I have a precious, precious baby that will be 6 months in just over a week. Two and a half weeks ago we discovered he had an ear infection. He was put on Omnicef, and it was horrible. He had diarrhea and stomach cramps the whole time and could not rest easily. I even ended up taking him off of it after 7 days instead of the 10 because he was so miserable and restless. So, that was a week and a half ago that I took him off and he began getting better after a couple of days. Stools became more normal and he began resting better. Then, last Monday, he began acting like his stomach was cramping again and spit up more than normal. This went on for a couple of days and then last Wednesday night, he was up every 30-60 minutes , and his stomach was constantly churning. He was miserable. Fortunately, we were going in to the doctor the next morning to re-check his ears. His ear infection was gone and he was very happy. The doctor examined him and all seemed in order, so he said the stomach pain may still be him trying to get off of the Omnicef...or it could be a mild stomach bug or rotavirus. He did mention C Diff, but said there would be blood, mucus, and/or pus in his stool. There is none of that, still...its just more runny than normal. So, its been a week now, and he wakes at least 4 times a night, obviously uncomfortable, and barely naps, as he wakes shortly after going down, cringing with tummy pain. He has had no fever through all of this and is generally happy during the day. Oh - and last night, he vomited twice - it was different than spit up - had a smell and involved heaving. He was happy after that and has not done it since. He's not dehydrated, I'm feeding him constantly and he is still having several wet diapers and tears.
So, what is this?? Could there be something else wrong? Should I get an ultrasound of his tummy? What could that tell us?
I'm at a loss...and extremely tired. The worst, though, is that my baby is obviously tired too, and obviously uncomfortable. We've always struggled with colic and reflux, but this is even worse.
I appreciate any help.
Thanks!
Maybe he is allergic to milk? Did you ever try a lactose free option? Also some babies are allergic to gluten if they started solids. Another thing is he could be having side effects to the antibiotic. Try feeding him some mashed bananas for the diarrhea. Even rice cereal helps. Good luck
Maby your little one has developed GERD, my youngest daughter is almost 6 years old and still has it (she has had it since birth)? My youngest son had an infection in his intestine when he was 4 months old that caused some very similar symptoms (he was hosptalized over a week), that may be something you might want to ask about as well. As far as the ear infections go I would recomend asking for antibiotic ear drops if he gets another. My oldest daughter had ear infections all the time and was constantly given antibiotics, finally we went to an ENT and he recomended the drops. They worked so much faster and you dont have to worry about a tollerance build up to antibiotics. (she has tubes now though) Hope your beautiful little guy gets to feeling better soon!!
I would try some yogurt, no sugar kind. Sounds like meds induced reflux. best of luck.
Is he taking anything for his reflux? It is possible that the antibiotic has triggered the reflux again. I am puzzled as to why the doctor has not given him something to help relieve his stomach pain. Have you tried Mylecon Drops? You can also try to boil some Chamomile tea that may help to relax his tummy. Ask the doctor about the reflux again maybe if he has stopped the medication he may need to go back on. I have a baby at my daycare center who is over a year old and is still on medication for his reflux. When he goes off it he vomits and is in tremendous pain, which is what your son sounds like he is going through. Try to also elevate the head of his crib with a pillow under the mattress that should help, but I would get him back on the medication. The child at my daycare has to have cereal put into each bottle to also help with the reflux. Of course check with your doctor first. Good luck I hope you get some rest soon.
Hi. First, I'm so sorry that your little guy and you are so miserable. As a mom, I know how terrible that is! Secondly, as a pediatric nurse for over seven years, he could very easily have C-diff. I take care of a population that gets it very often and I can count onone hand the kids that had blood, mucous, and/or pus. C.diff is a VERY common infection due to the more common use of antibiotics. I would demand your pediatrician send some stool studies first before you jump to more expensive and invasive testing. You know your baby best and the doctors should listen to that. I wish you the best of luck!
There is a product called Culturelle that you can mix into cold foods like yogurt and applesauce to speed up re-populating the gut with good bacteria, it is very helpful but it does take time to get those "good bugs" back up to full quota.
Please don't stop your antibiotics early in the future as it increases the risk of your child developing a resurgent, drug-resistant infection that would have to be treated with yet more antibiotics. As hard as it is to do, antibiotics must be used for the full duration or you can do more harm than good.
Many of the moms suggested probiotics. I totally agree. Your son's intestines (where most of his immune system lies) has been completely destroyed by the antibiotics. Unfortunately, antibiotics destroy everything in its path, even the good bacteria that keeps everything in balance, protects the gut lining, and helps to absorb essential nutrients. Go to Whole Foods to the refrigerated section in the supplement isle and get a baby probiotic. It comes in a powder form that you can mix into his cereal, or other baby food. Just follow the directions for the brand you get. Some may even have emergency re-population instructions.
