I have learned from my mistakes and want to share this so nobody else goes through this. Kids get sick constantly since they’re in close proximity to others while in school. One of the most common ailments is the stomach flu.
They are prone to bringing home something but there are nuggets to make sure it doesn’t happen.
What is gastroenteritis or stomach flu?
In a nutshell, it’s a stomach virus. There are two types of it. The first is the norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea in the U.S. It is a common cause of stomach flu.
The other is the rotavirus, which is the most common in kids.
To treat it, one should not give solid foods for a few hours. The few hours lasted over 24 hours for my son. He suffered from the stomach flu.
My daughter lasted over 3 days, which resulted in a visit to the pediatrician. She had taken sips of water or Pedialyte were allowed only.
Slowly ease back to eating. Give items such as crackers, toast, or bananas. My daughter still drinks milk and that was a “no-no”. So much frustration from her end and it was very legit on her part.
How it started
It started Friday night with my son. He began to vomit after going to bed. The stomach flu was to blame. The pediatrician’s office has an off-hour phone line to speak with a nurse.
No solid foods were allowed for 8 hours. He was allowed to take sips of water or electrolyte. This was to avoid dehydration.
Saturday, he was slowly moving in the right direction. He had episodes of diarrhea throughout the day. We slowly began to allow him to eat food.
Next victim
My daughter was next to feel sick with stomach flu. It started Sunday night after she went to bed. She began to vomit.
What had happened, she ate her dinner and was still hungry. My son was feeling better. So I thought it was no big deal to give her his leftover food.
After her first episode of vomit, she took a shower and put on a clean set of PJs.
While waiting for my wife, I held my daughter in my arms. Her second episode of vomiting came. My wife gave her 3 oz of milk.
A few minutes later she had her third episode of vomit. Which meant another shower and another change of PJs.
Finally, she had her fourth and final episode of vomit which was another shower and another set of PJs.
I went to Wal-Mart to buy Pedialyte for her to sip.
I had called the overnight hotline and was told not to serve milk to her for the first 8 hours. Allow her to sip water or Pedialyte.
This continued for two other days. I called the nurse and was told to bring her in. She was prescribed medicine for the stomach flu.
After 8 hours, my daughter was allowed to drink 4 oz of milk. We kept an eye on her. We waited 30 minutes then gave her another 4 oz of milk.
What I learned
When the stomach flu shows up, the experience will help us to be aware should it happen again. Don’t share food with others even if the symptoms appear to be subsiding.
Finally, you must be prepared for the long haul and ride it out while it goes through its process.
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