I think Kaitlyn caught a stomach bug. I know the doctor can't do anything and she just has to wait until the vomiting subsides but she hasn't kept any liquids or solids down today. From 9:30 until 1:30 (the time now) she has vomited about 7 times. She shows no signs of dehydration but I really don't want it to get to that point either. Of course it's Sunday which means my only option is the ER but I don't think this calls for an ER visit. She vomits until she starts vomiting bile because theres nothing left in her stomach. This is the first time shes ever had this and I don't know at what point I should start being really concerned. She couldn't even keep down a small handful of Cheerios, nor the less than 1/4 c. water she drank with it.

By Tink on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 05:02 pm:

I think Kaye told me this and it's worked wonders with me. Offer her a few teaspoons of blueberry yogurt. There's also a product called "Little Tummies Nausea Relief" that we used with my youngest. We found it at Target. Good luck. I'm sure both of you are miserable with this.

By Vicki on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 05:13 pm:

If I remember correctly, you should wait at least 30 minutes after she vomits to give her anything at all. Then, I wouldn't do any solid foods like cereal or anything until she is able to keep liquids down. Sprite or 7up seemed to help dd when she had the stomach bug last year. I know how lost you feel. Dd had her very first ever stomach bug about a year ago now at age 10!! LOL I felt like a new mom again!! I hope she is feeling better soon and able to keep some liquids down. Don't worry at all about food. She won't starve. The only thing you need to worry about now is keeping liquids in her.

By Missbookworm on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 05:20 pm:

Pedialyte makes these freezes that I give my kids when they're vomiting a lot. What she needs is electrolytes and every doctor I've ever seen here has recommended pedialyte. You can also get it in a drink form but my kids like the freezes better.

I've found with my youngest water was the hardest thing for her to keep down.

I sure hope she's feeling better.

By Debbie on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 05:29 pm:

My ds had a bad stomach bug over Christmas. Water only made things worse. He did better with Sprite. I gave him little sips and it wasn't cold, just room temp. Also, pedialyte is great too. He didn't eat any solid food for 2 days. After that it was just dry toast, cheerios, crackers, etc for a few days, and then he was fine.

I hope she is feeling better soon. It sounds like she has a pretty nasty bug.

By Boxzgrl on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 05:36 pm:

Thanks girls. I think i'll try Sprite. I've heard about it a few times now. I'll probably pick up Pedialyte while there too, just in case. Now let's just hope I don't get the bug!

By Colette on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 05:48 pm:

Stop giving her food and just try things like flat coke or flat gingerale, and pedialyte or popsicles. I hope she's feeling better soon.

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 06:00 pm:

Flat warm coke or gingerale, maybe pedialyte if she keeps the other stuff down. No milk or milk products - they are, actually, hard to digest on an upset stomach. What my ped had me do was one ounce of warm coke (not diet, but caffiene free is probably a good idea), wait 20-30 minutes, and if they kept that down, another ounce, wait 20-30 minutes, then increase it to an ounce and a half, and so on. I wouldn't worry about nutrition until you get the vomiting under control. When it is under control, then by all means try a small amount of the pedialyte. Jello is good (soothing, and mostly water), chicken rice soup, crackers, and don't even think about any other food for a day, until it is under control.

Poor baby. I agree, unless she shows signs of dehydration, an ER visit is probably not a great idea - she'd be at the bottom of the list in a not-home situation. If you are worrying about dehydration, see if her eyes look sunken, and gently pinch up a bit of skin on the back of her hand or wrist and see if it "snaps" back down or just slowly creeps down. Of course, if she starts showing signs of dehydration, then call the ped and probably head for the ER.

By Kaye on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 07:21 pm:

It was me tink. I swear by the yogurt. Not a whole cup, but within 10 minutes of vomiting have her take two or three bites. Every 30 minutes or so offer her a bite, don't forget to make sure she drinks an ounce or two each hour. You don't want to put too much in, but you do want to replace what comes out!

Yogurt has good bacteria which helps the nausea, and my homeopath reccomends the blueberries. I will tell you that my kids typically get a bite or two and cease throwing up after one time (on occasion they will throw up twice) but never longer as long as they get the yogurt!

By Missmudd on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 07:41 pm:

Coke doesnt seem like it would be very good on an upset tummy. You can clean chrome with coke. I would stick with sprite.

