Diarrhea...how long is too long?

[MegND95]

My 2.5 year old ds has had pretty bad diarrhea for several days. All three kids had a stomach virus over the weekend, and threw up at least once. But my youngest can't seem to shake the diarrhea part, and has a watery bm as least every 2 hours. He is drinking pretty frequently, and is not completely lethargic, although he is more subdued than normal. And he also has a wicked case of diaper rash.

At what point, if any, should I call his ped? You'd think after three kids, I'd know, but this is one situation we've not faced before.

Thanks!

[megs4413]

i would say 24 hours is long enough to wait on the ped. the danger with these tummy viruses is dehydration and diarrhea is a sure fire way to get dehydrated....call your ped and see what they recommend...

[noahsmommy]

Hmmm...if your youngest DS isn't eating or drinking any foods (diary, fruits, etc...) that would be exacerbating the diarrhea, you might want to bring him in to his ped. He may have a more severe GI virus like the rotavirus or something. My DS had rota last winter and it usually takes at least a full week for the virus to run it's course. The diaper rash definetely sounds like a reaction from the diarrha, frequent changing, slathering diaper rash cream, should help. Also, I found that just rinsing the bottom with water (and throughly drying) rather than using baby wipes tends to ease up on the diaper rash. Or even using a less concentrated baby wipe will help. (like pampers sensitive wipes vs. the scented ones) I HTH!

Hang in there!


Ann

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[miki]

When I've called the ped about GI bugs, I've been told that it is not unusual for diarrhea to go on for up to 14 days. And not to be alarmed as long as my kid is hydrated. Hope your DS perks up soon.

[elephantmeg]

diarrhea can wipe kids out fast, I'd watch his intake pretty carefully (since it's hard to figure out if they're having wet diapers since the diarhhea soaks in), look carefully for signs of dehydration: no tears, "sticky" mouth, dry lips, really tired and if your mommy instinct goes off then get to the pedi. Sometimes kids just need an IV bolus in the treatment center or ED (not admission). For the diaper rash, break out the big guns-whatever you're not using :), rinse with water, use baking soda in the bath...

Hope he feels better. What color is the poop? Rota is steriotypically "grass" green and smells like, well, hmm (smells like rota!) dead stuff maybe? It's really rank. I haven't seen any rota admissions yet this year, it's usually a springtime bug (yes I "planned" DS to miss rota season and he was late and rota was early so I ended up with the last month of my pregnancy knee deep in rota...I'm a peds nurse-but all normal disclaimers apply here!)

[o_mom]

At 18 mos, it took DS1 1 day of vomiting followed by 2 days of diarrhea to end up in the hospital. YMMV, but I think a call to the ped in the morning would be good.

[KBecks]

I would call now.

[daniele_ut]

>When I've called the ped about GI bugs, I've been told that
>it is not unusual for diarrhea to go on for up to 14 days.
>And not to be alarmed as long as my kid is hydrated. Hope
>your DS perks up soon.

I've been told the same thing. DS had a stomach bug 2 months ago and once the vomiting subsided, he had loose stools and diarrhea for almost exactly 2 weeks. A few days after the vomiting stopped, he was acting completely fine, though the diarrhea persisted.