Gastroenteritis: Healing for Stomach "Flu" [Virus, Food Poisoning]

[little mama]

A friend suggested trying bentonite clay for three days. She threw up the first dose yesterday afternoon but hasn't thrown up since. She seems better than normal this morning so I think I'll stick with this right now. If this doesn't work I'll dig deeper.

[chrisg20]

I have Virastop and Tummy Tuneup Original in the house, as welll as Culturelle.  What should I take and what dose?  Can I give it to my 3.4 yo and 14 mo?

Thanks for the quick help!  Please send get well/stay well vibes!
Chris

[djsnjones]

That depends a little on what kind of stomach virus.  Is it a flu-type of thing (fever and joint aches)?  If so, then I recommend Oscillococcinum....

http://www.oscillo.com/

Oscillococcinum is safe for children age 2 and over.

If it's something else, like something he ate, I would recommend Echinacea.  Even if it's some other kind of virus that is making him have nausea and diarrhea, I recommend Echinacea also.

For just indigestion, I recommend ginger capsules, Jamaican ginger beer, and/or peppermint tea.

Best wishes.

[SarahK]

I have used TTU for stomach illnesses with success.  I give one whole/as is and then follow with a spoonfull of yogurt or sour cream that has the contents of another capsule stirred in.

Usually settles an upset tummy pretty quickly.

Can't help you on the vibes though.  Us Minnesota folks can vibe like the best of 'em - but it's up to 20 today.  Way to warm for vibing or shivering either way.

[crystal]

I would suggest GSE 4 times a day. (Amount of drops depends on strength.  Beeyoutiful's is twice as strong as Nutribiotic.)  Not certain how to get it into the baby.  The toddler might take it in juice.  It is horrible tasting stuff. Alternate the GSE with good doses of TTU.  I have also read that the Virostop is good to stopping the stomach stuff.  There is lots of other info on here about this topic.

[chrisg20]

Thanks all.  When you say good doses of TTU, what do you mean?  Like 2 caps 3x a day or even more?

[lotsaboys]

Thanks all.  When you say good doses of TTU, what do you mean?  Like 2 caps 3x a day or even more?

bump

[4myhoonie]

A friend suggested trying bentonite clay for three days. She threw up the first dose yesterday afternoon but hasn't thrown up since. She seems better than normal this morning so I think I'll stick with this right now. If this doesn't work I'll dig deeper.

how is your little one doing? did you figure out what the problem was?

[little mama]

I continued to give her Bentonite for another day at least ans she seemed fine. Sunday morning she puked again as we were about to go out the door so I gave her another dose and that was the end of it. I'm impressed with bentonite clay!

[4myhoonie]

I continued to give her Bentonite for another day at least ans she seemed fine. Sunday morning she puked again as we were about to go out the door so I gave her another dose and that was the end of it. I'm impressed with bentonite clay!

cool!  thanks!  so glad she is better.  i guess i will have to get me some of that, it's one thing i have been putting off.

[southmom2k]

I have seen refrences to this TTT I am quessing it is a tea.  Do you make it or buy it?  Where would I get it.

i think what you mean is TTU.  it's tummy tune up, we get it from beeyoutiful.com or morethanalive.com  it's a great probiotic and their original formula will stop vomiting.  i have had it work 4 times now and if you do it after they vomit the first time it works great and usually only takes one dose.  i just open the capsule and dump it on their tongue and they drink a sip of water to wash it down.  here's link for ya:
http://www.morethanalive.com/6

I am thinking of trying this... but it I can't wait for it to get here. Is there another similar product that I could get at Whole foods or GNC that would be good for my 3 yr old?

[Whiterock]

I have seen refrences to this TTT I am quessing it is a tea.  Do you make it or buy it?  Where would I get it.

i think what you mean is TTU.  it's tummy tune up, we get it from beeyoutiful.com or morethanalive.com  it's a great probiotic and their original formula will stop vomiting.  i have had it work 4 times now and if you do it after they vomit the first time it works great and usually only takes one dose.  i just open the capsule and dump it on their tongue and they drink a sip of water to wash it down.  here's link for ya:
http://www.morethanalive.com/6

I am thinking of trying this... but it I can't wait for it to get here. Is there another similar product that I could get at Whole foods or GNC that would be good for my 3 yr old?

If either of those places sell NOW brand products, then you may be able to find Gr8 Dophilus -it's the same thing.

