9 Month Old with Rotovirus

My son also had rota virus at about 9 months old. Try to avoid the p foods, peaches, peas, prunes and such. Doctors told me they soften the poop and will make the diarrhea worse. I found it to be true when my son was constipated and I just fed him lots of peaches. Hope that helps a little bit.

Is he on any medicine for it the virus? My son had to take medicine and it caused a reaction in his diaper that was AWFUL. We went to the pediatrician and they perscribed a super paste that fixed the rash right up. I don't know if the rash is concerning you, but if so, call your pediatrician and ask about it. They called it "poop goop"- funny, huh? But it worked GREAT.

The only advise I have it to use Triple paste on his sore bottom!!! It is the best diaper cream I have found, my pedi recommended it. I also wanted to say hang in there!!! I hate it when the kids are sick, but it is so much worse when you get it too. Hope you all get better soon.

(I just looked it up on Mayo Clinic again.. and I guess they have changed it in the last 2 years, and I guess it is possible for adults to get... Sorry! I was going by what was said when my son had it)

My son had that at 7 months, and it was bad! He was also in the hospital dehydrated! The diarrhea is supposed to last 10 days-2 weeks. I used a lot of vaseline on my son... I just put a thick coat on him with every diaper change, and when he had the diarrhea, I tried to change him right away before the acids could irritate any skin that was exposed, and the rash he had from the first time he had diarrhea was gone within hours, and never came back. So maybe try that and see if it helps. I know it is not fun!

If they tested him for Rotavirus and it was positive, then that is not what you have. It is contagious to other children, under 5. They told me that by 5 everyone has built up antibodies to it, so I only had to worry about other kids. The Mayo Clinic website said the same thing. I was very worried and asked a few times to make sure... because it was christmas eve morning that he was in the hospital, and we were supposed to have dinner at my grandma's that night (she was 90), and they said it would be fine to bring him because she couldn't catch it. And the only way it spreads is through touch... if you wash your hands after every diaper it won't get to any other kids. It is not airborn at all. My son went to daycare after 4 days when he was getting back to normal, and didn't spread it to one other child. We also went to my aunts on Christmas and the other baby there never got it either. We were just overly worried about washing hands... instead of after every diaper, anyone who held him had to wash their hands after so that there was no chance of it getting to the other baby, and it never did. So I am guessing you have something else... there has been a lot of virus' like that going around, I just had one last week. I know it seems like you would have gotten it from him, but adults can't. Good luck... I really hope he gets better! My son seemed to be better I thought (the vomitting and diarrhea had stopped, and he was drinking the constant small amounts I was told to give him, so I really wasn't worried), but then 5 am Christmas Eve morning, his temp was 106! That was the reason we went to the ER, and then found out that he was dehydrated and that was why he seemed better. We were luckily only there for 5 hours, just long enough to do the tests and and get fluids through an IV. It took a few days after that to get back to eating normal... but he acted just fine. Good luck!

I agree with much of what the other moms have said...I have made the poop goop before at home and it feels weird to put athletes foot cream (or monistat!)on your child's bum but it certainly did the trick a couple of times when he was really bad. Some suggestions though...use just a little bit of the antifungal compared to the other ingredients and make sure to mix it pretty well with the vaseline and desitin so you don't have all the antifungal in one spot. You might just want to buy a jar of vaseline, dump in the other two components and mix with a popsicle stick (which you can then use to apply!)

The BEST thing I found for diarrhea in kids (or adults!) is the peri bottle!! most of us probably remember these from when we gave birth to our little munchkins, but you can also use like a shampoo bottle with a pop up lid (I've seen them in the travel/sample section at Target or Cub or just about any store). It is a squirt bottle that is given to clean vaginal/perianal (hence the name) area so that you don't have to wipe as much with toilet paper when you are trying to heal. Same concept here...fill with body temperature water (if it's too warm it hurts), put your kid in the tub, take off the diaper (and any other clothes you want to keep clean/dry) and bend them over enough so you can get a fairly good high pressure squirt in the crack. If you did a really good job of coating with the poop goop then the diarrhea will wash away without all of the poop goop coming off. The key is to always have a layer of this goop between the skin and the diaper! After rinsing, dab (do NOT wipe or rub!) with some tissue or a wipe or let air dry if you are able to entertain for a few minutes in the tub. It is ok to leave some old goop on there if it is clean. Apply another thick layer of goop to affected areas and put a clean diaper back on! It is kind of a bigger pain than a typical diaper change but so far it has significantly decreased the number of days our kiddo has had a serious rash during these bad diarrhea spells.

Checking the diaper frequently is key...less time on moisture, less time the skin has to become irritated.

Above all: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. As you know this is pretty much the reason we see kids get admitted to the hospital this time of year...most illnesses can be treated at home as long as the kids aren't dehydrated.

Since you will probably have similar symptoms, the peribottle really cuts down on the irritation of wiping when diarrhea gets bad in adults too. It's like a poor man's bidet. Just squirt until you think that all the diarrhea has been removed and dab with toilet paper until dry.

Best of luck! Rotavirus is going around our daycare this week too so I'm sure that it is only a matter of days before we will also be victims...

A little about me: 27-year-old married mom of a 16 month old boy...almost done with medical school and planning to practice pediatrics!

My daughter had that as well and it lasted for about 2 weeks. The BRAT diet seemed to help a little so I would recommend you do that as well. Also pediatlyte to keep him hydrated. I don't know if you're nursing or giving him formula but with my daughter she wasn't getting much nutriets from her formula so my pediatrician recommended switching to Lipilease - the nutrients are already broken down so it was easier for her stomach to absorb faster and keep her formula down. I also gave her lots of desitin on her bottom and rinsed her wipes in water to decrease the amount of alcohol in them. Letting her bottom air out also seemed to help. Good luck and I hope it gets better sooner than later!

ugh! so sorry your son has it. my daughter had it right at a year old, and it was awful and she gave it to my husband and i both, which was the worst part of it. nursing helped with the dehydration. otherwise try whatever you can get him to drink, even if he throws it back up, he will retain some of the liquids. popsicles might work, make em out of fruit juice or pureed fruit and a little water or juice. coat his butt in vaseline every time you change him to keep the diarrhea away from his skin. the diarrhea for my daughter lasted at least 10 days so you could definitely see it that long. keep your head up! it passes:)

I feel for you! Rotavirus is horrible! My little boy had it a month or so ago - it lasted 2 weeks but the first few days were the worst. He would eat and a little while later he'd have a blow out. We gave him baths instead of wiping him - we'd rinse him and then soak him in the tub. We tried to stick to the BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast - I don't know if it helped or not. Hang in there!!

For a few minutes every day try and let his bottom air out. It will slowly help his bottom heal.

For the diaper rash - the "poop goop" is most likely a mixture of Aquaphor, Zinc Oxide and an anti-fungal. You can make your own at home by mixing Aquaphor (the clear, vaseline like gel), a zinc-oxide based diaper rash cream like desitin, and an anti-fungal like Lotrimin (the adult kind for athelete's foot). Also, if your son can handle getting woken up in the middle of the night, you might want to change his diaper before you go to bed - keeping the diaper as dry as possible is the most important thing.