Sick Kids

My two year old had the stomach flu over the Christmas holiday. We were traveling and it was a nightmare. Days after the vomitting had ceased, she was still so low energy. Sleeping all the time, insisting on being carried all the time, very clingy, not eating very much. This went on forever, or so it felt. I took her back to the doctor 6 days after her last vomitting episode because I was affraid something else was going on. The doctor did a full exam and tests, but determined she was still recovering from the stomach flu. She said that the first time kids have it (which it was my daughters first time) it can take a really long time for them to bounce back. I don't know if it was coincidential or just timing, but the day after I started giving her probiotics, her energy level and appetite improved tremendously. Hope things are better today, and if not, really soon.

Sounds like the flu possibly. Push fluids and if they act dehydrated you will need to seek medical attention. Hope they get well soon! This flu has been a monster this year!

I'm sorry about your kiddos. I know you're worried. As long as they are eating, and especially, drinking okay the doctors say they will be fine. Also, a mother's intuition is nothing to sneeze at. The cost is not as important as your kids. I don't know about you but it takes a few days to feel energized after a bout of nausea/vomiting and such. Trust your instincts though. If you notice a change for the worse, take them to urgent care.

We had the same thing--4 1/2 yr. old and 2 year old. Vomiting for a day, diarhhea for 2 days, w/ low fevers. Then tiredness and very little activity lasted for 7 days with one, and 9 days with the other. We laid around alot, read books, watched movies, did arts and crafts, and played board games, and snuggled. I know it can be tiring, but try to enjoy the slow pace. Housework and cooking can wait, even if it drives you crazy to do that. Sandwiches or cereal can work for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When they tire of that menu, you know they are feeling much better!! I would avoid the doctor's office unless they are showing signs of dehydration and won't drink. With their immune systems being down right now, it would be really easy to pick up another virus at the doctor's office. I'm a big fan of nutritional supplements to boost the immune system. I used beta glucan and vitamin C w/ Zinc for immune boosting, and probiotics such as acidopholus and bifidopholus for boosting the good bacteria in the digestive system. My doctor loves these two supplements. The beta glucan, vit C and zinc can be found in a chewable, and the probiotic in chewable or liquid at your local health food store. They flavor them so that kids love them.

Dear K.,
All the bugs that are going around this year are pretty potent. My 16 year old FINALLY went back to school today, after missing all last week with a virus that mimics the flu and a 2ndary infection on top of that. (Ask any mom of HS students, missing a week is a nightmare for these kids). Your children are probably just worn out from the symptoms. Your son, especially, because he went back to a regular school schedule with no time for breaks.
If you are still concerned this week, take them in to the doc, for peace of mind, if nothing else. All it will cost is your co-pay and our kiddos are worth that!
M. G

K.,
Our daughter, 3 yrs. old, had this bug last Tuesday. She was sick for a day and then worn out the rest of the week. She even took two naps on Saturday, very unusual. By Friday her appetite was back in full though. From what you've said it sounds like the way the bug works. If they're eating okay and not having diareha then I wouldn't worry. Give them time and their energy will return.

Hi K.,
It is very normal to feel weak after the flu. Your body has been working overtime to fight the virus. You should always wait 24 hours after they are done with fever, vomiting, or diareha before sending them back to school. They really need the extra day to replace all the fluid and nutrients that they lost and the extra rest to get back to feeling well. It might take an extra 5-7 days to feel good again.

Hang in there,
W.

I just recovered from this stomach virus that is going around, I got sick last sat morning, then just felt tired all week. It wasn't until thursday that I felt better. I was just exausted. I am normally a very healthy, never get sick type of person, but this flu that is going around is awful. I bet your kids are still recovering too. Get well wishes

As long as they are eating and getting enough fluids that would be your main concern. If there is fever along with this, they need to see that doctors if it has not cleared up today. Infections can be the cause and they need meds for this. Hope they are doing better. G.

Sounds like a stomach virus that was contagious. I would just give it a little more time - extra rest, plenty of fluids (watered down juice is good), extra snuggle time, and they will be feeling better before you know it.

