Suggest Remedy For Loss Of Appetite In A Child Recovering From Diarrhea And Vomiting

Posted on Thu, 6 Aug 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 6 Aug 2015 Answered on

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : my son 1.5 years is suffering from lose motions and vomitting , 2 days back we admitted him to childrens hospital and saline was given and antibiotics along with emeset , Zinconia and neotrolin B syrups . we have been discharged from hospital but have been told to come every day once at night for 3 days to complete my boy's course of injections ...
MY WORRY IS THAT MY SON IS ABSOLUTELY REFUSING TO EAT ANY FOOD , there is no food intake since past 3 days ... should i be worried or this is generally the recovery process????

Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (25 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Refusal to feed may be due to recovery process as you said

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thanks for the query

During any kind of illness the body shows various inflammatory response.This inflammatory response produces cytokines which is responsible for decreased appetite.
Decreased appetite for short term might be helpful as digestion itself takes energy.
So this complex process is an adaptive form which helps in recovery from illness.
I won't get worried for decreased intake of food if child is accepting fluids well and passing urine adequately.
I suggest you to encourage him for light ,easily digestible and nutritious food.
Continue giving Neutrolin B and zinc on a.
Give emeset in case of vomiting.
I hope his appetite will improve within next 2-3 days.
Observe for any persistent rise in temperature,frequent vomiting,poor oral acceptance of fluid or decreased urine output.
If you notice any of these,please get him evaluated by your pediatrician.

I hope this helps.
Please let me know if you have any more doubts.
Wishing for your baby's speedy recovery.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (2 hours later)

Hello Dr,

Thank you for your advise ... lets hope my boy starts to accept light food from tommorow morning ...i was wondering if you had the chance to look at the report which i have uploaded giving details of the medications taken during hospitalization and after , also there are something written on the top of the report regarding his stool routine please could you shed some light on the seriousness of the stool report .
Also i wanted to know what you would suggest as light nutritious easily digestible foods starting from the best down ...

looking forward for your reponse .

thanks.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (16 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Report is suggestive of bacterial dysentary

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for follow up

I have gone through the discharge slip.
The stool examination shows mucus,pus cells/WBC and bacilli.This suggests some bacterial infection.Stool culture report is awaited.
Inj Taxim and Amikacin both has a good coverage for the organism causing dysentary.
I won't get worried as the baby has recieved these antibiotics .
Continue the other medications.
It would be better to start with rice based diet like khichdi.Avoid giving milk, and fruit juice as this may precipitate the loose stools.
You can give boiled mashed potato and apple along with banana.You can also give oat's preparation as it is also light and easily digestible.
I hope with all this he will start taking regular diet.

Wishing for your baby's good health.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (19 minutes later)

hello Dr,

Thank you for your response ... i have another question not related to the topic we are currently discussing .. My Son is 1 year and 11 months old .. and he loves expressing but cannot speak ... he says things like NINI (want to sleep), PAPA , Mummy , XXXXXXX , dadi , dada and goes on talking in a language no one understands. whenever he hears dogs barking he will say ho ho (barking sound) .

He knows very well how to physically express himself for example he will point out the things he wants and wants to do ... he will do fake crying also if we dont give him what he wants ... in short he does exceptionally well in his physical interaction ...even socially he does very well .. he hugs and kisses , shake hands etc.

to summarize he does everything except talk ( he talks in his own language unkown) should i be worried ? or it is too soon for me to expect him to talk and say other words except the words i have mentioned above.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I won't get worried if he is expressing well and follows the command

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back

The main issue is to rule out any hearing problem.As hearing problem is almost always associated with delayed speech.From your explanation I don't think there is any hearing problem.
There can be language delay or speech delay.
In your case the child is able to speak bisyllables like mama,dad a, nini etc.He also speaks in his own language.This is language delay.
It is a very common complaint now a day and it can be due to nuclear family,use of television etc.

I won't get worried as other milestone's achievement are excellent.
Spend more of your time talking with him.To increase his vocabulary name the things in the surrounding area and teach him to speak.Dont let him sit in front of TV for more than 4 hours a day.

I hope this helps.
I shall be glad to answer of you have any more query.
Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D