You’re not going to believe this, but my 13-year-old (the one who DIDN’T go trick-or-treating last night) has been vomiting since 4 am.
I’ve looked on the Net for how to treat it, but all I can find is “liquids, nourishing foods, and bed rest.” Does anyone know any “home remedies” that will settle his stomach?
Brunetter, you might want to try peppermint tea. Yeah, it tastes kinda nasty, but peppermint seems to help. You can get it in pretty much any grocery store.
Poor kid!
Oh man. Poor kid.
I’m not going to be much help here, I’m afraid.
I’ve had the stomach flu before and one of the reasons there isn’t much help is because nothing stays down.
Some of the home recipes for stomach calming:
Crackers, lots of them (absorbs acid)
flat coke (don’t know why, but it works)
sitting up instead of lying down (less pressure on the tummy. It’s not like the kid will be getting any sleep anyway)
When I went through this (I was 13 then, too) my mom also put this huge glass of ice and a little water by my bed and told me to try and drink some whenever I could. I’ve never had water that tasted that good since.
I hope your young charge feels better soon.
Ginger Ale to drink (the ginger calms your stomach for some unexplainable reason).
Crackers or toast (anything bland) once things settle down.
That’s about it. Take it slow and don’t try to force anything down.
Compazine (prescription) if it gets too bad.
I asked around work & the remedy I heard most was…
Warm gingerale.
Sounds disgusting, but I guess the ginger settles you stomach & if it’s warm it has a better chance of staying down.
A “Stomach flu” is not really the flu.
Vomiting is rarely a symptom of influenza. Your 13-year-old much more likely has an intestinal virus, or food poisoning. Kids are more susceptible to food poisoning than adults, so even if you feel fine it could still be something you ate.
Peppermint will soothe the stomach in general, as Rasa suggested, but it may not help if the poor kid actually has an intestinal virus.
The key thing when anyone is vomiting or has diarrhea is fluids, if they can keep them down. If all it does it make them start puking again, they may end up losing more fluid. If it doens’t abate soon, go see a doctor.
All of the things suggested already for during the vomiting.
After then don’t drink fruit juice, it tends to cause the body to make softer stools which usually is not what you need while getting over a stomach flu. Try the BRAT diet. Bananas, white rice, applesauce, and toast.
Avoid hard to digest foods like dairy, meat, soy, and high fiber foods for awhile until everything seems to be working right.
Good luck!
If he/she is having trouble keeping anything down, restrict the fluid intake to small sips - it’s way easier for the system to absorb them that way.
Having spent the last ten years typing ER reports doesn’t make me any kind of an expert, but this is what all of the ER doctors I work for always recommend for a stomach flu:
Clear liquids for at least 12-24 hours (water or clear Gatorade best choices). No solids of any kind, not even crackers. If the child can hold down the clear liquids after the 12-24 hours, then advance diet slowly to the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast). Stick to this diet for at least 12-24 hours. If the child is having difficulty holding down the soft diet, switch back to the liquid diet for another 12-24 hours and then try advancing back to the soft diet. The key is to let the stomach rest as much as possible for the first couple of days. However, if your child is unable to hold down even clear liquids, take your child to their doctor or to the ER right away. Children can become dehydrated much faster than an adult.
Oh, I forgot to add. Pedialyte is the best remedy to use for a clear liquid for the first 24 hours. However, at six dollars a bottle, it can be a little expensive, especially considering the average 13 year old would require four or five bottles of this stuff in a 24 hour period of time.
One thing my doctor recommended when I had the stomach flu was, in addition to whatever fluids I could keep down, Immodium AD (sp?). Try and stem the exodus from as many orifices as possible, right? I wish your child luck, a stomach flu is nasty stuff…
I just had a nasty case of food poisoning two weeks ago. Shadowfox has given you some excellent advice.
I got through the first day by sucking small chips of ice. Next, I worked my way up to Gatorade, which also has some electrolytes in it, and is much cheaper than pedialyte. For some reason, I tolerated the “lemon ice” flavor the best.
Start him on the BRAT diet when his stomach seems to be back under control. Poor guy. Hope he’s feeling better soon!
What everyone else said, and as soon as he can keep it down- some live culture yogurt, or acidolpholus.
Flu, food poisoning or appendicitis?
Is he feeling better?
Please let us know.