As a parent, I dislike few illnesses as much as the stomach flu. Not only is it just plain gross, but the stomach flu seems to be contagious in a way that few other things are and I hate sitting around waiting to see if my other kids, my husband or even I am going to come down with it. We had been lucky so far this year but a couple of days ago, my four-year-old asked to go to bed at 6:30pm. When I checked on him 10 minutes later, he was fast asleep. Sure enough, he started vomiting a few hours later (why is it that kids always seem to get sick at night?) and has been sick ever since.
I was hoping this would be a quick version of the flu, but this is day two and he’s still listless and can’t keep things down. So I looked up how to help manage the stomach flu and here’s what I found –
Give him as many fluids as possible to prevent dehydration
Since he can’t keep things down, this is tough. And since he’s been sick for over a day, I’m worried about dehydration. So I am keeping a sippy cup filled with ice and Pedialyte and am encouraging small sips whenever I can.
Monitor his fever
His fever spiked yesterday to 101 and I finally gave him a little bit of children’s Tylenol (liquid) to help keep him more comfortable.
Watch for signs of appendicitis
While I don’t think this is the case with my son, the symptoms are good to know which include fever, no appetite and severe pain around the belly or lower right side.
Start cleaning
As I mentioned, stomach viruses can rip (pardon the pun) through a family like crazy because the germs are so contagious. The bacteria can spread any time your kid is still vomiting or has diarrhea and even for another day after that. In addition, the germs can survive on surfaces like tables, doorknobs, toys and pretty much anywhere else. This puts the rest of the family on high alert because we’re all pretty much exposed. While I don’t normally like to use antibacterial cleaners very much, this is one exception. I started cleaning and washing clothes yesterday and will probably have to keep it up for another week or so to try to keep the little buggers from spreading.
Contact your doctor if your child is under a year old and is vomiting or has diarrhea, does not improve in two to three days, or seems dehydrated
Personally, I’m hoping to have him back to school in another day or two, but we’ll see. And I know the pediatrician’s phone number by heart, just in case I need it.
Yeah, I still hate the stomach flu. Nevertheless, just like everything else in parenthood, this too will pass. (And then some.)