My daughter is sick and unwilling to eat anything...?

Question

My 20 mos old daughter has fever and unwilling to eat anything.. she does drink little milk but she throws up after that.
doc said she was fine. it's normal for a sick child to lose appetite.
but she needs to eat at least something, doesn't she?
what can i do to get her to eat...?

Answer 1

If she is running a fever and throwing up she is not fine. Although if the time period has been short and the fever is low then she may just not feel well. Like adults babies can have headaches, earaches, upset stomach for no reason. This usually will pass in 24 hours, but if 2 days has gone by like this I would demand further testing from the doctor.
Try to get her to drink Gatorade that is clear or light color, water, or some other clear re-hydrating liquid and let her gnaw on saltine crackers when ever she feels like it (maybe even dipped in chicken noodle soup). Is she pulling at any part of her body? Ear, hair, face even? Signs such as these will usually tell you what is bothering them. You may want to give her a tad bit of Motrin, not even a dose, just like a quarter of a dropper full. This usually helps them rest until they feel better again.
Keep steady watch on her until she is feeling better and the fever has subsided, you shouldn't assume that cause she is resting she can not get worse. Doctors are not always right, but they can not always know.
Start her off light when she wants to try to eat again, soup with mostly broth is usually best. Just do not let her get dehydrated, surely the doctor told you something similar. I had a little girl too, and helped with my sister's for the first few months and the experience is familiar.
I hope she feels better soon! Follow up OK!

Answer 2

It really is OK if she does not eat when she is sick. That is perfectly normal. Think about how you feel when you are sick. I know I don't feel much like eating when I have a fever. Avoid dairy products for a while if she is throwing up. It tastes really nasty and may turn her off for awhile to milk. Think about how you feel about certain foods or beverages you have thrown up after eating or drinking. With fever, it is more important to keep her hydrated. Offer her some Jell-O, a Popsicle, watered down apple juice or white grape juice. Avoid anything red as it will probably stain if she throws it up. Pedialyte is really not necessary unless she is having diarrhea and vomiting for several days. Even if it is not the healthiest choice, let her choose when and what she wants to eat. Try some soup with clear broth, not a creamy broth. Campbell's makes soups kids like - Goldfish, Dinosaurs, Chicken and Rice. Don't be alarmed if she only eats a bite or two or refuses it all together. Just make her comfortable, don't dress her too warmly, rock with her, and give her the fever reducer medication your doctor recommends. She'll eat again (and probably make up for lost time) when she feels better.

Answer 3

She's 20 months old. She'll be okay. Give a little water, room temperature. Give warm milk, not cold, and only in short sips spaced far apart. The doctor's right. Sick kids lose appetite. If she's taking medicine to bring the fever down, no problem. Watch for a couple of days. If the fever doesn't go down with medicine within 48 hours, schedule another visit. Remember, short sips only, and give some water to keep her hydrated. I know you're worried, but it'll be okay. As my Dad always says: kids get sick.

Answer 4

There were too many posts to read them all so I didn't bother...

Never give milk to someone with a fever... it will literally go bad during digestion. That would be why she threw up.

My kids and I just got over a nasty virus. When my 3 year old wouldn't eat the doctor told me not to worry so much about food intake but worry severely about liquid intake. Juice, water, pedialyte, gatorade is okay for sick children in moderation etc... I think the one thing that saved us a trip to the hospital was this: I went to the store and bought freeze pops. They are like 100 for $3 or something... and I gave them free run at them. When ever they wanted one, it was theirs. This kept them hydrated. She will be okay not eating until the virus runs it's course. My oldest son has it right now and hasn't eaten in four days. When she's ready to eat, she'll tell you. Just keep her hydrated.

Good luck!!

Answer 5

Wellllll my doctor always said that giving a child milk on a sick stomach was not a good thing. The most important thing is getting fluids in her--- Dehydration is the biggest problem when a child has a fever/flu. Pedialyte is a good one. If you don't want to buy it-here is a homemade recipe:
http://www.cockatiel.org/tips/pedialyte.html (although I can't vouch for it).

If you don't want to do that, water, Gatorade and watered down juice is also good. Chicken broth works when she stops throwing up.

Answer 6

I have to help my cousin with her baby and i have a 22 month old niece and when she gets sick i give her pedialite because that makes her fever go down and she's willing to eat after she drinks pedialite. Since it's summer time she might just throw up the milk because it spoils on her stomach give her juice and lots of water. But if she doesn't respond to doing neither one she needs to see a doctor,

Answer 7

Try taking her to another doctor for another
opinion.If she has a stomach virus milk is not a
good idea as milk harbors all the little bacteria
and causes more vomiting.Try water or pedia lite if she will take it.My son would never take
either when sick so I always paniced.One doctor told me that toddlers can go for aweek w/out eating.I'm not so sure though.You may try small crackers,soup,or sprite.These are light
and will not be so bad if thrown up.

Answer 8

No, she doesn't need to eat right now. It's more important that you keep her hydrated, especially with the fever and the vomiting.

Milk isn't good for her to have right now.

Give her water or Pedialyte to drink. When she's feeling a little better, give her the Pediasure milkshakes. When she's feeling better, she'll ask for something to eat.

It's far more dangerous for her not to have lots of liquid so that she doesn't have to be hospitalized.

Poor little thing, hope she's better soon!

Answer 9

Well first of all if she is running fever you shouldn't give her milk. The milk will sour on her stomach. Try pedialite or even Gatorade to rehydrate her. Once the vomiting is under control you can try giving her some crackers or something light. It may seem strange but she will eat once she is feeling better. Don't force it.

Answer 10

Pedialite is horrible tasting~ try mixing in nutra sweet.
You can make her jello water, most children love this. Also try making sweet rice~ instant white rice, a little sugar, a little butter. Yummy and very easy on the tummy.
Saltines, plain toast, plain applesauce are good to stick with for a few days. Hope your baby feels better soon.