If you are breastfeeding, keep on doing it. It's the best thing you can do. Also, if you notice that he starts to pull on his ears or another sign of an ear infection, just drop a few drops of breast milk into his ears and it will clear right up! Cheap, easy and affordable and will work on both bacteria and viruses and won't cause all the nasty stuff you're dealing with now. Also, with ear infections, 97% are caused by a virus, in which a antibiotic will do absolutely nothing for except cause side effects and a weak immune system. This is why when you get started on the cycle of antibiotics you tend to see several bouts of reoccurring infections over a short period of time. When you suspect an ear infection, insist on a culture. Unless you can visibly see pus coming out of his ear, its most likely a virus. That's why several years ago the APA guidelines changed to the "watch and wait" for ear infections. If your little guy is uncomfortable while waiting for the results from the culture, or while the "watch and wait" period, using Hyland's earache tabs are great or garlic ear oil will both help soothe.
If your using formula, please do not use the brands in the store. Please use goat's milk formula recommended by Dr. Sears. Soy is just plain bad news. Too much to mention here, just use the search engine on www.Mercola.com and you'll soon agree. Cow's milk formula is especially harmful right now because of the state of your son's gut. Before the age of 1 year old every child has a leaky gut. The large molecule proteins from cows milk can get through the channels in the gut and get into the bloodstream where they don't belong. These molecules mimic the same cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The body's immune system, while doing it's checks and balances in the blood see these proteins as a threat and destroys them. But, because they also mimic the cells in the pancreas, it will start to go after those cells as well, hence Type 1 diabetes. They are now starting to classify all types of diabetes as autoimmune diseases now due to this finding. So, goat's milk is the way to go. It should also be cheaper, and without all of the corn syrup solids and other oils as well. Here's the link to the formula: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032401.asp
Hope this helps. I know that its a lot of information, just email me if you need more help.
God Bless,
Dr. Jenn Taylor, Taylor Family Chiropractic, Plano, TX
He could be teething.
if he is not on soy formula try a can. He may be allergic to his formula. thats what mine did when he was a baby a mom told me to put him on soy formula worked like a charm. back then we couldn't get soy formula on wic I was buying everything. and warm peppermint water works wonders for colic and stomach cramps.
If the soy formula works wic will change it so you can get it on wic but I'm not sure if you have to have a doctor to order the change to soy. When my nephew did this my sis n law had no probs getting the soy from wic.
It sounds to be like roto virus if it has a foul smell and stomache churning. My little man had it during the summer last year and it lasted all summer long. He was waking up every 45 min vomiting 6-8 times and it would last abt 5 hrs at a time and having diarreah 15-20 times a day very foul smell as well. You could imagine how many pull ups, diapers, towels and blankets we went through. I ended up having to quit my job to take care of him. We ended taking him to a GI specialist and he was put on a certain kind of antibotic designed for roto virus and a very strong prescription probotic. I am not trying to scare you by all means. I just want you to understand that I've been there and then some. He was on the antibotics for 10 which we had to do every 3 wks cause as soon as he finished his last dose he would start getting sick again. We had to do stool cultures, blood work, colonscopy, endoscopy and ended up having some other problems. Hopefully it's not the issues which I don't think it is cause my son is Autistic and kids on the spectrum tend to have what they call the leaky gut so that's why his was so severe but in any case I was highly suggest you make an appt with a Pediatric GI Specialist if you can't get this resolved and not happy with the answers your getting from your pedi. I hope this helps. Good luck and I pray that your baby gets better soon.
My daughter has much the same reaction to Omnicef (and Augmentin and Rocefin). Just a note, if/when he gets another ear infection, ask your pediatrician if they feel that Bactrim may be indicated. It is what our ENT recommends and did a great job without the side effects--and it doesn't have to be refrigerated!
My daughter is just about to get her second set of tubes...and I've tried every possible treatment (natural, chemical, voodoo, or otherwise) to get rid of the ear infections...to no avail.
If you are exclusively breastfeeding, that is the best thing to do. If you have added solids, BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) will help slow things down. Add plain yogurt with live cultures to help repopulate his bowel--sugar and high fructose corn syrup can make diarrhea worse.
I hate to tell you, but I've had it take more than two weeks for my daughter's system to get back on track...and the kid eats yogurt everyday and will let me break an acidophilus capsule in her mouth to wash down with juice! I also brew her herbal peppermint tea and she's loved that since she was little.
If it goes on for many more days, the pediatrician will likely culture a stool sample...but they're going to want you to battle it every other way possible.