There so point in taking any of them to the doctor. I took my son once and they tolb there was nothing they could da about it. It just had to run its course. Make sure to keep them hidrated beacause the diareha dehidrates them. My son is just getting over it two. Theres 7 people in my house and every one got it, with all diffrent simtums. Good luck

I am thankful my son doesn't have it, but I do. It got bad for me Thursday, and is now Sunday and I am still feeling extremely drained and throwing up randomly. Anyway, my doc says it is just a bug going around and keep hydrated. Hope that helps your kiddos too. It does seem to take a little longer to recover from this one than the usual stomach bugs. I was thinking it was because I am pregnant. Anyway, if they will eat Pedialyte Pops, give them some of those. I'm eating them myself!!!

Well if you think about it, when you've had a stomach virus it does wipe you out. I mean you've got to catch up on eating and drinking and I know I'm exhausted the next day after having one. It's horrible!
My son just had a stomach virus w/ throwing up every hour on Friday and Sat. he didn't have anymore throwing up and was eating normal but he was still not himself. He was just quiet and tired seeming. I think those viruses just drain a person. I wouldn't be too worried. They'll get better in a day or two. Hope they feel better!

Our family has been struck by this bug too. As a matter of fact I am up at 4:30 am with my 2 year old who has had it since last Friday and still isnt back to normal. I am still sick to my stomach too, and it just wont go away! Anyways, as long as they are not dehydrated I would not worry either, that is all the doctor is going to tell you so I would wait until Monday. Good luck, and I hope you all feel well soon.

THey could of had a touch of the flu. You can usually call your doctor on the weekend and leave a message on the nurses line and they will get back to you. I dont know where you live but i am in allen and i go to Acute kids in mckinney, if it is after hours. there is also one in plano and frisco. they are board certified pediatricians and for me it is the same copay as i pay my doctor. hope they feel better

That is actually normal most of the time. Of Course, I am not a doctor- I do have 2 boys 8yrs.and 6yrs. It can take a week or more for kids to get their strength back after being sick. Especially if they were vomiting or had a fever. If they are not lethargic and are eating, playing and going to the bathroom, they probably are on their way back to recovery. They can get better for a couple of days and then vomit again. It could be a new virus or the same one hanging around. I always call my doctor and run my kids symptoms by them, to see if I should take them in or not. Always go on your Instinct, if you think they are sick and need to be seen- it is always better to be safe than sorry. Hope this helps!

Sounds like the typical stomach virus that makes it rounds around the family.

Personally, I would at least call the Dr. If insurance and $ are at issue, the Dr. should understand with a phonecall and reassure you as long as the children are not dehydrated they will bounce back.

Sometimes this virus is one of the harder ones to bounce back from because it takes a lot of of you.

Good luck.
Susan

Here is an interesting article that might be of interest to you,

Read ALL, second part is amazing, this is what we do not know, so be aware!

Two reports show "superbug" bacteria spread...

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Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:32am EDT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two drug-resistant "superbugs" are becoming more common across the United States including one that causes hard-to-treat ear infections in children, researchers reported on Tuesday.
Another, called methicillin-resistant staph aureus or MRSA, killed an estimated 19,000 Americans in 2005 and made 94,000 seriously ill, according to one report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Michael Pichichero and Dr. Janet Casey, both of the University of Rochester and Legacy Pediatrics, their practice in New York, found a new type of drug-resistant cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae in children with ear infections.
Five of those children had to be treated with an antibiotic approved only for adults because children's drugs were not strong enough to kill it.

The pediatricians said doctors could help prevent the ear infection problem by performing an old-fashioned, low-tech procedure called an ear tap, which can be used to both diagnose and sometimes treat the infections.
And both reports suggest that doctors and hospitals are not following guidelines for controlling bacterial infections.
Pichichero and Casey treated middle ear infections in 1,816 children and performed ear taps on 212 of them. This involves punching a hole in the eardrum to remove fluid and then testing the fluid to identify exactly what type of bacteria had caused the infections.
Doctors usually make a best guess and treat children's ear infections with whatever antibiotic they believe to be most appropriate, but Pichichero said this may not be optimal.
His team found nine children infected with a new strain of S. pneumoniae. Four had been through more than one round of antibiotics and five had to be treated with levofloxacin -- an antibiotic approved only for adults. The others were treated with an ear tap using novocaine.
"The child feels absolutely no pain," Pichichero said in a telephone interview.

