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9 Year Old Son Stomach Upset .Could It Be Viral?
Question: Hello,
4 days ago (Sat) our 9 year old son woke up at 5am vomiting. He was only vomiting liquid. He had no fever. He vomited about every half hour for 5 hours. After that he felt all better, was back to himself, eating and drinking. He was fine from Sunday to Tuesday. Eating, drinking, acting himself. Now this morning (4 days later) he woke up at 5am vomiting again. This time he vomited for a few hours and it was undigested food from dinner last night. He has no fever again. My husband has taken him to the ER. Now that he has stopped vomiting he feels better.
At the hospital they have done a urine and blood sample and an abdominal X-ray. They said his white blood cells are elevated but nothing they are concerned about, the urine test was fine and his X-ray only showed a small stool. They are waiting to hear what the doctor wants to do next.
I am very concerned about this. I find it odd that he recovered from his upset stomach so quickly on Saturday and was fine for a few days. I was wondering if you may have seen this before? Could it be viral?
I am not sure if this could be related but my daughter was diagnosed with strep throat on July 3 and I was diagnosed with it on July 8. We have been treated with amoxicillin. On July 12 (two days before our son began vomiting) we saw our doctor who checked each of us out. He said our son was running a low grade fever and had a slightly red throat. He still felt fine at that point. Our doctor thought that he was possibly coming down with something.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
Regards
4 days ago (Sat) our 9 year old son woke up at 5am vomiting. He was only vomiting liquid. He had no fever. He vomited about every half hour for 5 hours. After that he felt all better, was back to himself, eating and drinking. He was fine from Sunday to Tuesday. Eating, drinking, acting himself. Now this morning (4 days later) he woke up at 5am vomiting again. This time he vomited for a few hours and it was undigested food from dinner last night. He has no fever again. My husband has taken him to the ER. Now that he has stopped vomiting he feels better.
At the hospital they have done a urine and blood sample and an abdominal X-ray. They said his white blood cells are elevated but nothing they are concerned about, the urine test was fine and his X-ray only showed a small stool. They are waiting to hear what the doctor wants to do next.
I am very concerned about this. I find it odd that he recovered from his upset stomach so quickly on Saturday and was fine for a few days. I was wondering if you may have seen this before? Could it be viral?
I am not sure if this could be related but my daughter was diagnosed with strep throat on July 3 and I was diagnosed with it on July 8. We have been treated with amoxicillin. On July 12 (two days before our son began vomiting) we saw our doctor who checked each of us out. He said our son was running a low grade fever and had a slightly red throat. He still felt fine at that point. Our doctor thought that he was possibly coming down with something.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
Regards
Brief Answer:
Not related to streptococcal infection - looks like viral diarrhoea
Detailed Answer:
Hi... by what you say I do not think that this is related to a streptococcal infection.
I feel that this is more like a viral diarrhoea. I will explain you how a viral diarrhoea behaves so that you can be more confident.
It seems your kid is having viral diarrhoea. Once it starts it will take 5-7 days to completely get better. Unless the kid's having low urine output or very dull or excessively sleepy or blood in motion or green bilious vomiting...you need not worry.
There is no need to use antibiotics unless there is blood in the motion. Antibiotics might worsen if unnecessarily used causing antibiotic associated diarrhoea.
I suggest you use zinc supplements (Z&D drops 1ml once daily for 14 days) & ORS (Each small packet mixed in 200ml of potable water and keep giving sip by sip) as hydration is very important and crucial part of treatment.
it is very common for viral diarrhoea to have a biphasic pattern of illness like this.
Best regards - Dr Sumanth Amperayani
Not related to streptococcal infection - looks like viral diarrhoea
Detailed Answer:
Hi... by what you say I do not think that this is related to a streptococcal infection.
I feel that this is more like a viral diarrhoea. I will explain you how a viral diarrhoea behaves so that you can be more confident.
It seems your kid is having viral diarrhoea. Once it starts it will take 5-7 days to completely get better. Unless the kid's having low urine output or very dull or excessively sleepy or blood in motion or green bilious vomiting...you need not worry.
There is no need to use antibiotics unless there is blood in the motion. Antibiotics might worsen if unnecessarily used causing antibiotic associated diarrhoea.
I suggest you use zinc supplements (Z&D drops 1ml once daily for 14 days) & ORS (Each small packet mixed in 200ml of potable water and keep giving sip by sip) as hydration is very important and crucial part of treatment.
it is very common for viral diarrhoea to have a biphasic pattern of illness like this.
Best regards - Dr Sumanth Amperayani
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Thank you for getting back to me. Our son is home now. He is back to normal and feels hungry. The ER doctor was a little confused about what is going on with our son. He said the X-ray did show some small blockages due to constipation. The doctor was not convinced that is his problem but suggested a laxative. Our son is prone to constipation and did vomit from it once before. He usually gets a pain in his side from that though and he has no pain. The ER doctor suggested we follow up with our family doctor so I will do that today or tomorrow. He felt there was no reason to do an ultrasound in the emergency department today. If this is viral, I guess we can expect him to vomit again in the next few days. Thank you
Brief Answer:
You can wait no need for any ultrasound
Detailed Answer:
I too feel that you can wait and he will recover in a couple of days. But as such I do not feel that he should be investigated with an ultrasound or any other blood related investigations also.
Please do remember all the important signs which I had explained you in my lost interaction and if any of these develop I suggest you get back to your family physician.
I wish your kid a speedy recovery. If you need any future medical consultation and suggestions, I will be glad to help. You can approach me at the following link.
Once the page opens there will be an option below my image as – ASK ME A QUESTION – click on it.
Please find the link below -
www.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-sumanth-amperayani/67696
Best regards - Dr Sumanth Amperayani
You can wait no need for any ultrasound
Detailed Answer:
I too feel that you can wait and he will recover in a couple of days. But as such I do not feel that he should be investigated with an ultrasound or any other blood related investigations also.
Please do remember all the important signs which I had explained you in my lost interaction and if any of these develop I suggest you get back to your family physician.
I wish your kid a speedy recovery. If you need any future medical consultation and suggestions, I will be glad to help. You can approach me at the following link.
Once the page opens there will be an option below my image as – ASK ME A QUESTION – click on it.
Please find the link below -
www.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-sumanth-amperayani/67696
Best regards - Dr Sumanth Amperayani
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
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