What do you feed someone who has been nauseous?

[Cindyg]

My son has been so sick all day. He threw up everything he tried to eat or drink. Every sip of water, all the medicine. :( Oh, and terrible pain in his abdomen.

We spent the whole day in the emergency room. They declared him fine. No appendicitis, no kidney stones, no infection, no impacted bowel. But they had him on a nice IV drip all day with pain killers and something to keep him from throwing up. But now we're home. We gave him a sip of water and the Rx for pain and nausea and he threw that up.

Assuming he wakes up tomorrow morning able to eat or drink something, what should I offer him?

Oh, and he did wake up long enough to say he hopes he's this sick again tomorrow. Why? So he won't have to have school. :banghead:

[Amy in Orlando]

My son has been so sick all day. He threw up everything he tried to eat or drink. Every sip of water, all the medicine. :( Oh, and terrible pain in his abdomen.

We spent the whole day in the emergency room. They declared him fine. No appendicitis, no kidney stones, no infection, no impacted bowel. But they had him on a nice IV drip all day with pain killers and something to keep him from throwing up. But now we're home. We gave him a sip of water and the Rx for pain and nausea and he threw that up.

Assuming he wakes up tomorrow morning able to eat or drink something, what should I offer him?

Oh, and he did wake up long enough to say he hopes he's this sick again tomorrow. Why? So he won't have to have school. :banghead:

UGH - we've been through this. I'd offer him a quarter of a saltine tomorrow and see how that goes. If he keeps it down, I'd offer a few ounces of flat ginger ale or coke. See how that goes. Next up, a tiny bit of rice with some broth for flavor. If that goes well, I'd let him choose from popsicles, saltines, cups of broth, flat soda or gatorade and then move him up. I realize these are not the healthiest choices on the planet, but this is what I do and it's worked for us. I'm sure you can tweak it to suit your own family. Just think small, small, small.

I hope your guy is feeling way better by this time tomorrow. You too. You must be wiped out after the ER and all of that. Spend tomorrow on the couch next to him watching videos or just napping if you can.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

My son has been so sick all day. He threw up everything he tried to eat or drink. Every sip of water, all the medicine. :( Oh, and terrible pain in his abdomen.

We spent the whole day in the emergency room. They declared him fine. No appendicitis, no kidney stones, no infection, no impacted bowel. But they had him on a nice IV drip all day with pain killers and something to keep him from throwing up. But now we're home. We gave him a sip of water and the Rx for pain and nausea and he threw that up.

Assuming he wakes up tomorrow morning able to eat or drink something, what should I offer him?

Oh, and he did wake up long enough to say he hopes he's this sick again tomorrow. Why? So he won't have to have school. :banghead:

Oh, what a kid! You have to laugh, or you just cry.

You know those Triaminic cough strips, the ones that are just basically benedryl? (Of course, check his other medications to see if he can have benedryl with them.) Have him melt one of those in his mouth, then let his stomach rest for awhile, then maybe some gatorade by the spoonful? One or two tsps to start, then more if he will tolerate it. Or maybe tea by the spoonful. If you can find some REAL ginger ale, that would be good for settling a stomach.

Hope you can rest tonight. Don't bang your head too hard. :001_smile:

[Eliana]

I start with a teaspoon of crushed ice (with at least 10 minutes between spoonfuls)- I've found this to work for keeping a kid hydrated even when s/he can't keep water down.

When that is working well, I try a teaspoon of water - later other clear fluids (clear broth is a wonderful way to get some nutrients in when a kid can't keep solids down.)

Once a child is keeping down fluid, the best solids, we've found are:
saltine crackers (the unsalted ones are best), banana, and (for some kids) applesauce.

The next stage is: mashed potato (with no milk or butter), tapioca pudding, dry toast, or unflavored couscous. I also might try a mild soup with some solids in it - matzo ball soup is popular here.

