I woke this morning to C2 vomiting in my face. Yeah, my face. Thankfully I moved mostly out of the way so she only caught the side as I was in motion but still... ugh.
While she is sitting on my bed and I am trying to figure out how to go about getting up and cleaning us both up without making more of a mess, I can hear C1 in the bathroom moaning. Whining and whimpering for Daddy.
This cant be good.
That was at 7am and for the next 3 hours there was almost constant vomiting -sometimes both of them together with me holding a bucket in each hand while they retched into them. By 10am, the vomiting was over and they were begging for food. Fevers were low but not gone and their faces were fairly ashen as evidence they had been really and truly sick.
By 11:00 they were both begging for food. By lunchtime they both ate a normal lunch and I sent them to bed -neither wanting to lay down but both falling asleep fairly quickly.
What I did...
When they first started throwing up, I dont do anything at first. The infection (bacterial or viral) needs to leave their system and one of the natural ways to expel it is via vomiting. Not fun but necessary and a good thing. I also dont treat fevers unless they go above 103 for more than 30 minutes for the same reason but that doesnt apply this time.
When their vomiting didnt produce much actual vomit, I begin giving them teaspoonfuls of probiotics. Initially -since they are vomiting even water- I give them a single teaspoon after each bout of vomiting. I then set a timer for 15 minutes. If they havent vomited again, I give them another teaspoon. If they vomit shortly after the next one, I start over immediately and give a new teaspoon as soon as they finish vomiting. When they can go more than 20 minutes without vomiting (so they are mostly keeping the probiotic down), I increase the probiotics to 2 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon depending on the child) and continue giving them more every 15 minutes. When they have gone 30 minutes without vomiting, it is usually a sign that the worst is over. At this point, I give them a small (4oz) cup of 1/2 purified water and 1/2 pure juice -fresh squeezed is best- and let them drink HALF of it along with a dose of probiotic. Set the timer for 30 minutes and repeat with the last half of the cup of water/juice. Each illness is different but usually after this point you can introduce light and easily digestible foods. (This time we started with very soft cooked egg yolks -NO whites.) I like to continue with the probiotic every hour but I confess that I rarely remember. Thankfully they like it enough they usually ask for it but not always.
I have done this 'routine' three different times now and each time the vomiting stops completely within hours. If there was a lingering fever, I add 250-500mg of vitamin c when I start with the juice.
If you know me at all, you know I am a HUGE proponent of probiotics. We all drink kefir smoothies every single day for lunch in addition to having sips of kombucha and other fermented foods and drinks. I know that our overall gut health and regular use of them does help these times of illness as well but this will still work for everyone.
Probiotics:
There are many different kinds of probiotic foods. You can even buy probiotic pills such as NOW Foods Probiotic-10, 50 Billion, 50 Vcaps
(the key is the higher the different strains, the better). This one is a decent chewable for children: (NO corn syrup or artificial stuff) Rainbow Light Probiolicious Gummies, Ages 4 and Above, Cranberry Flavor, 50-Count
The most common probiotic that everyone thinks of is yogurt -which typically has about 1-3 different strains. Better than nothing but not the best option.Home made milk kefir has around 50 different strains of probiotics and each teaspoonful has billions of them!
Kombucha has fewer different strains but is equally as concentrated.
Water kefir has around 20 strains and is probably easiest to get little ones not used to them to take.
Milk kefir and Kombucha can both be purchased at stores -with milk kefir being available at most grocery stores that has about 7-10 strains.
Some info on probiotic foods here: http://www.naturalnews.com/036785_superfoods_probiotics_fermented_foods.html
Fermented foods vs Probiotic pill: http://www.picklemetoo.com/2012/10/26/fermentation-friday-probiotic-pills-vs-fermented-food/
A collection of probiotic-related links (always adding to them): http://delicious.com/kstrader/probiotic
I am sure most will already guess that milk (and water) kefir are our favorite forms of probiotics. True but not where it ends. We also always have kombucha on hand as well as various fermented veggies at different times. I would run onto a huge rabbit trail here so I will get back to these stomach bugs...
My favorite probiotic for these sick stomachs is kombucha. Ours is quite strongly brewed since I almost always forget to 'finish' it at the 2 week mark but thats ok -stronger is better! If I didnt have kombucha on hand, I would likely have made one kefir smoothie (a touch of honey and vanilla) and used that instead. So far I havent had to but I know it would work. Kombucha requires no additional 'prep' like kefir, can be kept in the fridge for months, and can be flavored. I love this site for recipes: http://www.picklemetoo.com/kombucha/
I can never say enough or encourage people enough to start getting probiotics every day. If making kefir and/or kombucha is overwhelming (kombucha is the least 'hands-on' of the two), then get the pills or buy them from the store. Your gut and overall health with thank you -I promise you!
So you gave them kombucha? 1 t. at a time? That is interesting. I need to remember this remedy.
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