What should I give my sick kid?

[Queen Tonya]

We're not pukers in this family, usually. In fact, I think my twelve year old was two or three the last time he threw up!
Diarrhea is more common on the rare occasion we get a stomach bug, and that I know how to help with. The BRAT diet helps, does that work the same for vomiting?

[MsWhatsit]

If he's been throwing up for awhile and isn't keeping anything down, it's probably time for a call to the doctor's office.

The advice the pediatrician gave us when our 10-month-old was throwing up every feeding was to try a tablespoon of fluids every five minutes, and if she couldn't keep that much down at a time, we should call him back to escalate to plan B. I have no idea how good that advice is when applied to a 12-year-old. I guess I'd go with the clear liquids and if that doesn't stay down, call the doc.

[Queen Tonya]

Tea's a clear liquid right? He wasn't much asking for anything, just moaning and kvetching loudly, but it seemed right to brew some tea up for him. He drank a few ounces and is now sleeping, but he was sleeping and woke up hurling a few hours ago so I'm not sure it's quite safe for me to go to bed or not yet.

Guess I'll just stay up watching over him as I do all the laundry he created, somehow this was less gross when he was little, ick.

[Flutterby]

What we do in my family:

We eat plain crackers and toast (no butter or nothing on them)
To drink is tea or coffee (with just a little sugar and no milk) or gingerale or apple juice (sometimes with a pinch of ginger added to it).

If anyone is throwing up lots and not keeping anything at all down then yeah you have to take them to the doctor. But usually as long as you can keep down liquids you'll be fine, and when the stomach settles a bit offer chicken broth and continue with toast and crackers until they are more hungry.

[Jessity]

Pedialyte or something similar would be good, I think, to help him stay somewhat hydrated. Little sips, so the upset stomach doesn't get a big shock.

When I was little and would get sick, Mom always had 7-up or Sprite and crackers or sometimes chicken broth.

[Queen Tonya]

Thanks, he woke up a bit and asked for water and is now sleeping again, so hopefully he's gotten it all out of his system. I'm not sure what caused the nausea, but I'm wishing it's one of those 24 things and will be gone by the morning.

You know, it didn't even occur to me to look at webmd or anything before asking here. Not that I dope too much or anything, nope, not me.

[don't ask]

Originally Posted by Flutterby

What we do in my family:

We eat plain crackers and toast (no butter or nothing on them)
To drink is tea or coffee (with just a little sugar and no milk) or gingerale or apple juice (sometimes with a pinch of ginger added to it).

My doctor is big on this sort of advice. He says lots of ill health is caused by "being a smartarse". Things like eating when you can't keep anything in, going to work when you have a cold/flu. He figures all these kind of things last 2 to 4 days if you just lay around and keep up the fluids. The more you resist taking it easy the longer you will be sick. Mind you he would frown at the crackers for a day or two and being an Aussie would start you on solids with vegemite toast.

[initech]

If you're really having trouble keeping down liquids, a popsicle every 30min or so should do the trick. This works for adults, even. It's enough liquid to stay a bit hydrated, but slow enough to keep it down.

[Abbie Carmichael]

IANAD.

Don't worry about food, just do fluids, at least until he quits throwing up.

Gatorade is good. Also Sprite/7Up/Ginger Ale. (These have always worked better for us than plain water.)

When he feels like eating again, crackers and popsicles. The kind that come with two stuck together, with orange, purple, and red ones all in the same box.

He also needs the TV/DVD player moved into his room, bendy straws for his drinks and access to his video games. *collects $20 from Prince Tonya*

[zephyrine]

Chamomile tea. Personally, it always makes me want to throw up even more, but it seems to work for everyone else I know. When my daughter, who has a sensitive stomach, is queasy, she asks for that and minestrina, which is broth with tiny bits of pasta in it.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Celestial Seasonings has a variety of tea called Sleepytime, which helps me with my upset stomach. Other things that work with varying degrees of success are chicken broth (warm) or Sprite over crushed ice. Serve the broth and the soda in SEPARATE containers, please. Pepto-Bismol in either liquid or chewable tablets usually gives me almost immediate relief, but it also tends to bind me up, so I try to avoid taking it unless I really need to.

If the hurling has been going on for more than two or three days, it's time to see the doc, who can prescribe something more effective. I've had occasion to use anti-emetic suppositories on occasion, and while they're not pleasant to use, they WORK.

[Queen Tonya]

The hurling seems to have passed, huzzah! Some cramping and heaving thru the night but he'd fairly emptied his tummy out enough that it didn't amount to anything. I didn't have any gatorade or pedialyte around, but did have some ginger ale which seemed comforting in small sips, with the bendy straw naturally.

I think just explaining emetic suppositories to the boy might scare him into never throwing up again!

Thanks for all the advice,
A very tired Queen

[Queen Tonya]

^ anti-emetic

[chaoticbear]

Emetic suppositories would be like the "Red Hot Catholic Love" episode of south park, where people put food up their butts and crap through their mouth.

Except substitute pills with food, vomit for crap, etc.

Close, right?

[DeadlyAccurate]

When my husband had a stomach "flu" last week, the doctor's office recommended something called Emitol (I think I'm spelling it right), an over-the-counter anti-nausea medicine. It seemed to work. Other than that, I grew up on Sprite/7-Up and soda crackers.

[MLS]

Hope the little guy is permanently well, and that it never happens again. However, if it does, do remember that children can become dehydrated much faster than adults. If he can't keep liquid down for a day or so, that could be a setup for a really bad situation, and a good time to call a doctor. In my experience the popsicle route is an excellent one, and the tiny sips of water, or weak but sugary tea is good, too. The key is to return to normal eating very gradually. IANAD, but as mother of two have dealt with my share of upset tummies in the past -- both mine and theirs!

My younger daughter got mono one time, and had a horrible sore throat. The pediatrician emphasized that we must keep her ingesting liquids even though consuming anything made her throat hurt. So there we were, cajoling her to pleeease eat the popsicles. She was old enough to understand the reasons and to be cooperative, especially since she heard the doctor say that if she became dehydrated she'd end up in the hospital on intravenous fluids. No, thank you!