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Brainstorm with me about the GI bug that will not go away


mamaraby
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Of my three children, someone has been down with this GI bug at one time or another since February 8th. The first child that had it is now down with again making it her third time.

 

It goes like this - child throws up or has the diarrhea or has both. We adhere to standard hydration/food introduction rules working our way up from sips to saltine crackers and eventually BRAT type foods. We stick to this for three days or so until child seems healthy and back to normal. We get a couple of days where this child eats mostly normally. Then it starts again. We repeat.

 

I have taken to wiping down surfaces, handles, door knobs, and light switches several times a day. All of the tablets are in Otterbox cases so we wipe those down too. At first sick kids were welcome to join us in the common areas, but in the interests of trying to keep everyone else healthy (especially the adults), we have gone to sick kids staying in their rooms. I remind everyone to wash their hands multiple times a day - before and after eating.

 

I have a call in to the doctor’s office, but in the meantime, is there something else that I should be considering? Am missing? Could be doing? I haven’t replaced toothbrushes, but did try to disinfect them last night since I forgot to buy new ones when I went to the store. Single use toothbrushes seems like overkill, but at this point...I think I’d try just about anything (well, except homeopathy, essential oils, etc).

 

I made some yogurt with soymilk last night (we’re vegan) and was going to add that to breakfast for healthy-ish people. Or at least people who haven’t thrown up and can keep food down. Because probiotics could maybe help?

 

Alternate plans considerd include me leaving on long term vacation and returning when the kids are healthy. Maybe only slightly kidding here.

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I had something somewhat similar to what you describe (though the episodes were not quite so close together) a few years ago.  One day, I heard on the news about a peanut butter recall - I checked mine and I had a tainted can and it was what I ate for breakfast almost every day..  I threw that away and I was not sick again. 

 

Any chance there is a food that is making them ill and they keep eating it and getting reinfected?  Long shot, I know, but I thought I would mention it as I felt like I was going crazy because I couldn't figure out why I kept getting sick.

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DD had the runs off and on for weeks, I was at my wits end.

Finally I figured out that it was because she was washing her toothbrush with soap after every use, and not rinsing it thoroughly; hence was ingesting soap every time she brushed her teeth.  I realized this only after she helpfully washed *my* toothbrush with soap, a flavor that I instantly recognized.  

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Hand washing is good. I have kept an eye on it and remind everyone multiple times a day. Dd has informed me that she can read and is following the directions she read in the bathroom at a restaurant so score one for public health education efforts. She also rolled her eyes at me like I was so lame for even asking. Clearly the GI bug has not impaired her atitude circuits. ;)

 

Electrolytes seem to be fine. Coconut water is universally despised here so that’s a no.

 

I didn’t think about strep so I’ll keep that in mind. No fever in any of them in case that means anything.

 

I did end up taking dd in to the pediatrician this morning and we got what I would interpret as parasite oriented questions - have we been to Mexico, do we live on a farm, etc. It’s a no on all of those. The most exotic place we’ve been is selling Girl Scout cookies the weekend before dd got sick the first time, a couple of outside classes, and the library.

 

Based upon the lab work ordered, I think the doc is ruling out parasites and bacterial sources, although no strep culture at this point. I’m waiting to hear back about that.

 

I don’t think ingesting soap is a concern. I have not seen anyone here do that, but that’s a new one! I’ll watch for odd/weird stuff like that just in case.

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My kids got hit with flu and norivirus back to back. We were sick (off and on, and different kids) for 4-5 weeks. We just couldn’t kick it and it is similar to what you’re saying with sporadic fevers. Truly the worst I’ve seen in twenty years of parenting. No idea if this is what you’re dealing with but it makes me wonder?

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I knew a family with something similar and it turned out (this is going to sound crazy) their dishwasher was making them sick.  I forget if it wasn't washing the soap off properly or if the water wasn't getting hot enough, but once they figured that out it resolved.  Good luck. Stomach bugs are my kryptonite!  