Do you have some Pedialite on hand in case he starts to get dehydrated again? (I'm told it tastes *horrible*, but it is good to have around...)

**Edited to add: Yes, popsicles and (white) rice - how could I have left those off! **

[Whisperlily]

We've been doing this for a while now. :(

My grocery staples right now are: Ginger Ale, Gatorade, popsicles, saltines, applesauce, and instant chicken noodle soup (basically broth with instant noodles).

Mainly it's the popsicles. With my DD, when she was mostly asleep I managed to get her to keep down 1/2 oz of gatorade sipped through a straw every 30 minutes. It stayed down until she woke up too much. She's pretty little, so I just put the straw to her lips while she was sleeping and whispered "here's a drink."

[Lizzie in Ma]

It has sure been a tough winter for illness. hang in there

[Remudamom]

We got some tablets that the boys put on their tongue to dissolve and then swallow to keep them from throwing up. They are called ondansetron and ours were 4mg. Worked like a charm. I think it's the generic version of Zofran. It's prescription.

And weak sweet tea works for us too, with saltine crackers.

[karne]

So hard when your little ones are so sick :( I feel for you, been there and done that. More than once. And have had it myself!

You can also add yogurt - it's a little bit of protein and some 'good' bacteria that gets striped from the digestive system with vomiting and diarrhea. Probably after they have kept down a little bit of cracker and water. Just a little spoonful now and then. Little tiny bits.

[RoughCollie]

In our family, we feed the nauseated Saltines and flat Coke. If they can keep the Coke down, they get Saltines, too. If they can keep it all down and feel fine to eat, they get whatever they want and so far, no problems with that approach.

If I have to make the Coke flat in a hurry, I stir it with a fork until no bubbles remain.

[LizzyBee]

Once he can keep down saltines and ginger ale:

BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, plain toast)

[beansprouts]

These are all good suggestions, I have nothing really to add. I just wanted to offer my sympathy. My dd was sick all week last week, and is still recovering now. My boys aren't feeling well either...

{{hugs}}

[OnTheBrink]

I suffered through this last week. I nibbled white rice, 100% fruit popsicles, ginger ale, and for some reason, Bugles.

The most satisfying thing, though, was the frozen fruit popsicles. Edy's grape bars and lime.

[Cindyg]

The instructions from the doctor said -- and I quote -- "No milk products, including cheese and eggs." Since when are eggs one of the milk products? Ha ha ha!

[Cindyg]

What's the point of the flat Coke? I can see the ginger ale because maybe there's enough ginger in it to be medicinal. Buy why is flat Coke a good choice for a weak tummy?

[RoughCollie]

All I know is that's what we always used in Atlanta, and what our friends and families used, so that's what we've always done.

Until the last few years, I didn't realize that ginger ale was used, too. A couple of my kids actually prefer it!



What's the point of the flat Coke? I can see the ginger ale because maybe there's enough ginger in it to be medicinal. Buy why is flat Coke a good choice for a weak tummy?

[Whisperlily]

The instructions from the doctor said -- and I quote -- "No milk products, including cheese and eggs." Since when are eggs one of the milk products? Ha ha ha!

I don't know, but since I'm allergic to milk, I've heard it MANY times. If I mention the milk allergy, they ask me if I can have scrambled eggs.

I guess it's because most people put milk/cream in their scrambled eggs?


And, re: flat coke. The corn syrup/sugar content is actually soothing to the stomach, believe it or not. It is the same with any soda, not just coke. In fact, the OTC med, Emitrol (sp?) is basically just that. A sugary/syrupy liquid that coats/soothes the stomach.

[JFS in IL]

and couldn't get to any Urgent care w/o driving along unfamiliar country raods for an hour or more, the local helpful pre-med student at the motel front desk had us plunk the kid into a warm bath to relax her and stop the "auto-pilot" upchucks. It worked.

At home, when they were smaller, I also had a supply of the suppositories that had the anti-barf med in them. Forgot the name - it was a "phen...something".