What to do?

Over the last 4 to 6 weeks I have come across many stories of people especially children of all ages being sick for one, two, three and even four weeks. It has been reported that it was a virus doing the rounds causing frequent diarrhea and vomiting.

One of the biggest concerns especially with children and the elderly is how quickly they get affected by dehydration. Liquids are extremely important, as getting hydrated is paramount. What liquids? No fruit juices especially citrus juices, water is the best but if your child won’t drink just water, then water with 25% apple juice.  My son would drink warm mint tea which is good to settle an upset digestive tract. Peppermint or mint tea has a soothing affect, calming and relaxing the muscles thus reducing spasms in the digestive tract. Chamomile is another good tea to drink, it also helps calm and reduce intestinal spasms.

What to eat? These diets have been recommended for both adults and children while the digestive system is unset. Some well known strategies with vomiting and diarrhea are the BRAT, the BRATT and the BRATTY diets. They stand for B for banana, R for rice (white), A for applesauce, and T for toast. The extra T is for tea and Y is for Yogurt (natural).

Some time ago I wrote an article on the merits of bananas. Traditionally they have been used for centuries for treating diarrhea, the ripe flesh of the banana has antifungal and antibiotic properties. The ripe flesh is slimy – good for soothing the digestive tract. They are also a good source of nutrients like vitamin A, and B6 vitamin nutrients that help reduce stress and anxiety. Also bananas are an extremely rich source of potassium – this an important factor as the body losses a lot of potassium with vomiting and diarrhea so bananas help to replace potassium. Lastly banana contain a very good amount of inulin a soluble fiber known as a pre-biotic, a substance that helps to feed the friendly bacteria in the digestive tract.

So why apple sauce? Apples contain pectin, an amazing soluble fiber that acts like a thickening agent (hence why pectin is used to make jelly). Yogurt (natural), as we all know helps to replace some of the good bacteria.  The toast and the rice are both known as binding foods, causing constipation.

Finally electrolytes, I wrote an article recently about the best natural isotonic electrolyte drink – coconut water (not coconut milk) for rehydrating. Most of us don’t have access to fresh coconuts, but is important to get electrolytes and commercial ones are available in any pharmacy like – Enfalyte, Pedialyte, LiquiLyte, or Rehydralyte.

When do you go to the doctor? That will depend on your age, any existing conditions and the severity. How often is a person vomiting and going to the bathroom? If in doubt go to the doctor get checked out and if necessary give a stool sample.