Salmonella Poisoning - 4 Yr Old

Updated on February 20, 2007
D.K. asks from Las Vegas, NV
11 answers

Does anyone have any advice about Salmonella poisoning in young children (4 year old)? Recently there was a nationwide recall for Peter Pan peanut butter with a beginning code of 2111 due to it being contaminated with salmonella. Sure enough we had that code on our jar and my son has been eating it for some time now. We are assumming his illness is linked to eating the peanut butter but not 100% sure. It seemed obvious when we heard about the recall. Well, he has had diarrhea and been vommitting for 3 days now. I have been trying to keep him hydrated but anything that goes in comes out soon after. I have read there is nothing to do other than to wait it out and it will pass. But how long is too long before I should worry? Any advice or knowledge out there about this issue?

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So What Happened?

Thats for all the great advice. Alex was seen by the doctor on Monday and given antibiotics. He seemes to be doing great now and is back to eating and playing normally.

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S.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi, I have a 2 year old son. He was sick for about a week w/diarrhea and vomiting. The first day that he was sick he actually passed out. I called 911 and they told me he passed out from dehydration and exhaustion. His pediatrician said that he had rotavirus (very common in children under 5 yrs.) He was sick for about 1 week before I started to have the same symptoms. Two days into my being sick the news about the peanut butter came out and my husband wakes me up early the next morning to tell me we have the recall #'s on the peanut butter. While my son was home sick, I had to eat quick meals (peanut butter was involved) :o) I called my son's pediatrician and asked them about this and they told me my sons symptoms and treatment would be the same for either illness. They told us to put him on a bland diet: rice, bananas, crackers, a high carb diet. No dairy or sugar. Give him pedialyte to keep him hydrated. Anything with sugar or hot drinks/food will only make his body work harder causing dehydration. I hope this helps! Let me know if there is anything else.

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A.E.

answers from Los Angeles on

just to be on the safe side, you should take him to the dr. or emergency room asap... i never let my kids go more then 2 days with those kind of symptoms... if he cant keep anything down then hes dehydrated and could end up in the hospital...

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H.B.

answers from Las Vegas on

with the fact that your child has eaten from that jar of peanut butter. PLEASE!!!!!!CALL YOUR DOCTOR AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
If you or I were to eat the peanut butter and get comtaminated w/ salmanella, we would probably be very ill but young children and the elderly are more likely to die. This is not something I would joke about.

The stomach flu is going around, but I still would not take the chances.

Until you get to a doctor, try offering pedialyte, water and juice one tablespoon every 5 minutes if it stays down.
Pinch his skin if it stays dimpled , that is a sign of dehydration. Also his urine may be a strong odor or dark yellow color. These are also signs of dehydration.
Any signs of dehydration skip the doctor and go right to the emergency room.

Good luck. I hope it is only the stomach flu. Even though that is never fun at least we know he will be well again in about 1 week.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CALL YOUR DOCTOR!

H. b.

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D.C.

answers from Reno on

Hello D., I would definitely get your child to the doctor. Salmonella poisoning and dehydration are two things that you do not want to take lightly. I always follow the motto, "that I'd rather be safe than sorry". So I will call or go the doctor if it is something that I feel just isn't right. Back in December, my daughter who was 11 months old then, had thrown up for three-four days straight and each time I tried to put a little fluid into her it came right back out. She didn't appear right (sunken eyes,listless) so I took her to the ER. They immediately put her on an IV and after blood work decided she needed even more IV fluid than originally suspected. We were there for a few hours, but once she got that extra boost of fluid in her system, she became so much stronger and beat her illness quickly. The Doctor told us that sometimes the best medicine for alot of illness is an IV or fluid boost.

With Salmonella poisoning, a child could die and it just isn't something I think will pass on it's own in a child. Last year during that "Spinach" comtamination, a two year was given
a smoothie with fresh spinach. Sadly, he didn't survive as most of the adults who got it did.

I'm not trying to scare you, but I would definitely seek medical attention immediately. Best Wishes, D.

FOR THOSE WHO MAY HAVE NOT HEARD!!!!!

*** The Recall on Peanut Butter was for Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Good Value "Walmart Brand" peanut butter, beginning with the product code (2111). I had two jars in my cupboards and immediately tossed them...

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H.J.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'd be calling my Ped, or evn just taking him to a walk in clinic. No pointin waiting till he gets worse when you have sickness and caue already in hand....

H.

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C.L.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi D.,

My suggestion would be to call your doctor and ask him. I would ask my husband (he is a Ped's Dr.) but he is not here right now. You are right in keeping him hydrated, when our daughter was sick with the stomach flu he had us give her pedialyte or liquids with electrolytes, clear broths and soda crackers.
Take care,
C.

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R.R.

answers from Sacramento on

Hi D.,
Have you taken him to the Dr. yet? Small children and senior citizens can dehydrate very quickly, especially with both throwing up and diarrhea. Three days is a long time for a 4 year old. I would get him in and/or let the Dr. know or you'll end up in the hospital with him on an I.V.

Hope this helps, let me know how he is doing.
R.

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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

If your child has had diarrhea and vomiting for three days, you need to call your doctor now. If you can't get through, go to the emergency room.

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I.H.

answers from San Francisco on

You are right about keeping hydrated, that is probably the most important thing you can do. Watch out for fainting, dizzy spells, or unusual fattigue which could indicate dehydration. If that happens take him to the emergency room, especially if he is so tired durring the day that you cannot wake him to stand. Try to get fluids in by serving soups, jello, and some of his favorite drinks. Call an advice nurse or pediatrician and explain the situation, perhapse you can file an incident report with them or make a claim to be compensated for medical care. Most important is the child. Good luck.

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K.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I am sorry you are going though this too. All three of my kids had it. The first 3 days are the hardest because they could not keep anything down. The next two days they just couldn't keep anything in. It just came out the other end. All 5 days they had no energy. They just slept. After the 5th day they got some energy back. I kept in contact with my ped. They said it could last up to 7 days and if it didn't get better after the 7th day they wanted to have the kids see the doctor. Luckly it got better after the 5th day.
So keep in contact with your ped and if it goes longer than 7 days make sure the doctor sees him. During this time like everyone says hydrate with fluids and do the BRAT diet. What helped my girls was banana's.
Hope this helps. I know this is not fun. Take care!

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi D.,
I don't have any experiences with Salmonella, but had food poisoning myself, which lasted 10 days :(

I want to share with you that after 3 days of not holding any food or ANY liquids, I had the worse headache/migrane ever. I went to the ER and during my wait there, I felt so horrible I would ask my husband to hold my hand and then immediately tell him not to touch me. I am usually pretty strong, but this was bad and I was crying! I didn't know what I wanted. Just be aware if he gets too cranky he may need to go in for an IV.

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