Laramie Pediatrics, pc
Welcome to the online office of Laramie Pediatrics, pc
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Laramie Pediatrics, pc
Welcome to the online office of Laramie Pediatrics, pc
|
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A Guide
to Gastroenteritis
Most Stomach
Flu’s start with sudden nausea and vomiting which is frequent and sometimes violent.
Fevers are common. Many but not all cases then develop watery loose stools. Other similar
illnesses are food poisonings and bacterial gut infections. Viral Flu’s usually last
a couple of days, bacterial can last over a week.
Dehydration is the major worry
with the Flu. Antibiotics almost never help and often make the Flu worse. The first 24 hours, when the major concern is vomiting and not keeping fluids down (and of course dehydration),rest the gut by giving electrolyte fluids, but hold off foods the gut can’t digest (infants should still breast feed or use modified formula). The best fluids to use are Pedialyte for infants and Gatoraide for older children. In older children we can prescribe medicines to help curb the nausea and decrease the vomiting. Infants under 2 years cannot take these medicines and rely solely on fluids. Do not use "Peptobismal" like medicines. They don't help the vomiting and can actually upset the stomach even more.
After 24 hours, advance the diet toward “normal”
but avoid Lactose, the milk “sugar”,
and Fructose, the fruit juice “sugar”.
These sugars malabsorb and often make the diarrhea worse.That's because the damaged lining
of the gut is the location of enzymes to break down these sugars. Without the enzymes,
these sugars pass to the colon and irritate it causing diarrhea. Starchy foods like
rice, crackers and pasta digest the easiest. Fluids sweetened with table sugar (sucrose)
are digested inside the gut wall and pass easily into the system. Koolaide, gatoraide and
"fruit" drinks containing under 5% fruit juice are OK fluids to use. Once the
diarrhea stops resume normal foods. Older children can take Imodium AD to slow the
diarrhea stools.
Infants can dehydrate in hours, children overnight. Watch for dry mouth, no tears and no urine output for over 8 hours. Remember fevers will dehydrate them faster so give tylenol to relieve fevers. You can estimate the fluids your child needs as follows: 0-6 months 20-25 oz/day 6-12 months 25-30 oz/day 12-18 months 30-35 oz/day 18-24 months 35-40 oz/day 2-3 yrs 40-50 oz/day 3-4 yrs 50-60 oz/day 5-6 yrs 60-70 oz/day 7-10 yrs 70-100 oz/day Obviously during an illness it's hard to reach these goals, but the closer you come to them the better the child is protected from dehydration. If you have further questions about gastroenteritis, you can contact the office at: |
Send mail to
Klep@Laramiekids.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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