dehydration?

[bbrandonsmom]

Hi everyone. We all got a stomach bug over the weekend, and of course my fear-Brandon got it the worste. He's had diarhea since Friday, though the less he drinks, the less it gets. And he's barely eating-a bite here or there. He was drinking juice, but now he only wants water. He lost 3# by yesterday so his DO, and I called the ped too, said take him to the hospital. His lips were getting really dry and some cotton mouth. They gave him 1/2 bag saline. We went home late last night, but if we can't get him to drink anything but water, he's going to have to go back. And I think he still has diarhea-his tummy is making gurgle sounds, but he's not enough in him to come back out.
They said he had an ear infection-which might explain his fevers this weekend. It was the same with the one in Dec. Taking him to his DO today to double check that. The hospital of course handed us an abx for it :eyeroll:
But we are trying everything-the few sips of "other" liquids I can get in him aren't enough, and he's only drinking less than 2 cups water a day. Any suggestions would be so helpful on keeping him dehydrated. He wants nothing-ice cream, popsicles, ice chips, gatoraid, pedialyte, juice, milk shake etc. I've no exp with this-what if he keeps having diarhea? Or loses a few more pounds?

[Barefoot]

You could try apple cider vinegar, we have always used this for diarrhea and stomach bugs with good result and a shorter duration of the bug.
If you get him to sip 3 glasses of water daily with around 1-2 teaspoons of ASV in it it may well help.
Google ASV and diarrhea for more info though.

[Lexie]

Confused here, but are you saying you want him to be dehydrated?

If it makes you feel any better, I fast (water only) for up to 2 months at a time with no problem. Only reason I don't go longer is my body begins craving food again. It's good for detoxing, so perhaps his body is telling him to drink it for that purpose.

The last time I got food poisoning, I drank as much water as I could hold and I was better before the evening of the first day. My friends who were taking prescriptions to control the symptoms had it for a few days, and the one who did nothing at all collapsed from dehydration and was taken to the hospital. They gave him IV for about 6 hours.

Times before, I tried to control the symptoms too. Those weren't cases of food poisoning. Just something passing around. I felt so wretched. My mother got me all the juices I requested, popsicles. I couldn't even enjoy them because I kept puking them up. I had hoped charcoal would help with the diarrhea... It did to a point. But then a lightbulb went off in my head. If I'm sick with something and my body is responding with vomiting and diarrhea, then it must be trying to get it out. So I changed my game plan and took aloe instead. That and lots of water. I was better within a few hours. ACV is a similar concept. It helps with detox.

In fact, I'm lactose intolerant, but if I make the mistake of eating something with dairy, if I take aloe and ACV, I won't feel sick at all depending on how soon after. Taking only one doesn't help as much as taking both also.

Hope I didn't ramble too much. Just food for thought.

[bbrandonsmom]

No, I want him hydrated, sorry if typo, it's been a long 5.5 days.
Our morning was absolutely horrible. He was worse off than yesterday when I took him this morning for a follow up with his dr. They looked at him and were surprised they didn't admit him. Said to go back-but while we were there told us this-

"Because he has another ear infection, has been fighting ? what for 6 months now, and can't stay hydrated now, if you don't treat him with abx, the hospital will report you to DCF and they will take away both of your boys. His condition now is considered abuse." (yet I've been doing all I can to fight this state insurance, find out what's wrong, etc...)

I was a bit dumbfounded by this and really couldn't come up with a remark back. And I don't know if that office would have to report us as well. We never said we would refuse abx. We were going to go see a ped immunologyst soon before doing the 21d of amoxacillon, until we all got this stomach bug, that he just can't get over.

So we go to the hospital-the dr there agreed that an ear infection can run it's course naturally, but they had to treat it. I'm guessing because then we could sue them? But if we were to say no, then they'd report us apparently? So they gave him this huge syringe filled with abx into his iv, since he won't drink anything, but sips. They won't let him eat the few bites he wants, because he said at this point it's better to do some type of no food thing to try to heal the gut. But won't the abx not help? I can't get yogurt or any probiotic in him, so he has no good bacteria there.
I feel completely bowled over and that I let him down. Just like I did when I first found out about vaccines and we stopped. I don't know how to prepare myself against anything they might want to do now.
His oral abx script I could get, but not give it to him, but say I did. I really don't know, or do I give it to him because maybe he has had a bacterial inf for 6 months and 10 days might help? Is there a test they can do to see if it's in his system in 10 days? They want to treat him mainly because they don't know what's wrong with him-so fill him up with abx (his peds), the hospital has to treat because of the ear infec, and I'm now at a loss. They looked at me like I was alien when I told them we stopped vax at 6 months (they asked).
The dr at the hospital wants to keep him at least 24hrs, because he just looks bad, even though labs good, and until they can get him eating/drinking ok.

