KeriJ Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 ....but don't scare me! :) My 6 year old and my 2 year old dds have been getting sick every month or so. Their symptoms are usually vomiting and occasionally a fever with it. The symptoms usually only last 12-24 hours. My 2 year old has vomited about one day out of every month since December. Sometimes she only vomits once and then is back to normal. My 6 year old is usually laid low for about 6-12 hours. No one else in our house has gotten it, although ds had something similar in November for 1 day, but not since then. The first time that they both had it really badly, there was stomach bug going around our area, so I just assumed that's what it was. But it keeps coming and going. I should mention that we own chickens and they tend to "play" with them even though I've asked them not to, but their symptoms don't really match anything that chicken owners are warned about. Anyway, it's really baffling to me since it is both of them that keep getting it. Any thoughts??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) Salmonella? I know this link is wikipedia, but some good info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmonella Younger children and infants are more susceptible and it's easy enough to get - could be even from contaminated dust. It doesn't take much for the little ones. Could you have your chickens tested? Maybe a local co-op or agricultural college would have some advice. To find out if it is salmonella, I think that you can have one of the children tested when they're experiencing symptoms. Edited March 20, 2012 by Teachin'Mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) My 6yo has had similar symptoms for a year or more now, and I've taken him to the Dr. for checks & they say nothing is wrong with him. We did a blood allergy test that came back negative. What we have been doing over the last month or so is going gluten-free, and so far that seems to have held the sickies at bay (cross your fingers!!). I know that it hasn't been long enough to really consider it "the real deal", but we are currently hopeful! We tried doing lactose-free for a short while, but that didn't work out too well (Granny turns out to be very hard to work with on keeping to a strict diet - grr). It may be that if we had held out longer and if we had gone completely dairy-free instead of just no milk, we would have seen better results. Anyhow, I guess what I'm saying is - currently, my money is on food intolerance!! :D ETA - my ds6 had basically 1 night (always around dinner time) every 2-3 weeks that he would say he was tired & didn't feel well, then he'd usually go lie down in his room and throw up 1 time, fall asleep after we cleaned it all up, and then be COMPLETELY fine (bouncing off the walls fine, no problems at all) the next day. On month, after doing that a long time every 3 weeks or so, he did it every other day for awhile - that is when I took him to the Dr, who decided "probably allergy of some sort" and gave him Singulair & Loratadine. That seemed to bring us back to the once every 3 weeks thing again. Edited March 20, 2012 by black_midori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
---- Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Since it seems recurrent, I'd try to limit (severely) any refined sugar (including white flour) and get them eating yogurt every day (or any other cultured dairy with "live and active cultures") and give them probiotics as well... Sometimes in young children one good stomach bug can screw up the balance of gut flora and make them much more susceptible to anything else that comes along -- things the rest of us would avoid completely. I'd try to rebuild that balance and see if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I wonder if there's anything in your pantry that has issues. A contaminated jar of peanut butter that you use now and again, for example? Any similarities in what they've eaten before they got sick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Cyclic vomiting syndrome? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Does it usually start in the morning? Does their breath smell sweetish? My two younger sons used to wake up a bit feverish, vomit, sleep, vomit some more, sleep, then wake famished. We started tracking what they were eating. They were both mildly hypoglycemic. It's an easy thing to check, and because in my boys it is/was fairly mild, it was an easy fix. A bedtime snack when the child didn't eat much dinner fixed the problem completely. :grouphug: I hope you figure it out. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Sounds weird, but the random vomiting coupled with a fever is usually a sign of strep here. We had a period of six months where my kids kept passing it back and forth and every two weeks or so we were back at the doctor being swabbed. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Sounds weird, but the random vomiting coupled with a fever is usually a sign of strep here. We had a period of six months where my kids kept passing it back and forth and every two weeks or so we were back at the doctor being swabbed. :glare: :iagree: This was my idea as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Since it seems recurrent, I'd try to limit (severely) any refined sugar (including white flour) and get them eating yogurt every day (or any other cultured dairy with "live and active cultures") and give them probiotics as well... Sometimes in young children one good stomach bug can screw up the balance of gut flora and make them much more susceptible to anything else that comes along -- things the rest of us would avoid completely. I'd try to rebuild that balance and see if it helps. I wonder if there's anything in your pantry that has issues. A contaminated jar of peanut butter that you use now and again, for example? Any similarities in what they've eaten before they got sick? :iagree: These were my first thoughts as well and explains why they both seem to continue to have the same illness. I would suspect that they could go hand-in-hand as well. I would probably toss all the open items like nut butters, jams, mayonnaise, frostings (if you have anything like that)....and even things they don't usually go bad like ketchup/mustard/pickles. I would wash out the fruit bowl and sanitize the kitchen/bathrooms/light switches/door knobs/toys ruthlessly with bleach water ( or a new bottle of vinegar if you don't usually use bleach). Check the pantry and if you have a spot that you usually keep onions/potatoes ect...wash that too. One thing that some people don't think to wash is the cloth/reusable shopping bags. They can carry things like ecoli, and continue to recontaminate new produce coming in. You may want to grill them to make sure they are not eating something outside, that they are not supposed to. Unripe cherries or such. I would also check their rooms to make sure they don't have an unexpected candy stash from Halloween they are looting at night. I hope they feel better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Adding to what the OPs have told you to look for, also check for peeling paint. Too much Vitamin A from vitamins or oil supplements will do it also. Check pet food containers. Keep a food diary to see if you can get a clue from that. And, of course, viruses are common at that age and they would both be catching it, especially if they use the same bathroom or bedroom. I would not go gluten free or lactose free at this point, since the fever would be uncommon with a simple food intolerance. It's most likely viral or toxin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSnow Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I would not go gluten free or lactose free at this point, since the fever would be uncommon with a simple food intolerance. It's most likely viral or toxin. I agree. I have a daughter and son that have severe gluten intolerance . Vomitting/diarhea but never fever. My daughter also suffered tremedous joint pain that was diagnosed as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Everything cleared up after giving up gluten! Hope you resolve this in your home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Here's another site with info specifically as it relates to kids: http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/stomach/salmonellosis.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 I'm leaning towards salmonella at this point. But they haven't typically had diarrhea. Dd 6 had a fever on Sunday of this week and was fine by Monday. Dd 2 threw up last night and this morning and has a fever now. sigh. We're making some super strict rules about the chickens from now on, that's for sure! Thank you all for your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Since it seems recurrent, I'd try to limit (severely) any refined sugar (including white flour) and get them eating yogurt every day (or any other cultured dairy with "live and active cultures") and give them probiotics as well... Sometimes in young children one good stomach bug can screw up the balance of gut flora and make them much more susceptible to anything else that comes along -- things the rest of us would avoid completely. I'd try to rebuild that balance and see if it helps. And this is something I was thinking as well. We're working on gut healing and immune boosting around here lately....we'll keep at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I'm leaning towards salmonella at this point. But they haven't typically had diarrhea. Dd 6 had a fever on Sunday of this week and was fine by Monday. Dd 2 threw up last night and this morning and has a fever now. sigh. We're making some super strict rules about the chickens from now on, that's for sure! Thank you all for your thoughts. Sorry, but it really does sound like salmonella even without the other end stuff. Can't even type it! :tongue_smilie: You might want to check if there's an agricultural co-op or some other local place with some suggestions for eliminating or reducing the bacteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassoonaroo Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Sort of reminds me of: http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/153818/12/03/22/96-sick-mainly-little-kids-multistate-outbreak-salmonella-altona-and-johannesbu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Cyclic vomiting syndrome? This is so weird. A few days ago someone on here posted about this and I'm certain this is what my dd has. If she is very tired or excited she gets a stomach ache and I *know* she will throw up that night. We've tried cutting dairy because she had issues with milk when she was little, but it doesn't make an ounce of difference. Then, I'd never heard of abdominal migraines til a few days ago - and I'm pretty darn sure that's what I have been experiencing. I don't know whether my dr. will appreciate that I've gotten this all figured out, but I sure appreciate y'all! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Sometimes those symptoms can be associated with Lyme's, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Agree with all of the above, and also check to see if someone is spraying for weeds/bugs in your neighborhood. This is usually done on a monthly basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.