WR

[mom2ryandkenna]

Just wondering. Have you all found that TTU does not work. I dread, dread, dread the stomach flu (my biggest fear). Well, my son came down with it Monday. He threw up once and after a TTU on his tongue was fine from 9:00 pm until 10 am. When he woke up, I gave him some water on his little empty tummy(silly I know). Then he got sick again and with the help of another TTU he was fine (no other symptoms). My daughter got sick Friday night, but after a TTU was fine the rest of the evening and next day. I am still giving them TTU 2X's per day. My question is, will the TTU continue to work, or do I need to have something else on hand. I also have GSE caplets from NOW. They are 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 and this is our first experience with the tummy flu (was sooo happy when my son made it through Preschool without it, despite pretty much every other kid coming down with it in his class). I am an Speech Therapist at the school so, I unfortunately know when all the kids are sick . Is there anything I can get in addition to what I have, to help with the "Next Time". Thanks and sorry for the long post. You all are a wealth of info

Carrie

[herbs girl]

I have had mixed results with the Tummy Tuneup and vomiting. (Gr8dopholis by NOW foods)  In the past,  it has seemed to work, but there has been times it has not worked for us. I am at the point now that Children's compoisition (has peppermint in it) seems to help upset tummies along with Nausea Cola syrup. Flat Coke helps too.

[mom2ryandkenna]

Funny that you would say flat Coke. That is always what my dad gave us when we were little and sick (which wasn't that often thank god). Curious, did you use the Now brand ot TTU. What is the other remedy that you mentioned. I am new and have never heard of it. Thanks for the help 
Carrie

[herbs girl]

Cola syrup. It is the main ingredient in coke, the cola extract. You can get it at any pharmacy, grocery store, and some gas stations.

It is sometimes called "Nausea Syrup" or "Emetrol".

My 7 year old really likes this when he has a stomach ache and flu, I just put a teaspoon or two and some ice and water, then he sips it very slowly.

[healthybratt]

Charcoal helps sometimes, but if they throw it up, it can be quite messy.  

I've taken my kids through the pukies and sometimes they respond quickly to treatment and other times they do not.  I don't believe it's because the treatment isn't working, I think it's just a more severe illness and takes more time and treatment to get where you're going (or you started treating in a later stage of the illness).

If it gets to the point where they can't keep TT or charcoal down, then we just don't give anything at all.  Ice chips or small sips of water/herbal tea as the child desires it and nothing else.  It is not imperative that they keep something in their tummies.  Dry heaves are bad, but if they just puke up what they put down, then it's better to allow the fast.  They won't starve to death  

Once they can hold their liquids or they begin to experience hunger, then we usually give them Vitamin Water, bananas and/or pears to get their electrolytes back in order.  More TT at this point is always a good thing.

[4myhoonie]

ok, i'm just sure i've seen this somewhere on here, but i can't find it!!  we have had a couple kids with the stomach flu, (supertonic is a great immune booster if you actually ingest it!!) anyway, my youngest got it Thursday night, was up all night, fine in the morning.  he ate breakfast, didn't want any lunch & played normally all day, after his nap had a few bites of apple and threw that up a while later. only puked twice then was starving and begging for food.  so we did ice chips and saltines for a couple hours.  he went to bed and slept all night.  same thing again, he ate breakfast, played normally all day, i got 7 or 8 bites of soup in him at lunch then last night (3rd night) he ate pizza and had major projectile vomiting several times til it was all out of his system, then had ice chips til he was too tired to see and went to bed.  we had given him probiotics and supertonic yesterday, thinking it would help him be completely over it.  sadly i also tried both after the first episode of vomiting and it did nothing.  i am just at a loss for WHY this is happening!!  how can he be fine all day???  has anyone figured this out?

[herbs girl]

This has actually happened to my son before when he was 3 years old or so. He did this for two weeks. Be fine part of the day or for a day, and then start vomiting again. He would even keep food down for a set amount of hours and then the vomiting would start.  Finally we took him to the doctor. She said some stomach virus' lasts for two weeks, and that we just had to let it take its course. Sounds like you are doing the right thing with Probiotics. That is what the emergency room doctor prescribed for my son- Probiotics! And after I started giving it to him, he started improving!

Have you tried charcoal or Bentonite clay (seperate from the probiotics of course)?

[4myhoonie]

thanks, not yet, i have some dr. Schulze's #2, but my teenager threw it up one time!  eeeewww!!  maybe i will give him a couple today and see how supper goes.  scary!  i just want to get back to normal, and i have 3 kids & hubby and i that haven't gotten it.  just want to know it's over!!   

[Jade]

4myhoonie, I just wanted to say that we've recently had a stomach virus, and it was REALLY bad. Mostly because it lasted forever, and nothing helped it. Nothing. Not probiotics, not water kefir, not apple cider vinegar, not colostrum, etc. I even tried taking some pascalite clay after I was past the worst of it (during which time you could not IMAGINE trying to get anything down), and I can't honestly say that it seemed to make any difference.

This stomach virus really frustrated me, because in general, we can either entirely prevent getting sick, or get over it very quickly. I don't know what we're doing wrong, but we got SO sick, and it lasted and lasted and lasted. It was no fun.

I sure would like to find out what would have helped! Let me know if you find anything. Hope your family is well soon!

[4myhoonie]

well, he still doesn't have his energy back, but yesterday i gave him 2 doses of one pill of dr. Schulze's #2, (benonite clay & activated charcoal) and he managed to keep done very small amounts.  not much appetite today either, just cheerios, crackers, etc.  and now he's got a cold/snotty nose.  anyway, i think the stuff helped, but i'd sure like to see him back to his usual self!  we are continuing to give supertonic and probiotics. 

