About this topic
Bacterial gastroenteritis is a common infection. It can cause loose stools, throwing up, and belly problems. This illness is very contagious and the germs are easy to spread. Most children get better in a few days without treatment. With this health problem, your child may have trouble keeping down fluids. This puts your child at risk of losing too much fluid. This is also called dehydration. ‚
Preventing dehydration is the most important treatment goal. Your child may need drugs to treat the infection in very bad cases. ‚
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What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do to care for your child.
- Give your child small amounts of fluid every 15 to 30 minutes. This is better than having your child drink a large amount at one time. Good fluids to give are oral electrolyte solutions, like pedialyte, that you can buy at most supermarkets or pharmacies.
- Avoid sharing your childs food and drinks.
- Keep your child away from others until the throwing up or loose stools have stopped.
- Keep your child away from those who are sick.
- Follow good hygiene practices. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 15 seconds. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers also work to kill the virus if your hands are not visibly dirty. This is especially important when:
- Caring for your child
- Preparing foods
- Cleaning your home
- After bathroom use or changing diapers
- Give your child drugs as directed by the doctor. Do not miss doses. If you forget a dose, give it as soon as possible. If it is within a few hours of the next dose, skip it and give the next dose.
What follow-up care is needed?
The doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your childs progress. Be sure to keep these visits. ‚
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Fight an infection
- Treat loose stools
- Treat throwing up
- Prevent or treat fluid loss
Will physical activity be limited?
No, your childs physical activity will not be limited. Make sure your child gets lots of rest. Your child may not be able to travel or go to school until the loose stools and throwing up have stopped for 24 hours. ‚
What changes to diet are needed?
- Give your baby formula or breast milk. Milk is OK for older children.
- Give your child cereals, bread, potatoes, lean meat, bananas, apples, vegetables, toast, rice, or yogurt.
- Avoid giving your child fatty and sugary foods such as cakes, chocolates, ice cream, and take out foods.
- Avoid giving your child sweetened or sugary drinks, soft drinks, and sport drinks. These may make your childs loose stools worse.
- Do not give your child coffee or tea. These can make them dehydrated.
What problems could happen?
- Too much fluid loss
- Blood infection
- Stomach bleeding
- Persistent fever
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- Wash your childs hands often.
- Teach your child how to practice good hygiene.
- Keep food areas clean.
- Wash your hands more often. Washing is the simplest way to keep you from getting infected and spread the infection to others.
- Clean the things and surfaces in your home that are often touched. These may be things like door handles, remotes, or phones. Use bleach to disinfect the area. This can help reduce the spread of infection. Do not share personal things like toothbrush, towels, and drinking glass.
- Store and prepare food carefully. Cook all raw foods well. Keep food area and utensils clean.
- Do not prepare food for others if you have this illness.
- Take extra care when traveling. Drink bottled water only and do not eat raw foods.
- Get vaccinated. Ask your doctor about the vaccines that your child needs to help prevent infections.
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Child younger than 6 months old with loose stools and throwing up
- Signs of fluid loss. These include soft spot on a babys head looks sunken, few or no tears when crying, dark-colored urine or only a small amount of urine for more than 6 to 8 hours, dry mouth, cracked lips, dry skin, sunken eyes, lack of energy, feeling very sleepy.
- Throwing up or very bad loose stools that last for more than a few days
- Child throws up blood, has mucus or bloody loose stools
- Not able to keep fluids down
- Very bad belly pain
- Your child is not feeling better in 2 to 3 days or is feeling worse
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you about your child. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my childs condition.
- I can tell you how and when to wash my hands and my child's hands to avoid passing the infection to others.
- I can tell you how often I should try to give my child fluids to drink and good kinds of fluids to give.
- I can tell you what I will do if my child has dark colored urine or no urine, dry mouth, throwing up, loose stools that last, or is not able to keep fluids down.
Where can I learn more?
KidsHealth ‚
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/common/diarrhea.html ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