Diary of A Stomach Flu

I am recording this down for my own reference cos my memory is failing me rather badly and of course to share. I pray in Jesus' name that no one reading my blog would need to use the following information, Amen!

All of us were down with this horrible bug, Kimi first, hubby then me. I am able to detail these cos we first see the symptoms in Kimi then hb experienced it and I was prepared for it. Initially, we weren't sure what to make out of Kimi's complains. We didn't know it was real or imaginative cos Kimi can be such a drama fella these days! So we took all his complaints with a pinch of salt till it came to hb. Everyday was a different experience. Terrible is the word.

Day 1

• Nauseous
• Vommitting/wretching
• Overall unwell/'sick' feel
• May start some diarrohea
• Joint and muscle aches
• Tongue starts to feel 'chemical', no taste and the Chinese called it 'siap'

What you can do -

• Kids - Best to rest the gut. Children can go without food for 2 days but you must hydrate the child frequently. Good to use Pedialyte and serve small amounts like 30ml every 15mins.
• Signs to look out for are dehydration and fever. Dry lips is 1 indication of dehydration.
• Most kids will whine for milk cos they are hungry yet they can't keep food down. Really if possible no dairy but sometimes when they cry so badly,we give in. I suggest 50% dilution and small amounts like 30-50ml. If child is willing you can serve soy based milk or Pediasure.
• Always standby a basin and teach child to vomit into it or into a plastic bag.
• If you can recognise the signs early, bring child to Dr for a jab immediately. For us, we knew that Kimi will not vomit in a space of 45mins (merlion style) so we brought him the the hospital after his second vomit.
• Adults - I downed many cups of green tea, it really helps!

Day 2

• Fever starts (for young children)
• General weak feeling all over body
• More vomitting
• Cannot keep food down. Completely no appetite. You don't even feel hungry

What you can do -

• Adults - try to drink small amounts of fluid like Htwo or 100Plus. Try to eat 1 or 2 pc of crackers if you can. Eating in small amounts help. Very running porridge is good too.
• For young children - Continue to rest the gut hydrate with Pedialyte. If they can or willing can give runny porridge, just plain with a sprinkle of salt. If not, can eat cracker or plain toast too. Kimi refused everything! :(
• Kimi can't even stomach Yakult. Wierd right? This was what he wanted to drink but threw up after each drink.
• You will need to give child paracetamol and monitor fever. Can also give med to prevent vomit.

Day 3

• Headache starts and it is located at the back of the head, radiating to neck and upper shoulders
• Still general unwell feel
• Throat feels rather warm and feels like there is a thick lining from the tongue to throat. You also sometimes feel like you have phelgm.
• Show some signs of recovery, vomitting lessens. Able to keep some fluid/food down.
• At Day 3, I felt the immense urge to drink Orangina and jelly. It gave me such satisfaction. At this point, it is best to serve drinks that are a little chilled as it made drinking easier and satiating. I feel it is good to give child jelly as it provided nice, cool comfort and a good way to open appetite and get him interested in food. Its also light and easy for the gut to absorb.

What you can do -

• Give paracetamol if child starts to roll all over the floor cos he may be having a headache. As Kimi can speak, he can tell us where and what pain he had.
• For younger ones, you will have to use your discretion to help ease their pain. It is really very painful cos I took 2 Extra Strong Panadol and it did not go away.
• Kimi also was very whiny and we observed that when he had stomach cramps or this headache, he will roll all over the floor.

Day 4

• Just when you thought it is over, the cramps hit you today!
• It leads to some vomit and watery stools/diarrohea. Kimi started vomitting and wretching again.
• Appetite may improve but we can only take in 20% of our usual portion.
• Tend to pass out alot of wind too

What you can do -

• Kids - Continue to rest gut and do not over-stimulate with whole meals. Snack frequently and hydrate with Pedialyte.
• Start to rub Ru-yi oil or Eucalyptus oil to purge out the winds. You can also give child Colimix to ease cramps and help to relive wind.

Day 5

• Appetite improves and can keep food down. Start wanting to eat all kinds of food but can't stomach and probably only can eat 20%. Tend to get hungry very quickly and feel faint easily.
• Kimi kept saying he is going to fall down.

What you can do -

• As we would have douse our child with so much medication on an empty stomach, it is good to give child some Yakult/yogurt/pre or pro-biotics tablets (fr Dr) if he can stomach it.

Day 6-10

• Continue to feel hungry quickly and feel faint.
• My body felt erratic but cos my stomach is stronger, I recovered faster. But it was funny cos I can feel so well 1 minute and the next I felt feverish and an hour later, I was well again.
• Frankly, all the porridges I made, mostly were in the bin. This bug is so wierd. All of us wanted to eat foods that were considered 'no-nos'. Like fried chicken, fried rice, hor fun, cheesy fries, etc.
• Kimi took his first meal at Day 8. He was completely well with no more vomitting and passed poo at Day 10.

What you can do -

• Continue to monitor intake of food or give child whatever he wants to eat. Cos at this point it is really not how nutritious each meal is BUT what you can keep in his stomach and not let his stomach go empty.
• Hydrate child well. If child like ice-cream, you can freeze some ribena lollies and let him suck on them.