DRAINING AN ABSCESS
"An ear infection is actually a kind of abscess behind the ear drum. Draining it immediately relieves the pressure and pain. It immediately brings the fever down. Fifty percent of the time there is no need for antibiotics at all."
The ear taps would allow doctors to identify precisely which strain of bacteria is infecting a child and choose the most appropriate antibiotic, Pichichero and Casey said.
And using antibiotics less often would help overcome the threat of antibiotic resistance and make the drugs more useful when they really are needed.
For the second study, Dr. Monina Klevens and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sampled reports of MRSA from all over the United States.
"Based on 8,987 observed cases of MRSA and 1,598 in-hospital deaths among patients with MRSA, we estimate that 94,360 invasive MRSA infections occurred in the United States in 2005; these infections were associated with death in 18,650 cases," they wrote in their report.
MRSA infections can range from boils to more severe infections of the bloodstream, lungs and surgical sites. The researchers said 85 percent of all cases were associated with hospitals, nursing homes or other health care facilities.
MRSA is mostly spread on the hands, but also on contaminated medical equipment.

Experts have been warning for years that poor hospital practices spread dangerous bacteria, and yet study after study shows that health care workers, including doctors and nurses, often fail to even wash their hands as directed.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

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How to Avoid Staph Infection
http://www.newsmax.com/health/avoid_superbug/2007/10/17/4...

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Microbes and Mangosteen Research
Sri Lankan scientists extracted Xanthones from the root bark, stem bark and latex or skin of Mangosteen and found that the latex of Mangosteen contains more than 75% of Xanthones that have strong antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and other biological properties.
They concluded that these highly bioactive compounds are the reason for Garcinia Mangostana's (Mangosteen) medicinal value in indigenous medicine.

Japanese researchers found that alpha-mangostin from Mangosteen showed strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), the "superbug" with strains that have become resistant to many commonly-used antibiotics such as penicillin, flucloxacillin, oxacillin and even vancomycin. The scientists suggested that alpha-mangostin might find wide pharmaceutical use.

A more recent Mangosteen research study by Thai scientists on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus showed that Mangosteen was one of the most effective medicinal plant extracts against this bacterium.
Staphylococcus aureus can cause serious and life-threatening diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia and septicimia.
Mangosteen researchers in Thailand also studied the antimycobacterial activity of alpha-mangostin, beta-mangostin and garcinone B and found that they possess strong inhibitory effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Researchers in Singapore investigated the effects of Mangosteen's Xanthones on the HIV-1 virus and found that two Mangosteen Xanthones, mangostin and gamma-mangostin, demonstrated the ability to inhibit the activity of the HIV-1 protease that causes the virus to be incapable of infection.
thanks,

O. H. Gaona
www.OliviaG.WhyMangosteen.com
or www.OliviaG.MyJetStream.net click on videos

"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you're
Not willing to move your feet.
I feel and I strongly believe that I have a moral and an ethical obilgation to tell and share with others about what I know about Mangosteen and Xanthones!! And I do!!
"To know and not tell," is like Committing "The Sin of The Desert." Selah.

K.,
Unless your children have fevers, continue to vomit and/or have diarrhea, or are listless and somewhat unresponsive I wouldn't even bother to take them to the doctor. They have a virus and it's just running its course. It's so hard with little ones as they can't always tell you what is going on. But as a physician assistant, I have seen many little ones with the same symptoms as your children and there really isn't anything wrong except a virus. Think how you feel after being sick. you may not have the acute symptoms but you still tire easily. It's the same with little ones.

Keep them hydrated and try to get them to eat as much as you can (nutritious, not too heavy foods), let them rest and give them lots of hugs and they will bounce back. If you don't see any improvement in the next couple of days, then I would take them in.