[GreenGully]

Have you given him Raspberry Jam? If he can't eat it off a spoon mix it with water and try to get him to sip it. It has to have a high content of real raspberries in it. I have never had a case of gastro that it didn't fix. There are articles about, but I am not sure where.

[Lexie]

Don't worry about the typo. At first I thought it was my eyes...but I figured it had to be a mishap.

Sips are good. You can get in lots of fluid even with just sips. Have you tried giving him vitamin C too?

I'll send you a PM...

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Hi everyone. We all got a stomach bug over the weekend, and of course my fear-Brandon got it the worste. He's had diarhea since Friday, though the less he drinks, the less it gets. And he's barely eating-a bite here or there. He was drinking juice, but now he only wants water. He lost 3# by yesterday so his DO, and I called the ped too, said take him to the hospital. His lips were getting really dry and some cotton mouth. They gave him 1/2 bag saline. We went home late last night, but if we can't get him to drink anything but water, he's going to have to go back. And I think he still has diarhea-his tummy is making gurgle sounds, but he's not enough in him to come back out.
They said he had an ear infection-which might explain his fevers this weekend. It was the same with the one in Dec. Taking him to his DO today to double check that. The hospital of course handed us an abx for it :eyeroll:
But we are trying everything-the few sips of "other" liquids I can get in him aren't enough, and he's only drinking less than 2 cups water a day. Any suggestions would be so helpful on keeping him dehydrated. He wants nothing-ice cream, popsicles, ice chips, gatoraid, pedialyte, juice, milk shake etc. I've no exp with this-what if he keeps having diarhea? Or loses a few more pounds?Do you have my second book?

If so, you need to read the chapter on Rotavirus, because that details the BRAT diet required to stop diarrhoea, and also rehydration principles.

If not, the chapter is attached as a pdf

The dietary key to whacking diarrhoea is stewed apple; carrot or pumpkin soup made with proper stock; bananas, rice and toast. rehydration is best done with a home made mix. it's in the chapter.

Brandon is 3 and a half. I'm presuming that he knows exactly what is going on, what you want him to do and why? And... that you've explained what you're trying to achieve, and why if it's a simple diarrhoea, it's not resolving?

[Sandra17]

Thank you MT. That chapter is wonderfully useful to me. I've read Just a Little Prick and I can see I need to read your second book. The entirety of it.

The opportunity to be on this forum has come along at the perfect time in my life, as I evaluate and learn more about nutrition and health and work to prevent meltdown sickness hitting me ever again.

Thank you very very much.

[bbrandonsmom]

We're home now-long, long night. I haven't read it. He tested neg for Roto though. I had only done some brief reading that starving the gut was contradictory in young kids, but the ER dr thought we should do it, until he was drinking enough on his own. He's been eating small bites here and there while at the hospital, as it makes him thirsty.
He does understand, and he's upset at the accidents. Though with the little amount he was eating/drinking, less was coming out. It is a matter of getting him to drink though-I don't know if his body got to a point it just didn't want anything? Does that make sense?
Now that he seems to be getting his appetite back, I hope he's healed a little inside and we don't go back to what was like 3 cups liquid coming out and almost nothing being taken in. That's how he got so dehydrated so quickly. Are there chewable probiotics? He normally loves yogurt, and I hope he starts eating it again soon. But I found some non dairy pb's, but they were pill form.
We're avoiding the abx for now. They gave him that one dose via iv yesterday, but none since and we're not doing the oral. He's still sick though-ear infection, and he just looks unwell like he does when he gets those fevers.
I have Simalsan natural drops for his ear that work great for him.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Read the chapter I attached above, and see if some of the things in there are things he might take in. Even small amounts of them work.

[bbrandonsmom]

Thanks much.
I'm pretty irked how this whole thing went. And we noticed him starting to "walk like an 80 yr old man" or stumble-he even fell once after we got home. I don't know if it's from lack of walking really since Thursday, or not enough food/liquids or a side effect of the iv abx?

[GreenGully]

Did you give the jam a try? I think Quickening posted about it on JB, I will link to some articles for you. I hope he feels better soon.

ETA Here (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0826/is_2_20/ai_113935571) is one article that might be useful