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We don’t have a water filter, but that’s a good idea. Our dishwasher had to have a pump replaced awhile ago, but aside from that it has worked as designed. It heats things up no problem. Otherwise, we drink city water straight from the tap.

 

I have disinfected toothbrushes again and had the kids hand over their reusable water bottles so I could wash them and be sure they weren’t using them again until everyone was healthy.

 

The doctor’s office ran an enteric panel on dd1 yesterday. The test results were available online this morning. Everything came back not detected so I guess it’s not norovirus, rotavirus, ecoli, salmonella, etc. I’ll have to see what the doctor says then.

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They ordered blood work (CBC w/differential, celiac screen, and urinalysis). Everything came back normal and the only suggestion they have is to keep her on a bland diet.

 

Dd went to a Girl Scout meeting last night. She had a turkey sandwich there (bread, no cheese, no condiments, some iceberg lettuce) which we had agreed might be an ok choice as it seemed to match up with foods mentioned on the lists I found online for what constitutes a “bland diet.†The doctor’s office has not quantified what they mean by it, so I was going off the list on MedlinePlus. I figured the iceberg lettuce would be mild enough given the small quantity. I did not stay for the meeting, but was apparently not forceful enough in telling her not to eat the other foods. The main meeting was an international foods taste test. She had some baked goods because she thought they’d be ok. She was sick again this morning.

 

Excepting the vomiting, I’d suspect IBS or IBD. If things go as they have in the past, this will be the only time she’ll throw up and the diarrhea is the main thing that sticks around - bland diet or no. Is there a virus that could be causing this that isn’t covered under the enteric panel? Is it just an irritated digestive system post virus? Our next step would be a ped GI doc according to her primary care physician. I’d like to see if I can get her to stick with a bland diet for a full week (after she graduates from BRAT) before we go that route.

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 I'd temporarily stop all raw fruit and veg. Everything must be lightly steamed. 

Add good probiotic capsules. 

 

 

I think you should consider parasitic infestation (any dog of mine with symptoms like this would have been dewormed a couple times already - sorry I don't mean that in a rude way but that constellation of symptoms to me is suggestive of parasites) 

 

celiac disease can present like this  - you could do a food trial of that ... 

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Have they checked her stool?

Yup. The enteric panel they used screens for Campylobacter species, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Salmonella species, Vibrio species, V. cholerae, Yersinia species, enteroaggregative E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enterotoxigenic E. coli, Shiga toxin producing E. coli, E. coli O157, Shigella/Enteroinvasive E. coli, Cryptosporidium species, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Adenovirus F 40/41, Astrovirus, Norovirus, Rotavirus and Sapovirus. All of them came back as “not detected.â€

 

They did a celiac antibody panel that came back negative.

 

I'd temporarily stop all raw fruit and veg. Everything must be lightly steamed.

 

Add good probiotic capsules.

 

 

I think you should consider parasitic infestation (any dog of mine with symptoms like this would have been dewormed a couple times already - sorry I don't mean that in a rude way but that constellation of symptoms to me is suggestive of parasites)

 

celiac disease can present like this - you could do a food trial of that ...

Aside from the iceberg lettuce on her sandwich last night she has had no raw veg. She’d had very few veg until yesterday and before yesterday they were all well cooked and soft (like cooked veg in soup sort of thing). The only raw fruit she’s had is bananas.

 

I’ve got her on a probitotic and I’ve made some soy yogurt with the vegan starter from Cultures for Health. Do you have suggestions on a good vegan probiotic? She can swallow some smaller capsules, but nothing big and she’s not particularly adept so maybe chewable? I’ve got a probiotic that she has been taking, but whether or not it’s good is questionable.

 

One of my informants has shared that dd ate wasabi peas last night at the Scout meeting. I guess I’ll blame this morning on that as that’s the opposite of bland. *sigh* It still doesn’t explain why it’s taking so long for her digestive system to return to normal, however.

 

I really do appreciate all the suggestions and help in brainstorming this. Dh has jokingly suggested putting canned pumpkin in her food because it works so well for the dog. I am only half tempted to try that except she’s anti-sweet potato and squash on a normal day.

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