Stomach Virus in Toddlers

Every parent works tirelessly to avoid illness in their children. When it comes to your child, no germ is tolerated because watching your child suffer with any sickness is heartbreaking.

Immediately following my son’s first birthday his appetite decreased. I had to practically force feed him morsels. Two days later, he began to experience severe diarrhea. I figured this was the beginnings of a stomach virus so I took action by administering lots of fluids. Eight days later at 4:00am I was sitting in the emergency room with a very dehydrated and weak baby. I couldn’t figure out where I went wrong. I followed all of the basics. I gave him plenty of Pedialyte and water to prevent hydration and I feed him the B.R.A.T diet which is a very bland diet consisting of bananas, rice, applesauce or toast. This diet is designed to be easy on upset tummys. Unfortunately, depending on the age of your child and the severity of the illness you can take all of the right steps and still end up in the hospital.

What you need to know?

Diarrhea, vomiting, fever and loss of appetite are usually signs of Gastroenteritis (stomach flu). Gastroenteritis is highly contagious therefore hand washing is very important. It is also very important to up fluid intake at the first sign of diarrhea. Water, Pedialyte and low sugar and all natural fruit juices are best. Juice drinks high in sugar contribute to diarrhea and prolongs recovery. Most people know of or have experienced the stomach flu but few realize that the stomach flu in children is usually caused by Rotavirus, which is what my son had.

What is Rotavirus?

According to an article published by the staff at Mayo Clinic on September 3, 2010 Rotavirus is a bowel infection which causes high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and lack of appetite. Rotavirus actually causes Gastroenteritis or the stomach flu. Rotavirus is very contagious and can be passed around households more than once depending on the strain that each person contracts. So, if your child has Rotavirus and passes it to you but the strain that you develop is different than the strain your child had, you can pass it back to your child. That is why proper hand washing is so important. Also, remember to thoroughly clean items that the infected person has come in contact with.

How to prevent Rotavirus

Many children are vaccinated against Rotavirus but no vaccination is 100%. I was vaccinated against Chicken Pox but still contracted the illness. Proper hand washing is the best defense against this illness.

In conclusion, always remember that any illness that causes diarrhea can result in dehydration which can be deadly if left unchecked. If your child has sunken eyes, tearless cries and dry or cracked lips see a doctor immediately.