My Son Keeps Getting the Stomach Flu

Hi!!
I went through the same thing!! The kids have to get used to each others germs!! Kindergarten does just that. My son was sick all the time!! Know he is in 2nd grade and has not had a stomache virus in a year!! They have to build up there immune system. Good luck!!
K.

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If your son has vomitting AND diarrhea, call the doctor and get him checked for rotavirus. It usually hits kids under 5, but you never know.

My family went through this same thing 2 years ago. I had a 3 yr. old and a 1 yr. old and we all got sick. Twice in one month and than again less than 2 months later.

First of all, the person who is the least sick should be in charge of cleaning EVERYTHING. Kitchen, Bathroom, Floors (if you have a crawler), Tub, Sinks... Than Lysol, Lysol, Lysol. EVERYTHING. Door knobs, telephones... anything you mouth or hands touch. Make sure you don't leave dirty dishes sitting in the sink and make sure you put your dishwasher on sanitize (if poss.) This bug can live in the air for a few hours and on surfaces a couple of days. It's awful. Whenever a child (or even you) throws up, make sure you have a box of rubber gloves (disposable) that you can use to clean it up so your hands don't come in contact with it. And, don't be afraid to throw away vomitted-on clothes. Or at least rinse them in cold water and than put them in the washer on hot. It's best to have clothes on your children that you don't mind putting in hot water to wash. That way you know the bug isn't still on them when they are supposedly "clean".

This bug is EXTREMELY contagious. Keep all healthy people away from the sick person and vice versa. We always quarenteen (sp?) our sicko on one couch and the other people can sit on the other, till it blows over.

Oh, and one more thing... If your doctor doesn't allow you to come in with a sick kid (contagious or not) than you need to find yourself a new doctor. My 1 yr. old was violently projectile vomiting the one time we were all sick and my ped. told me to come in immediately. I understand your doctor's reasoning, but that is very irresponsible to not see a sick patient just because they are contagious. Especially your 2 yr. old. They know signs of dehydration better than you do. That is awful. Find a new doctor... in my opinion or demand that you be seen. Don't be afraid to be a demanding parent. It's your responsibility to keep you kids as healthy as possible and that means finding a doctor who cares. If he is afraid of contagious children, he is in the wrong business and isn't up on the best ways to sanitize each exam room.

I hope this helps you feel more confident in deciding what to do the next time you have this. Oh, and since you have 2, chances are there WILL be a next time. It goes around and around if you don't clean properly the first time. Like I said, it can stay on surfaces up to 2 days and one little drop of fecal matter (diapers 2 yr. old or wiping improperly 6 yr. old) has a billion little buggies in it. Yes... I said, 1 BILLION. So, washing hands is a HUGE part of keeping this under control. Keep a can of lysol in reach and whenever you are vomiting or are going to bathroom (diarrhea), you should lysol everything right before you leave. Sink faucet, toilet handle and seat, door knob as you are leaving and don't forget the toilet paper dispenser. EVERYTHING. Lysol... it's great!

Take care.

i would call the doctor to get some advice; it's probably a bunch of stomach viruses

It always amazes me when Dr's don't want you to bring a sick kid to the office--I got told the same thing when I thought one of my daughters had chicken pox.

Anyway, "stomach flu" is usually not the "flu" everyone is so over-terrified of. They are afraid of the influenza that includes muscle aches, fever, AND stomach symptoms like you describe.

If your son continues to be sick and you feel that he needs to be seen by a Dr, don't hesitate--they are getting paid for that, not just well child visits.

I would try to keep him away from everyone for a while to see if it goes away. A couple of months would be a good amount of time to determine if it's a problem other than something he's catching. It most likely is a virus, not the flu. You don't want to treat that with antibiotics, because it will get stronger and last longer. Rice is good for stomach problems, esp. diarrhea. Make sure he gets lots of rest and orange juice at least a glass a day, and an all around healthy diet.
If it gets worse, you may want to get him to a doctor, though. You have to be careful that he doesn't get dehydrated too. Make sure he gets plenty of fluids, and if he is throwing up, and/or diarrhea for days, you should get him some pedialite, or something like that.