One caveat. If your children seem must (or become)more listless and ill than would seem normal for a typical virus, then take them in. Good Luck.

My son went through this same thing! A couple of weeks ago on a Thursday morning, he threw up when he got to school (we shrugged it off as car sickness-it was the 1st time he'd eaten in the car on the way to school). He threw up again that night, again Friday night, then during the day Saturday and Sunday he threw up several times. Each time, it seemed like it was made up of mostly liquid. He never lost his appetite and drank plenty of water but about an hour after eating, he'd throw up. He never had diarrhea or even a fever. It wasn't until Sunday that he started acting worn out and semi-lethargic. Because he hadn't been acting like he FELT bad until Sunday, I called his doctor. She said that it was probably just this bug going around and to just keep an eye on him but to take him to the ER if he gets progressively worse or if he shows signs of dehydration (such as no wet diapers). I watched him closely and fed him A LOT of popsicles which he enjoyed eating and managed to keep down. By Monday, he was running and playing like normal. I hope your kiddos get to feeling better soon.

K.
I don't know if it's going around where you are, but here in Austin area there's a nasty stomach virus right now. My husband got it last Friday. I received a Public Health Alert thru one of my other online groups. I looked it up on the CDC website to get more info on it. The main thing to look at is fluid intake. If he vomited that much then he lost a lot of fluid. Here's the email I received. HTH, K. H
______________________________________________
Subject: Norovirus Alert

WHO: All Texas Military Forces Personnel and family members living in the Austin, Travis County, and surrounding areas

WHAT: Norovirus Health Alert issued by the Travis County Health and Human Services Department

WHEN: Immediate

WHERE: Austin, Travis County, and surrounding areas

WHY: Travis County and City of Austin Health Departments have issued an alert for an outbreak of Norovirus diseases in the Austin area. Norovirus is a pathogen causing diarrhea and other enteric symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. The disease may also be associated with fever and chills, and it is frequently referred to as the stomach flu. The disease is usually self-limiting, and it lasts two to three days, but it can be more serious in the very young, seniors, or immune-compromised individuals. There is no specific
recommendation for treatment other than symptomatic.

The virus is spread through contact with an infected surface that has the Norovirus present, contact with the secretions or bodily fluids of a person who is infected, and direct contact with an infected person. It is normally spread
through the fecal oral route, and good hand washing habits limit the spread of the disease. The virus can be expected to spread through Day-Care facilities, health providers, schools, dormitories, and nursing homes. Military personnel
may also be affected in barracks or close garrison situations.

Force Protection Recommendations: Avoid dining out as much as possible for the next week to ten days. Avoid salad bars and any other uncooked food. Avoid large social gatherings, and practice frequent hand washing. If you experience symptoms of Diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and/or fever, stay home. Drink plenty of fluids and remain hydrated. Avoid Emergency rooms and doctor's office waiting rooms unless you start experiencing symptoms of dehydration. Tylenol or Ibuprofen provide symptomatic relief for those who are not allergic to the medications. Clear liquids and juices are the primary treatments. If symptoms persist for more than 48 hours, contact your physician.

I can say my entire family has had this stuff! When I got it I could not believe how bad I felt. It took me a good week before I was back to normal. My 2 year old took a little longer. I would not be to concerned. Just take into consideration that they may not be back to full speed for a few more days and take it easy. The main thing is that they drink lots of fluid. I hope they feel better. You guys are in my prayers.
H. M

my whole family got this bug recently and it did last a long time. we only threw up for about 8 hours but ran a low fever around 101 for a couple of days after. i felt really tired and achy for those two days even though i wasn't throwing up anymore. the only thing that concerns me is that it's been almost a week for your son. that's a long time so i think i would go ahead and call the pediatrician and get them to work you in today for both kids. i tend to play it safe. god bless and i hope you guys are better soon!

give them plenty of gatorade or pedialyte to replenish the lost electrolytes and start them on a smallportion of food, yougurt will put the normal flora in their bodies back on tract.