During the winter months I find myself shielding my kids from all kinds of bugs and viruses. And although no illness is fun, the one I dread the most is a stomach bug. Anything that involves vomit always freaks me out. Not because it’s gross, which it is, but because it carries the risk of dehydration. Dehydration is especially dangerous in children because they can lose a relatively large amount of fluid very quickly. To help you care for your sick little one effectively, here is a guide to the dangers and symptoms of dehydration.
When your child vomits repeatedly, it is essential to begin the process of re-hydration. First you need to give their stomach a period of rest that our doctor likes to call “gut time”. Wait one hour before allowing them to eat or drink anything. Ingesting any substance too soon can cause them to just throw it back up. After your gut time is complete, you can begin reintroducing fluids. For children under two, you should stick to a Pedialyte type fluid and ice chips. Older kids can also have Gatorade or water-based soup broth. Give them about one teaspoon of fluids every five minutes.
Sometimes it seems like they are throwing up every thing you give them, but usually an adequate amount of fluid is kept down. However, if your child exhibits any of these symptoms you need to seek medical help immediately.
- No urine out put for more than 4-6 hours
- Sunken eyes
- Crying without tears
- A fever of more than 103 degrees
- Vomiting for more than 24 hours
- You cannot reach your doctor for the above symptoms
- Lethargy(they are difficult to wake up)
- Dry mouth( the inside of their mouth feels sticky and dry)
- Vomit contains blood or a dark-green bile substance(this indicates an obstruction)
- Severe abdominal pain
When your child has gone four hours or more without vomiting you can start them on the BRAT(bananas, rice, apples, toast) diet. After 1-2 days on the BRAT diet you can begin to transition them back to their normal diet.
(Photos By: D Norman, Emzee, VisualPanic, and Litsa Kouzina)
