How to Treat Gastroenteritis in Children

When your child experiences stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, they might just have gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis, also commonly referred to as the “stomach flu,” is technically not the flu and is not caused by the influenza virus, but rather many different viruses. Other symptoms that can accompany gastroenteritis are fever, headache, with the episode lasting on average 1 to 3 days, but, in some cases as long as 10 days. Because the symptoms associated with gastroenteritis can cause dehydration, it is important to know how to treat it, especially when it a child that is sick with gastroenteritis.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Disinfectant spray and cleaner
• Disposable rubber gloves
• Hand sanitizer
• Over-the-counter medication to reduce fever
• Ice packs
• Rehydration solution
• Bananas
• Rice
• Applesauce
• Toast

1. Try and keep the child in one specific room. This will help isolate the virus responsible for gastroenteritis, which happens to be quite contagious. It will also help to allow the child to use one specific bathroom in the house and have other family members use another so that the virus can be contained. However, when there is only one bathroom in the home use a disinfectant cleaner or spray after each time the child use the toilet.

2. Check and monitor for the presence of a fever. When fever is present in a child with gastroenteritis, it may be difficult to get them to keep down over-the-counter medication for fever due to the upset stomach and intermittent bouts with vomiting. In this circumstance, the parent should try other means to reduce fever such as placing ice packs under the arms and in the groin region or cool compresses to the head and back of neck.

3. Place a bucket filled with a small amount of water next to the child’s bed. This will eliminate constant trips to the bathroom or the unfortunate mishap when the child cannot make it to the bathroom fast enough to throw up. It will also encourage the child to stay in bed, which may help settle their stomach faster.

4. Use disposable rubber gloves when cleaning up any vomit. Since gastroenteritis is very catchy, it is important to limit contact with bodily fluids from the infected child. This means constant hand washing and using hand sanitizers to help cut down on the spread of the virus. Make sure the child also washes their hands after each bathroom use.

5. Encourage small sips and drinks of rehydration solution. Rehydration solution contains the proper amounts of carbohydrates and electrolytes to help the child replenish what is lost due to vomiting and diarrhea. Small sips have a better chance of staying down and being absorbed back into the body, whereas drinking large quantities on an upset stomach may not sit well and cause the child to throw it back up. It may be helpful to use a teaspoon and feed the child the rehydration solution a few teaspoons every few minutes until they have taken down at least 1/2 cup per every episode of diarrhea.

6. Give the child ice chips to suck on. The coldness from the ice can help reduce the stomach spasms that come with an upset stomach. It is also a good way to sneak in hydration.

7. Introduce food in small amounts when episodes of vomiting subside. Utilize the BRAT diet that consists of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. This will help encourage a bland diet that is not irritating to a sensitive stomach.

8. Continue bedrest for at least 24 hours after vomiting and diarrhea stops. The child will be weak and need time to rejuvenate, hydrate and nourish the body with food once able to tolerate them.

Tips & Warnings

• Parents of young children should keep rehydration solution on hand. Rehydration solutions can also be found in ice pop form, which is a neat way to encourage the child to stay hydrated.
• When you are unable to get the fever to break, it is important to call the doctor and seek out medical treatment. Also, if diarrhea and vomiting does not subside and the child is unable to keep down fluids, it is important to seek out medical treatment to prevent dehydration.