My 5-year-old daughter's been having diarrhea for a couple of days. Otherwise, she's not sick. No fever or other complaint. I know what set her off too. She has had, over the past few days, far more fruits and vegetables than she's used to.
So, I've stopped giving her fruits, vegetables, and other high-fiber things (just until this clears up). When this happens with me, I just take some pepto and that clears it right up. But the kids pepto doesn't say it helps with diarrhea like the adult one does. I've looked in the drug store for a kids diarrhea medicine, but the only stuff I've found is for ages 6 or 8 minimum.
What do you do when your kids have this problem? Again, this was set off by diet, not an illness.
I think she's getting better. She hasn't had an accident all day (which really distressed her since she's been potty trained for two years). I knew it wasn't anything serious and it would pass on it's own, I just wanted to help it along. No more serviceberries for her! :) Thank you all for your help.
BRATS diet all the way. I wish my boy would have been willing to eat rice or anything other than his formula.
M.
http://largebummies.blogspot.com/
Use the BRATS diet ( Banana rice toast applesauce) they are naturally BINDING foods and will help.
Some foods that will bind a tummy up include cheese, rice, bananas and dry toast.
You already have good suggestions for restoring her digestive balance with pro-biotics so I won't repeat those.
Make sure she's staying hydrated, but avoid adding any extra sugar to anything as it will make the diarrhea worse. Plain old water is the best bet for hydration.
If you still have some Desitin around somewhere, maybe you can apply a little bit for her after every time she "goes". Diarrhea is very acidic and is very hard on the skin down there so she's probably raw and sore. This can give her topical relief and make the whole thing a little more bearable for her.
There really is no OTC medicine for diarrhea for kids this age, you just have to use her diet to get her back in balance. Best of luck!
Perhaps she ate something that was slightly spoiled and instead of developing the vomit type of food poisoning, her body reacted with diarrhea-? Even if you've eaten everything that she's eaten, adults and children may not react the same to slightly expired food... Adults often have a more 'iron stomach'.
My daughter once had diarrhea from a food allergy. I tried to find her age appropriate pepto also. The pharmacist said they don't make anything like that for young children because, if the body is trying to get rid if whatever is making it ill, it's best to let that happen and not give the child medicine that would cause the body to 'hold on to it'. So, unless it goes over a week (if it does then at that point take her in to the doctor), keep her hydrated and let it run it's course.
the only thing that helps my daughter is the BRAT diet. Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Basically, a really mild diet. The last time my daughter had it bad, she pretty much lived off of waffles, applesauce and yogurt, which helped.
I wouldn't worry about it....just let it run its course as long as she's hydrating and eating. I also wouldn't necessarily cut way back on her normal foods, just anything that could be a trigger. However, bananas and pineapple and pumpkin are all supposed to be good for diarrhea.
I would add probiotics to her water or beverage to help her build up her good bacteria again, which is being stripped right now from all of the diarrhea.
Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, things like that are all good to rebuild tummy flora. Stay away from standard dairy. Bananas, crackers, etc are all good to help stop the diarrhea.
Try ginger tea if she will drink it...you can steep it, chill it and serve it with a bit of sugar to make it more palatable for her.
My daughter had this same problem and the nurse said to make sure she was eating yogurt everyday (greek is best because it has the most live cultures) and a probiotic. They suggested Culterelle for kids. YOu can find it OTC. It is a capsule that you break open and mix the powder in with the yogurt. My daughter's diarrhea cleared up within a couple days of using Culterelle and eating yogurt. Also, avoid fruit juice and milk and watery fruits.
Hope she gets better....it's not fun!
How old is your child? Last time my son had diarrhea the doctor told us to give him pedialyte. With his age though it is because of teething.
I give mine powdered acidophilus bifidus. It works great and is safe! 1/4 tsp mixed in with yogurt or pudding twice a day. It will put the good bacteria back into the gut. It helps with both diarrhea and constipation. Or, you can give 1/4 tsp daily to keep the gut healthy and you wont have to ever worry about those two problems. It works great on adults and children alike.
Okay, your child is 5. You can give them medicine for a 6 year old. Make sure she is drinking plenty of water.
