Suggest Treatment For Vomiting And Diarrhea In An Infant

Posted on Mon, 22 Sep 2014

Question: Hi

My 16 Months Old Daughter Suddenly caught with vomiting and loose motion..
I suspect something is wrong with her yesterday's food
From today morning she had 4 vomits and 2 loose motions

Questions

Is it ok as long as she is active?
What ever we feed her..it comes right back with vomit..so what should we feed her?

Is medication required? If yes pls suggest good pills/syrup

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Arun (29 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Viral diarrhoea give ORS and zinc

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for writing to us.
Vomiting and loose stools at this age is usually due to viral cause or food poisoning.
It usually takes 3 to 5 days to settle and will settle by itself. Antibiotics are not needed unless there is blood in stools .
I usually prescribe anti emetics like odansetron syrup 3 ml before feeding to stop vomiting.
Most important is ORS which should be given every 15 minutes as sips to prevent dehydration.
Zinc at 10 mg daily as drops should be given for 2 weeks to help in faster recovery.You can get this medication with your doctor prescription.
Ensure your child passes urine 6 to 8 times daily.
If she is active and.playful don't worry.
It will settle soon. Avoid cow milk. You can give rice, curd ,etc.
Regards

Dr Arun

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju

Follow up: Dr. Arun (21 hours later)

Thanks Doctor

Until yesterday night my daughter had vomits..whenever she had anything..
So we gave her vomikind at night..after 30 min..she had a idly and slept
Morning she also had idly..we didn't gave her vomikind..Vomits seems to e arrested until now..

But night and today afternoon..she had a loose motions..
we gave her Econorm today morning..

Last time when she had same problem..Doctor here suggested to use anto boitics only after 3 or 4 days..if motions exist....we used to use oflemac syrup

She doesn't drink coconut water or ORS
She only drinks water...

Please suggest if we can follow the above medications..

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Arun (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
econorm is ok

Detailed Answer:
econorm is ok
Oflamac is not required for viral diarrhoea
Continue zinc and ors ( whatever she takes )
MAke sure the urine output is ok
If not she needs to be consulted.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Arun (14 minutes later)

Thanks Doc

She only drinks water..that too very low
Bcz of loose motions which are very watery...she is always in a diaper
So we are finding it hard to measure her urine output..
But i think she is not passing urine that much compare to when she is healthy..

You said..if she doesn't pass urine very much..she should be consulted..
what illness may she have?
what will doctor recommend in these types of cases?

Answered by Dr. Arun (47 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
may need iv fluids

Detailed Answer:
If intake is poor and urine output is doubtful, she may need Iv fluids for DEHYDRATION.
Doctor will assess dehydration severity .
Cause of diarrhoea could still be viral, but DEHYDRATION needs to be assessed by doctor

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari

Follow up: Dr. Arun (42 hours later)

Hi Doc

Still my daughter is passing green/yellow watery stools...4 to 5 times a day
She is active..drinking water..buttermilk..eating curd rice..

Can we use entrogermina XXXXXXX bottle..instead of econorm..if yes what will be the dosage

As you mentioned earlier..should we also use Zinc tablet or syrup
If yes please mention the Name and dosage

I guess..all will have minimum side effects

I am against using antibiotics..

Generally how many days it will be contained..I am bit worried

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Arun (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
see below

Detailed Answer:
Both enterogermina and econorm are same medicines. Dose is one in morning and one in evening for both.
Z&D drops 1ml once daily for 14 days is usually recommended .
Econorm, enterogermina and Zinc do not have any side effects to worry of.
Test stools for reducing substances to rule out lactose intolerance if loose stools persist.
No need for antibiotics now.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Arun (1 hour later)

Thanks Doctor.

My daughter has been consuming milk and its products all these days without any problem. Do we still need to check for lactose intolerance?

Answered by Dr. Arun (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
yes

Detailed Answer:
Yes do check for it, lactose intolerance can happen after an episode of diarrhoea. If present, my suggestion to give lactose free milk for 2 weeks atleast . Usually it improves in 2 to 3 weeks

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Arun (21 hours later)

Thanks for your insights. She has got lactose intolerance positive from stool reducing substance test.

Doc has prescribed zerolac and also oflomac syrup as antibiotic.

I have observed that my daughter is falling ill every month. One month she has loose motions, other month its cold or fever. How to boost her immunity? Because of this frequent illness she is loosing her weight. She is only 8.8kg now at 15months

Answered by Dr. Arun (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
viral illness common upto 3

Detailed Answer:
Viral illness can occur Upto 3 years very frequently in most of the kids because their immune system is still maturing.
Don't worry, your kid will get better soon.
Try iron supplements like Trifer drops 1ml daily for 3 months to boost immunity and increase appetite for weight gain.

Regards

Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju