I need ideas please

[Liahona]

Its been over 2 weeks since this sickness started. Poor Buster has had hardly anything to eat or drink besides crackers and gatoraid. I'm worried about him. About more than just him. I need ideas of very gentle on the stomach foods that have some kind of nutritional value.

Also any ideas to get everyone healthy would help. I'm already seperating the sick kids from healthy kids, washing dishes in bleach water (and dish soap), using odoban liberally on mess spots, trying to keep all sickies on a sheet in front of the tv. Going to get paper plates and cups.

please keep in mind I am sick too. I can't really cook. It hurts just to exist right now. Thanks.

 

[buddy]

I'm not normally a fan of hand sanitizer but in this case maybe it would help.
What did the Dr say this is?

Was just wondering if it could be a parasite instead of a typical bacteria or virus.

 

[DammitJanet]

Pediasure for nutrients if they will drink it. Get it really cold and you can tell them its a milkshake. Will they eat a little peanut butter or Nutella with the crackers? Chicken soup? You can get the chicken soup with their favorite cartoon characters now.

Is it possible this is more than a simple virus? Maybe a trip to the doctor is in order. Otherwise, lysol wipes everywhere and the lysol handwashing soap constantly. My mom used to put a tablespoon of lysol in my bathwater.

 

[HaoZi]

Pediasure, Boost, Slimfast, some type of nutrient shake if they'll drink it and it won't upset their stomach. Even just Ovaltine mix in some type of milk if you have them on soymilk or almond milk (because regular milk might cause upset tummies right now or maybe you don't use regular milk, I don't know).

Infant vitamin drops to help get some vitamins down them.

Broth from real chicken noodle soup (not the canned stuff, someone here will have a good recipe for you if you don't have one).

 

[Hound dog]

Jello

rice

Pediasure, Boost, Slimfast tend to upset already upset stomaches and slimfast can aggravate diarrhea. Be careful with the gatoraide, especially with a child. (half and half it - half gatoraide/half water) Jello and rice are two of the old "aides" for stomach bugs. Both have protein/carbs. Both are easy to digest and won't aggravate diarrhea. You can also use beef or chicken broth. That helps with dehydration without going overboard. They can nibble saltines if their tummies are upset and sip 7up or sprite. And I do mean nibble and sip. Water should be sipped (for those with nausea) as much as you can get them to sip.

I know you're sick too but when mine caught a particularly nasty stomach virus one year and just kept giving it to each other over and over again (yeah, lucky me caught that one and I rarely catch anything) I stripped every bed in the house and washed all the linen on HOT. Scrubbed every surface possible with lysol cleaner. (bleach solution...you can look up the proper proportions is better but you can't use it on everything) All laundry (my kids were messy with stomach bugs) was washed immediately on HOT water. I was anal retentive about no one eating / drinking after each other and hand washing. Do NOT put lysol in the bath water, it's toxic. Soap and water is all you need for hands and bodies. Just make sure they wash frequently.

The best thing to do? Open every curtain and blinds in the house and let the sunlight in. Helps kill the virus / bacteria whatever the heck is causing it.

Since I was sick as a dog, literally, while doing all this I really don't know how I managed. But I was determined the darn virus was NOT going to make a 3rd round in the family. I was, of course, the last one to get well. I think I slept like a rock for a week and i took lots of naps. I was utterly exhausted.

((((hugs)))) I hope all of you feel better really soon.

 

[StressedM0mma]

I would avoid any milk based products. They tend to aggravate an already sore tummy. I second the BRAT diet. Bananas rice applesauce Toast. And, I hope everyone starts to feel better soon.

 

[InsaneCdn]

And... jello made with apple-juice - take a flavor of jello that "goes with" apple (i.e. not orange!... lemon works well), and use apple-juice instead of the cold water. The protein in the gelatin really helps.

 

[DDD]

Sorry I don't have any new suggestions but I have to say that I would consider taking Buster to the MD. If he is only one I think he might be too vulnerable and might need extra care. Yeah I realize the other kids are little (I sure hope that Cherub has been spared) but at one he is still a baby and might need more than home remedies. Sincerely I am really hoping this passes pronto.

Just thought of something that I did fifty years ago. I got masks like are used by nurses (don't know what the little white over the mouth masks are called) and had the well kids wear them as well as myself in an effort to stop the bug from traveling person to person. I have no idea whether it really helped but visually it made it easier to "see" the healthy from the ill. Many hugs. DDD

 

[nerfherder]

If you want extra calories that are on the soothing side but not dairy, (and nobody's allergic) then coconut milk is a great way to add calories, fat, and a more substantial "feel" to things like gelatin and custards. (But I expect custards like flan are out of your ability to get your own rest right now!)

Pediasure makes freeze-pop like treats "Pediapops," those are great because you're barely sipping but it's soothing and still going into your body.

Apple juice, even chicken broth mixed with gelatin will add a bit of oomph. Or just broth, sipped out of a mug. Mom used to buy us pastina - teeny star-shaped fragments of pasta - for when we were tummy-sick.

 

[Liahona]

Thank you very much. Buster has it the worst. It started with him and he just can't keep much down. He even eats dry cherrios because he can't handle them soaked in milk right now. We've been to the dr once already. There isn't much they can do besides hospital if the babies get dehydrated. Dr was surprized at how well hydrated buster was for having been so sick. Cherub got it and got over it. Right now she and husband are my only healthy ones. I'm not letting the other kids near her. This has been very hard on little mothering very stuborn Ann.

Popscicals are a great idea! Gatoraid half and half popscicals, rice, jello, saltines, sprite. Buster can't keep apple juice down right now. And wash everything hot water, bleach or lysol, lots of hand washing.

I doing a bit better today. Still can't eat much. I'm trying to not let husband around this. When he gets a tummy bug it lasts a long time. The kids will have it a few days and he'll have it a few weeks. We just can't afford him to miss that much work and school.

*Thank you so much guys.

 

[HaoZi]

If memory serves apple juice will make him run at the other end so it's not the best idea right now if you're trying to keep him hydrated.

 

[susiestar]

Do use bleach water, one tablespoon per gallon of water, let it sit for FIVE MINUTES, then wipe/rinse, but don't go stronger on the bleach. Using more bleach won't help or kill more germs. It is the five min that is important, not using more bleach.

Make the kids sing a song while washing hands. They MUST rub the suds in for twenty seconds to get rid of germs. So sing one round (one animal) of Old MacDonald or other kid song as you rub the soap in. This is a good rule for always, and is esp important for when you are sick.

While jello is common as an aide for upset stomachs, the flavors and colorings in it can be hard on the system. We always use plain gelatin and apple juice or even gatorade for the liquid. It works well. Pedialyte for the little ones is vastly better than pediasure. It has what they need to get through this, and the pediasure will make things worse for most kids. Slimfast is the WORST when you are sick. It is pretty hard on the body.

If at all possible, ask the doctor for phenergan gel. It is a rub on version of phenergan and is a big help when you all have a virus. You will need to call around to find a pharmacy that carries it because it has to be specially compounded, meaning the pharmacist mixes it up at the store rather than ordering it from a supplier. Or you can get zofran in tablets that dissolve under the tongue. Both are big helps. Otherwise, either get phenergan suppositories or you can crush phenergan and mix with a little butter to make your own suppository. shape it into a little bullet like shape and stick in the freezer for five to ten min and then it works pretty well.

For most of these things stick wth the BRAT diet once they can tolerate a bit of solid food.

B = Banana
R = Rice
A = Applesauce
T - Toast

If you put the applesauce into a popsicle mold or into an ice cube tray that you cover iwth foil or plastic wrap and stick toothpicks or popsicle sticks into, it makes an easy to digest popsicle. It adds some nutrients and is much slower to eat than a dish of applesauce, so it stays down better. I use the all natural unsweetened applesauce and sweeten it just a little because the amt of sugar added at the factory is nuts - WAY more than you would add at home.

 

[Lothlorien]

I feel your pain. Mighty Mouse has been sick with a high fever since Thurs. doctor gave us medicine to stop him from throwing up, so I can get Advil in him. Just gave him the last one this morning, so I hope he's done with this. The generic name is Ondansetron.

 

[DammitJanet]

Lisa, the lysol didnt kill me but it was that old lysol that came in a little brown bottle and not what is on the shelves today. I have no idea if you can even buy that stuff anymore. I have put bleach in bath water and doctors have told me to do that to get rid of MRSA that lingers on skin.