By Bellajoe on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 07:44 pm:

My dd was the same way around Thanksgiving. She threw up for almost 2 days and could not keep anything down. Gingerale finally worked for her. Just a sip ever 1/2 hour and see if she keeps that down. If she keeps it down for an hour or so than try something dry like a saltine cracker.

When i had the flu and wasn't vomiting anymore and was ready to eat a little, my sister told me this acronym: BRAT

Which stands for Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast

It's always hard to know what to eat when you do feel like eating a bit, after throwing up. The Bananas, Rice, etc. thing worked for me. I don't know who would want to eat (or make) rice while they are sick though!

I hope she feels better soon and i hope you don't get it!

Oh yeah, don't giver her water or Propel or anything water based, the nurse told me that those things induce the vomiting.

By Crystal915 on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 07:53 pm:

A teaspoon of fluids every 15 minutes is what my doc prescribed when I couldn't keep anything down. At worst, they can give her a suppository to stop the vomiting.

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 08:29 pm:

With respect, Kris, you can't clean chrome with Coke. That is a long-lived urban legend.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp

Here's a comprehensive web page on what to do about vomiting (and diarrhea) (and it mentions Coke, 7-Up and gingerale). This web page pretty much mirrors what my pediatrician told me (and what worked for my 3)

http://www.well-net.com/prevent/diarrhea-vomiting-1.html

By Karen~moderator on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 08:35 pm:

Sprite works best for us. If she is vomiting that much and nothing else works, can you call your ped, and have them call in some phenergan suppositories? We've had to do that several times over the years.

I think the rule of thumb - once you can control the nausea, of course - is one ounce of fluid per hour to prevent dehydration.

Poor Kaitlyn, I hope she is better soon. I *really* hope you don't get it too Melissa, that could be really rough on you right now! Wash your hands a LOT, and wipe things down.

By Imamommyx4 on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 09:21 pm:

Beat me to the punch again, Karen. Are you sure you didn't quit pharmacy school right before graduation?

Being a pharmacist, if I know there is a safe med to give to make somebody to feel better, I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. The Phenergan suppositories are really good--ease the nausea, slow down or stop the vomiting, and make you sleepy which is something you need when you're sick anyway. And we had the bug back in Oct and Nov and I asked my doc to call me in some Phenergan for all of us. And I ditto the fluid issue. A little at a time. About a tablespoon every 30 min or a few ice chips. Any more than that and you are setting up for another round of vomiting.

Now for diarrhea which is what usually comes next in a stomach bug, I recommend letting it go unless you reallly have to be somewhere. Keep hydrated but let the diarrhea run its course. That's the body's way of getting rid of what is causing the problem. If you absolutely must, there is Imodium over-the-counter as well as Pepto=Bismol which should alleviate the diarrhea for awhile. There is pediatric dosing for the Imodium but I advise against it unless your doctor said to. There have been 2 rounds of stomach bugs that I've seen this year. One lasts about 24 hours. The other one seems to last about a week.

I have no personal or professional experience with this, but a nurse at the hospital says she uses ginger tablets for nausea. I am going to do some research on this. I also saw on some show that is always trying to prove or disprove legends, that ginger tabs are good for motion sickness.

By Boxzgrl on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 09:32 pm:

Thanks girls. She hasn't vomited since about 2 pm today but she is acting a little lethargic and under the weather. She's keeping fluids down so far but i'm going to keep an eye on her. She really just wants to be held and to sleep. I'm giving her a warm bath and putting her in bed with us tonight. I have a whole load of her blankets and clothes to wash tomorrow after a morning like today! She has no fever but feels hot. My poor baby. I hope this is gone tomorrow.

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 02:35 am:

Just remember, light foods. The BRAT approach sounds really good. Her poor stomach has had a workout and you really don't want it to get upset again. I think if you want to, you can amke the rice with chicken broth, or part chicken broth, instead of water, for a bit of flavor.

By Karen~moderator on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 07:50 am:

Sorry Debbie . LOL And just for the record, on more than one occasion, when I had 4, young, SICK kids, I called my pharmacist before calling my ped for advice. If something was needed that required an Rx, I called the Ped and if they didn't automatically bring it up, I'd suggest it. I have all the respect in the world for pharmacists. (I'd better! DH and I are on so many meds between us, we are on first name basis' with ours! LOL)

By Insaneusmcwife on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 07:56 am:

I hope she feels better soon.

By Rayanne on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 08:00 am:

I hope that today is a better day hun. Hope little Kaitlyn is feeling better.