How long gastroenteritis children

Give your child 5mL of liquid 1 teaspoon every 1 to 5 minutes. When your child starts to feel better, you can give larger volumes but less often. Make sure that your child drinks the amount of liquid he or she needs for his or her age. After 24 hours, give your child the oral electrolyte solution only after each watery diarrhoea.

Step 2: Feed your child healthy food Feeding your child a healthy diet will help your child's fight against infection. It will also help to heal his or her digestive system and prevent weight loss. Stop giving your child solid food for 6 to 12 hours only if he or she is vomiting.

If your child has diarrhoea, do not stop feeding your child. Give your child small amounts of food that he or she likes every 3 to 4 hours. Here is a list of appropriate and inappropriate food for your child:. This almost always leads to continued vomiting. Keep in mind that there is no effective drug or suppository for vomiting and that diet therapy is the answer.

Another tip is to help your child go to sleep. Sleep often empties the stomach and relieves the need to vomit. Your child doesn't have to drink anything if he feels nauseated. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. Skip Ribbon Commands. Skip to main content. Turn off Animations. Turn on Animations. Find a Doctor.

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Skip to main content. Conditions and Treatments. Home Conditions and Treatments. Gastroenteritis in children. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. Causes of gastroenteritis in children Symptoms of gastroenteritis Children with gastroenteritis must keep drinking Go to the doctor if your child is very sick Watch for signs of dehydration How to prevent dehydration in children with gastroenteritis Children with gastroenteritis can eat their usual foods How to prevent the spread of gastroenteritis Where to get help.

Causes of gastroenteritis in children Gastroenteritis is caused by different things — including viruses, bacteria, bacterial toxins, parasites, particular chemicals and some drugs. If your child gets gastro more than once the cause may be different each time.

Infectious gastroenteritis in children Gastroenteritis can spread quickly. Most cases in children are caused by a virus called rotavirus. Cases in adults are usually caused by norovirus the "winter vomiting bug" or bacterial food poisoning. Gastroenteritis can be very unpleasant, but it usually clears up by itself within a week. You can normally look after yourself or your child at home until you're feeling better.

Try to avoid going to your GP, as gastroenteritis can spread to others very easily. Phone the service or your GP if you're concerned or need any advice. What to do if you have gastroenteritis. Looking after a child with gastroenteritis. Getting medical advice for your child. Some people also have other symptoms, such as a loss of appetite, an upset stomach , aching limbs and headaches. The symptoms usually appear up to a day after becoming infected.

They typically last less than a week, but can sometimes last longer. If you experience sudden diarrhoea and vomiting, the best thing to do is stay at home until you're feeling better. There's not always a specific treatment, so you have to let the illness run its course. You don't usually need to get medical advice, unless your symptoms don't improve or there's a risk of a more serious problem. Gastroenteritis can spread very easily, so you should wash your hands regularly while you're ill and stay off work or school until at least 48 hours after your symptoms have cleared, to reduce the risk of passing it on see Preventing gastroenteritis.

You don't normally need to see your GP if you think you have gastroenteritis, as it should get better on its own. Visiting your GP surgery can put others at risk, so it's best to phone or your GP if you're concerned or feel you need advice. Your GP may suggest sending off a sample of your poo to a laboratory to check what's causing your symptoms. Antibiotics may be prescribed if this shows you have a bacterial infection.

You can look after your child at home if they have diarrhoea and vomiting. There's not usually any specific treatment and your child should start feeling better in a few days. Check with the GP surgery before going in. A GP may speak to you on the phone. You probably will not know exactly what the cause is, but the main causes of diarrhoea and vomiting are treated in the same way. Page last reviewed: 07 December Next review due: 07 December Diarrhoea and vomiting.

How to treat diarrhoea and vomiting yourself You can usually treat yourself or your child at home.