I Think My Son Has Rotavirus, Should I Take Him to the Doctor?

I don't think my son has ever had Rotavirus so my advice might not be the best.

In the past, whenever my son has diarrhea and vomiting the doctor has told me to keep him hydrated. Instead of water though, she has recommended either pedilight or watered down gateraid (which is what pedilight is anyway). Give it to him a little at a time as drinking large amounts of anything after throwing up will just make him throw up again. She recommended 1 tsp every 15 minutes for 1 hour then he could graduate to a small glass. The hour was to start over if at any point he threw up.

Hope this helps.

The biggest concern is making sure he is hydrated, even if he throws up right after, get liquids like Gatorade, Pedialyte in him and water constantly. There isn't anything they can do and both of my kids had it. As long as the fever isn't going on for more then four days, isn't above 104 they cannot do much for him. If he throws up for more then 24 hours or his diahrea continues to worse then I would take him in. You can tell if a child is dehydrated by their skin, if you can pinch skin and it doesn't bounce right back into place he can be dehydrated (weird I know), if he isn't urinating much I would be concerned too or if he has no tears and dry mouth.
Keep him hydrated, popsicles anything but keep fluids in him. My kids love gatorade when they are sick and I will give them a sip or big spoonful after every episode of throwing up and then if they keep it down a little more each time. Just make sure you get the clear kind so it doesn't stain...good luck and I hope he is feeling better soon.

Unless you have a doctor degree, don't hesitate, take him to the doctor. I know I often wonder if I should or if I shouldn't and worry about what it costs and I an completely relate to hesitating. In fact, recently both kids were coughing a lot mostly at night and I was giving them over the counter stuff. Finally, my daughter had a fever and was acting miserable at school so I took her in to find out one lung was completely filled with fluid. I ended up taking my son a couple of days later expecting the same, but it wasn't as bad. Most pediatricians or even your insurance company has a nurse you can call with questions who will help you determine if it is necessary to bring them in. Use them!

My daughter had it for six days. I did take her to the doc, and no, they can't do anything but tell you it will get better. Dehydration is the only real problem, but if your son is drinking that's good. My daughter wouldn't drink. We even tried popsicles! One warning, sometimes they improve and then get sick again. According to my doc that's often the way it works. Also, wait 24 hours after any vomiting before trying food - and even that's not a sure thing!! Good luck. My husband and I slept on the floor of my daughter's room for a week, and it was a week of sleepless worrying, but they do get better.

Hi T....now it is my turn to give you some advice! You helped me last week with some ideas on what to do with my daughter when I become a SAHM. Anyway, my daughter caught some nasty stomach virus over a month ago and let me tell you, it sounds so similar to what you are going through with your son. It started with the vomiting all night (6 or 7 times), then woke up to diarrea that literally covered her up to her shoulders. I had never seen so much come out of a little one before. We had to cut her out of her onesie it was that bad. At any rate, that next day she ran a fever of 103.5 and continued off and on with a fever for a few days. The diarrea didn't subside until 10 days later! I called her doctor and they just said to make sure I keep her hydrated with Pedialyte (not water because the body doesn't absorb it as well, or gatorade because that is more formulated for children/adults, not babies/toddlers - plus with the loss of eletrolytes, you need to give something to replace them). Pedialyte has lots of good stuff in it that your son needs right now. They also suggested good options for food when she was ready to eat again...which took 3-4 days before she even wanted crackers (starchy foods like bread, potatoes or try bananas, applesauce, yogurt etc.). Also said it could take up to two weeks for it totally get out of her system and that it did. It knocked her her back side to say that least! It was not a good experience for my daugther (and her parents), but your son should be fine as long as you keep him well hydrated! Good luck. I hope he is on the mend very soon. Oh, and my daugther slept hours and hours on end (5-6 during the day and all night). Her body was tired from fighting the bug. She wasn't quite the same until the bug exited her body!

Unless you can't get your son to keep down liquids and he becomes very dehydrated or his fever won't come down with tylenol, the doctor can't really do anything. Our son had it and we just had to keep coaxing liquids down him. The only thing that the doctor/hospital could offer us was an IV to combat dehydration (which we declined).