When children are sick, don't get too hung up on complex rules Is it feed a cold, starve a fever? Or the other way around?
With cold season upon us, parents are reviewing their folk wisdom and trading elaborate -- if unscientific -- protocols for reintroducing solid foods to tender tummies.
The bottom line, according to Dr. Bill Cotton, medical director of the primary care network at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is actually pretty simple: "If the kid's hungry and he'll eat it and it's his normal food, he probably should go ahead and eat it."
If a young child has bad vomiting or diarrhea, you might have to try simpler or blander foods, such as plain toast, crackers, applesauce or chicken soup, he said.
Fatty foods and greasy foods are harder to digest, Cotton said, so that might be a consideration. For example, "milk can be a little hard to digest, so you may want to stay with clear liquids for a day or so," he said. But milk is an important source of calories for younger kids, so don't ban it for too long.
Similarly, electrolyte rehydration drinks such as Pedialyte can be helpful if a child is vomiting a lot, but infants shouldn't be on Pedialyte alone for more than 24 hours. Older children can go a little longer, but you should still try to get them back on liquids or foods with higher levels of nutrition.
And what if your little one won't eat a thing? After the infant-toddler stage, kids don't necessarily need to eat for several days if they're not hungry, Cotton said. "If they drink during that time period, that's fine."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