K.,
I am so sorry you are dealing with this. Stomach sickness is NEVER fun, especially when it's our children.

The best and most effective way to deal with a stomach bug/food borne illness is with probiotics, like acidophilous. LOTS of it. Best thing is you can't overdose. For my children I buy the chewables, and a bottle of the capsules. I mix the capsules in with a warm drink, usually a calming herbal tea like chamomile. Stay away from cold beverages. I give them 4 chewables at a time, every hour for the first day. From there, see how it goes. For the capsules, I open a minimum of 8-10 and mix it with the tea, or warm milk. You can also mix it in with yogurt. I give that to them 3-4 times a day.

If by chance you make it into the Dr's office and he prescribes antibiotic, follow the same regimen making no changes. It's even more vital as the antibiotics are just that ANTI biotics, thus killing both the good and the bad. So, load them up with PRO biotics.

One poster mentioned giving acetaminophen and ibuprofen at the same time ... NOT a good idea. They are different medications, not designed to be used together or in an alternating fashion. Both run high overdose risks and there are no medical studies to support the misuse that many Dr's are prescribing today. Please stay away from that school of thought. It's based on undocumented theory, and is like telling a pregnant nursing mom that nursing will cause her to go into premature labor. Theoretically it makes sense, but it doesn't actually do that in the least.

Wishing you the best with this, and hoping everyone feels better real soon.

Blessings,
Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

My husband had the flu this weekend. Then my son got it yesterday. And I don't feel so hot today either... There is definately something going around again.

K.-
Same thing here...we've been getting it every four-five days for four weeks...my 2 yr old has it the worse, apparently it's going around my 5 yr old's school. Called the doctor and they said it's going around just have to ride it out...Good luck!

could be rotovirus. There are several right now. England has a norovirus epidemic to right now to. Rotovirus tends to come pack. Practice good hygene. Wash your towels in hot water often and watch out for dehydration. If he cant take in fliuds at all he may need an IV. Talk to your doctors nurse about signs of severe dehydration. If its viral there is really not any medicine they can give to make it better. I would call and ask them what over the counter stuff may help.

Hi K.,

This is his first year of school. It is VERY normal for them to get over one sickness just to get another one right away. They are still building up their ammune system to all these viruses. I remember when my daughter was in kindergarten. There was a 2 week period where it seemed like every other day she was absent for one thing or another. With my son, he missed at least 20 days of school because of "picking" something up from other kids.

I'd say wait it out and if he isn't better within a couple of days then call the doctors.

Good Luck!!!
L.

I work for the school health office and I can reiterate what the other poster said. The kids are just now being exposed to many bugs...the stomach bug being one of them. Our school has had about 7 rounds of this stomache virus. The other thing that you may need to keep in mind is that surprisingly, many stomache ailments are actually food bourne. In other words they can be mild forms of food poisoning. Ask the teacher how many kids have been out with the stomache virus and you can get a pretty good idea of what has been making the rounds in your child's class.

My two year old daughter had the same symptoms that began this past Friday. I called the doctor on Sunday because her temperature would not go down and she was holding her stomach and screaming. The doctor said that there is a stomach virus going around and is very contagious. My daughter went to the doctor this morning and was put on an antibiotic and was instructed to take Tylenol and Motrin simultaneously for the stomach pain every 6 hours. I suggest calling your doc. because the virus can lead to dehydration and ear infections in your 2 year old. Trust your instinct.

We just had the same miserable thing go through our house. My 1 year old, 12 year old, myself and fiancee all suffered. Within a week my 1 year old got it again. I called her pediatrician and they had me bring her into the office. He said it was a different strain of the virus and it just had to run its course. Keep your son hydrated with liquids - Pedialyte or Gatorade. This stomach flu is going around everywhere; keep everyone's hands washed and make Lysol your best friend. Good luck, it will pass.

If the doctor's office doesn't want you to bring your child in, then call. My daughter's doctor's office has a triage nurse to answer the calls and make suggestions of treatment. Good luck getting through this.