[born-an-okie]

We had a stomach bug that just wouldn't go away a few years ago.  The only thing that helped was to give enemas.  I don't know why, but emptying the lower digestive tract was the only thing that finally stopped the vomiting for my little kids.  Hope your boy gets back to normal soon!

[hi_itsgwen]

This is really *really* icky, but my sis had a violent stomach bug once as a teen.  She finally did an enema, and a clear jellyfish-ish substance passed...she thought it was a bacterial colony or something.  She got well quickly after that.

[4myhoonie]

yikes, i'm not that brave, and i think hubby would have a fit!  i forgot to give him any charcoal/bennonite clay yesterday and he threw up again last night.  then hubby gave him clear diet pop, cuz we are afraid after this many days he's getting dehydrated.  then at 10:45 he vomited all of that.  he hadn't really eaten any supper, but had a few bites of chicken noodle soup for lunch (mostly just noodles). he did have the diarrhea twice yesterday too.  i just can't figure this thing out!  it's so frustrating!  thanks for the ideas anyway, i'm going to make sure he gets the charcoal/clay today and probiotics. 

[healthybratt]

yikes, i'm not that brave, and i think hubby would have a fit!  i forgot to give him any charcoal/bennonite clay yesterday and he threw up again last night.  then hubby gave him clear diet pop, cuz we are afraid after this many days he's getting dehydrated.  then at 10:45 he vomited all of that.  he hadn't really eaten any supper, but had a few bites of chicken noodle soup for lunch (mostly just noodles). he did have the diarrhea twice yesterday too.  i just can't figure this thing out!  it's so frustrating!  thanks for the ideas anyway, i'm going to make sure he gets the charcoal/clay today and probiotics.  

i think i'd rethink clay for this.  it can steal nutrients.  i've not had any experience using this for illness, but i know that while cleansing, it really depleted my stores.  the charcoal and some good probiotics would be my first choice.

a little patience is always good too.  natural medicine can only do so much for a sick body.  sometimes the illness just needs to run it's course and sometimes that takes a few days.  

i'd keep some bananas and vitamin water around for when he feels like eating to restore electrolytes.  ginger, catnip, raspberry leaf and/or peppermint tea can help sooth tummy and replace nutrients as well.

oh, if he can handle the smell, a garlic poultice to the feet every few hours can help as well.

[4myhoonie]

yikes, i'm not that brave, and i think hubby would have a fit!  i forgot to give him any charcoal/bennonite clay yesterday and he threw up again last night.  then hubby gave him clear diet pop, cuz we are afraid after this many days he's getting dehydrated.  then at 10:45 he vomited all of that.  he hadn't really eaten any supper, but had a few bites of chicken noodle soup for lunch (mostly just noodles). he did have the diarrhea twice yesterday too.  i just can't figure this thing out!  it's so frustrating!  thanks for the ideas anyway, i'm going to make sure he gets the charcoal/clay today and probiotics. 

i think i'd rethink clay for this.  it can steal nutrients.  i've not had any experience using this for illness, but i know that while cleansing, it really depleted my stores.  the charcoal and some good probiotics would be my first choice.

bummer! it's the dr. Schulze's #2 and mixed together.  but i do have another thing to try.  Rikki just told me about using baking soda in water every few hours so am gonna give that a go! thanks!

[lotsagirls]

When I was pregnant with my last I had a stomach bug that would not go away.  This is what Floydian told me to do...Make some chicken soup...I put in lots of veggies, onions, garlic, and cayenne.  Put it through the blender so that there are no *chunks* in it.  I just ate little bits of that at a time for 2-3 days.  I took TTU along with digestive enzymes right before eating.  By the 2nd day I was feeling much better.

[4myhoonie]

well, i did end up getting 1/2 tsp total into him yesterday, and so far so good.  granted, he only ate a few bites of PB sand. for supper.  he has had a great appetite today and is enjoying some 7-up which he never gets. not sure what will happen tonight. 

i had made some chicken noodle like you described, though hadn't pureed it. he didn't have appetite enough to eat any.  i just finished it off--yum!  that's a great idea, will have to remember the puree thing! hope this is actually OVER!   

[healthybratt]

When I was pregnant with my last I had a stomach bug that would not go away.  This is what Floydian told me to do...Make some chicken soup...I put in lots of veggies, onions, garlic, and cayenne.  Put it through the blender so that there are no *chunks* in it.  I just ate little bits of that at a time for 2-3 days.  I took TTU along with digestive enzymes right before eating.  By the 2nd day I was feeling much better.

The chicken soup is probably not what healed you although the fats and vits kept you going.  The fasting allowed your body to heal itself.  The less digesting you must do, the more resources your body can afford to send to the other systems, especially the immune system.  That's why, I think it's not the most important thing to keep food down.