Virus

[sconeonamission]

Help! My 9mth old has a virus! He has a bad cough (which according to dh is getting worse). He has a constantly runny nose and yesterday and the day before had diarreah (sp?). Guess it doesn't help that I have a bad cold either... Can you help with these?

But what do you feed a baby with diarreah? I've been told dry toast and plain biscuits... The doctor didn't tell me diddly squat about what to feed him. I've been told banana, then no banana, pear, mandarin, basically stay away from dairy... He's not really eating either.. really only ate arrowroot biscuit mixed with water and pikelets yesterday. Still b/f but he has to keep pulling off to breathe. drinking heaps of water from his sippy cup (but only when I remember to offer, coz he doesn't use it on his own).

Also, coz I have this bad cold - does it go thru my milk? If I have cough mixture, will he get any benefit from that? Am I keeping him sick, by being sick?

Sometimes you can't even tell that he is sick.. He'll play and play. Others he's all cuddled up and just wants to be held. DR has given me some antibiotics (don't want to fill the script), should go and get them as you can sort of hear that there may be phlegm - and he doesn't know how to spit that out.

[mrsmac]

My GP told me last time that Riley had a gastric thing to keep food up to him as it puses the bug out of his system faster. She also said no dairy but bananas were good and so was bread, plain biscuits. She told me to keep him off high fibre things too. Your milk won't make him sicker, it will give him antibodies that you are building.
I would get the script done if he has green snot as this shows infection.
Can you get him some baby dimetapp or demazin or Fess saline nasal spray? I find that helps my kids.
Good luck, its very tiring having a sick little one especially if you are sick too.

[PinkPalace]

Scone!

Ok calm down.

Firstly - good on you for breastfeeding you are doing the best thing you can. If you are sick and have a virus/infection - your body fights it with antibodies... when your bodies builds up these antibodies they are passed onto bub through your milk to help build up his immune system! So the best thing you cyould do for bub if YOU are sick is breast feed!

Secondly with a gastro bug if bub wont eat dont panic!! Fluid it much more important in terms of hydration. So ensure bub is getting milk/water in little doses frequently during the day even if he is tolerating some food. If you have to give it to him in a dropper or syringe even that is fine.

Bubs can get up to 10 colds a year with runny noses etc - and especially with the change into winter!

Have you got a humidifier? you can buy one from the chemist for about $40. These are great and you will use it for years and years with kids.
They help to warm and form water vapour in the air so bub can breathe a little easier when sleeping. I have one of these in DD's room when she is particular snotty and she sleeps through.

[MantaRay]

Rhianon, don't worry about the not eating. That's really common when they aren't well. Try giving him some extra bfs if you can. The bm is probably the best thing for him, and will definitely be the easiest thing tolerated by his tummy. Runny noses often cause upset tummies due to the mucous running into the tummy - adults can get this too.

The main thing to watch for is signs of an ear infection or throat infection. These can happen after a few days of a runny nose and do need to be treated. Other than that there's not a lot you can do. It sounds like you are doing a great job. I hope he's better soon.

[krisp]

When our DD had a cold a few months ago we raised the end of her cot a little to help her breathe. We also steamed up the bathroom and had cuddles in there with her for a few minutes before bed time to help clear her congestion.

The best indication that your DS needs antibiotics is the colour of his nasal mucous. If it is a bright green it CAN (not does) indicate a secondary bacterial infection. Keep an eye on his temp and keep up the extra fluids.

[pegasus]

Try using baby balsam or add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to his bath. The aroma can help clear the nose. That's what I do when DD has a cold. One time her cold was so bad that she started refluxing her milk, and then started refusing everything. I just had to force to to drink, constantly giving her a bottle of milk or water and after a day or so, she was drinking better. In that time, she actually lost weight. That scared the s*** out of me. But she quickly put it back on and continued to grow normally.

She was 7 months, and was on purees. She really only liked her fave foods, and I just can't remember what we fed her. Using the Fess helped, and using the suction bulb did a better job of clearing her nose than a tissue, except she grew to hate it. So we let her play with it and that helped.

Take it day by day, and it will improve. Diarrhoea is the body's natural process of flushing out a bug. Only if they are losing so much fluid or rapidly losing weight, should it be stopped with medication. Your GP should advise you. If your GP is not really giving you all the information and you are unhappy, just find a new GP. There's nothing wrong with a second opinion.

BF is the best thing. Take your medicine and it would probably go through and help your son too. All the antibodies your body is making will go to him and help him. I wish I was successful at BF and maybe then DD would have gotten over her colds better. Then again, being exposed to all sorts of bugs on public transport and living in communal accomodation didn't help.

Just do what you think is best and if it doesn't feel right to you, get a second opinion. Get well soon Jensen