear "invisible" kind) will help keep him hydrated. Good luck!

The lysol and the washing is a good thing. Also purell. You don't want your littlest one to feel so completely isolated (who likes to be by themselves all day??) so go in and make time to read stories and play games if he feels like it. Do keep your six year old out of the room, and make sure that you keep the toddler's hands as clean as possible. Antibacterial wipes or purell should do the trick. Don't forget to lysol the doorknobs and the bathroom sink.

With care, you can definately keep your schoolager and your husband from catching it. You, on the other hand, might catch it, since it IS a toddler and you can't isolate the poor dear completely. If you do get it, isolate and disinfect so that it doesn't go any farther than you.

Good luck! You have our prayers!!

Lots of Vitamin C and sleep, when you can. Getting the flu is terrible and I'm so sorry your little one has it. Although I recommend getting him Pedialyte too...I went through Dehydration with the pregnancy and it is NOT fun. You don't want that on top of the flu, too.
No kisses or hugs, and make sure you disinfect everything. Everytime he pukes, wash the bucket out and spray with disinfectant. Kleenex's in a bag tied and sealed.
GingerAle --flat--always helped when we were kids.
GOod luck !

This virus is definitely spread by contact. Washing your hands is your best defense. When my son had it on Christmas Eve (not fun!), I wore disposable rubber or vinyl gloves whenever I had to change his pajamas or bedding. I also washed my hands with soap and Purell. Anything that I had to wash got washed with a healthy dose of Lysol added to the mix. (This may be TMI, but I hosed down all of the bedding in the driveway before putting it in the washing machine. It got a lot of the icky stuff off.) It wasn't hard to keep him isolated because he slept most of the day. My husband sat in the rocker in his room and read.

It worked. My son was the only one to get it. Praise God!

After he was able to keep food down, I reintroduced him to yogurt to get his little tummy back on track. That REALLY helps.

Hope you guys stay healthy!

I enjoyed everyone's tips on preventing themselves from getting it. Eventhough I am about as clean and sanitary as possible when my kids are sick, it never fails...I get it! Ugh. Hope they work for you, T.. As for fluids. If his vommitting has stopped, then start the BRAT diet (it can be anything bland, really). Just nothing high in fat or fiber for 2 days. No peanut butter, beans, etc. If he is still vommitting, give him 1 tsp of Pedialite. If he can keep it down for 15 minutes, give him another tsp. Then another after 5 minutes, 5 minutes, 5 minutes, and then you can start to give him slightly larger quanities after that. If he throws up, start the entire process over. He will be so thristy but don't give him more than a tsp. This is what our pedi has always advised and it works. If he gets more than a tsp, and his stomach isn't ready, he always throws up again and we end up in that cycle. Hope you don't get sick!!

pediasure, or gatoraide is good to keep him/her hydrated. for the rest of you, stay clear as much as possible. don't sleep with the child, and of course washing your hands is good. you can buy some hand sanitizer and have everyone make a habbit of using it often! (More fun for the 6 yr old than the constant washing. spray hard surfices with lysol. Also you can get some of the stuff I think it is called "walborne" it is for air born viruses and such and helps prevent you from catching it. maybe it's called "airborne" ask your pharmacist. good luck

Hi T.,
i have found out that peroxide is a great disinfectent mix it half and half with water in a spray bottle that should really help ya'll from getting sick you can use it anywhere in the house it's great for everythingsoak your tooth brush in it just plain ,also 1 thing you say you have a pet turtle thats cool i have one i've had for 15 years ,,but do you know that they carrie salmononella,so please make your kids wash there hands really GOOD when they are done playing with it and not to put there hands in there mouths before they do
good luck
L.

Dear T.,

Oh how I've been there - no fun! First - no applesauce - apples help them to go to the bathroom. Everything else is ok. Chicken Noodle soup, baked potato (no butter), jello & of
course Pedialite. Also let her suck on popcicles. I went nuts with Clorox. I made a sink full of dishsoap & Clorox &
used it all day long. On the phone, doorknobs, toys, toilet
handle - everything!! I hate having the stomach virus worse
than anything. If your an adult, I also take alot of garlic.
It seems to work. It's worth a try. Good luck!!

C.

I am from a family of nine kids... My mother always swore that putting a cup of chlorox/bleach in the dishwasher when she did the dishes kept us from sharing illnesses, when one of us got sick.
My second youngest sister had scarlet fever, no one else got it.
I had severe strep throat and no one else got it.
My older brother and I had chicken pox together, exposed to it by a neighbor at the same time, no one else did during the usual incubation time.
The bleach must have made a difference, since we were not the neatest kids, or the most careful of hygeine. We shared our bedrooms and one bathroom.