Sometimes what we eat can turn against us, leading to unpleasant side effects like diarrhoea, vomiting, and, in some cases, even fever and dehydration.
Unfortunately, even children get food poisoning, which can be concerning for parents.
After all, the symptoms can be more dangerous for kids than they are for adults.
We sat down with Dr JoAnn Rajah, board-certified paediatrician at FirstStep Child Specialist Clinic, to learn more about food poisoning and stomach flu and, hence, what we can do as parents to protect our kids.
Q1: How do I tell if it’s stomach flu or food poisoning?
Both the stomach flu and food poisoning are very different conditions. But they share similar symptoms.
Because you can actually have inflammation of the digestive system in both.
So, there are going to be symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, tummy pain, and even sometimes a fever.
But they are not the same. I always heard people relate food poisoning to stomach bugs or stomach flu.
Q2: What is a stomach bug and how does it differ from the stomach flu?
Stomach bug or stomach flu, basically, are just layman’s terms to describe acute gastroenteritis. Which is caused by viruses that infect the digestive system.
Usually, these viruses spread from person to person. Either through coughing or physical contact with other kids at school who are not feeling well.
It is quite contagious. After exposure to the virus, the symptoms can even linger for a couple of days, sometimes up to seven days.
In summary, food poisoning happens because we eat unhygienic food.
Q3: How does the stomach flu actually spread?
Stomach flu is very contagious, as it spreads rather quickly.
An infected person can spread the virus to others from the moment they are not feeling well up to a few days later. Even after recovery.
Contaminated surfaces can be a source of spread for the stomach flu virus, too.
Rotavirus is the most common cause of stomach flu.
It spreads through contaminated food, drinks and infected people.
Rotavirus can cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, and stomach pain.
And after the virus exposure, the infection can last for a total of ten days before these symptoms go away.
Other viruses that can cause stomach flu or viral gastroenteritis include norovirus, astrovirus, and sapovirus.
These viruses all cause similar symptoms to rotavirus.
Q4: How do we differentiate between food poisoning and stomach flu?
I do agree that it’s difficult to distinguish between food poisoning and the stomach flu. This is because the symptoms are similar.
However, there are some differences between them. Here are some of the points to help you differentiate.
Firstly, food poisoning usually occurs within a few hours after eating something that is contaminated.
The symptoms that come can be nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
Now, symptoms can sometimes be severe and may include fever, headache and body aches.
On the other hand, the stomach flu tends to take some time to develop. There’s an incubation period after exposure to the virus. This can be within five or seven days after exposure.
And that is where you suddenly get symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, tummy cramps, fever, and even headaches.
While diarrhoea is often a symptom that most parents are worried about, the main issue with having gastroenteritis or stomach flu is the risk of dehydration, especially in young children.
Every parent should be aware of the signs of dehydration.
It could be passing dark urine, having a dry mouth, having a fast heart rate, or even dizziness, especially while standing.
If your little one is having any of these symptoms, whenever they have a bout of vomiting or diarrhoea, please seek medical attention and bring them to the nearest hospital to get them checked out.
Acute diarrhoea can be very dangerous in children, even more so than in adults.
That is because their immunity and gut system are not mature enough to support them as they fight against the infection. While also coping with the large volume of fluid loss.
Q5: What is the treatment for acute diarrhoea?
Usually, diarrhoea symptoms can go away after a few days.
However, we need to stop and treat the symptoms to prevent dehydration, especially in children.
The main treatment for acute diarrhoea is to replace the loss of fluids.
This can be done by giving a sufficient amount of oral rehydration solutions that contain the right balance of water, sugar and salts.
Next, is to always offer very bland but easy to digest foods.
These include foods like rice, toast, bananas, apple sauce, boiled potatoes and crackers.
These are all good, low fibre options to replenish the nutrients lost.
And always avoid anything that is oily, spicy, or sugary because all these foods can worsen diarrhoea.
The next one would be serving anti-diarrhoea medications. This can be given on top of oral rehydration salts to promote a faster recovery.
Not to forget, ensure your child gets adequate rest and avoid any vigorous activities to help them in their recovery.
When it comes to diseases, prevention is always better than cure.
So, remember to practice good hygiene, such as frequent hand washing, avoiding sharing food and utensils, and frequently disinfecting surfaces that may be contaminated.
This can significantly reduce the risk of getting diarrhoea.
Q6: Are there any suggestions for anti-diarrhoeals?
For children who are two years old and above, there are some anti-diarrhoeal medications available to help treat the symptoms and speed up their recovery.
These include diosmectite, loperamide and probiotics.
Diosmectite can trap and remove harmful substances, including toxins, bacteria and viruses, and it provides a fast recovery.
Loperamide acts by slowing down the bowel movement. Hence, it does help to relieve diarrhoea.
Probiotics help suppress the germs that cause diarrhoea in the first place and help the body fight against them.
For any child aged two-year-old and older, you may try the combination of diosmectite plus probiotics whenever your little one has diarrhoea.
You may give diosmectite to help them clear out the toxins in the gut, and then probiotics can be given any time 2 hours later to replenish good bacteria in the gut.
Thus, helping your little one recover way faster.
Q7: What are your recommendations for parents with children who dislike the taste of medicine?
The good thing is that anti-diarrhoeal medications such as diosmectite come in various flavours that a child may enjoy.
These include flavours such as strawberry, orange vanilla, and even caramel cocoa.
And the good thing is that they’re available in powder form and ready-to-use sachets for convenience.
Not to forget, some probiotics are also available in chewable tablet form.
This way, you can administer the medicine without difficulty.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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