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[JennieSoSlim]

Someone told me that i can't give my son milk because its not good for his eczema. is that true? or is it bad to give them milk when he has a stomach virus. my son was throwing up 7 times and it was red. looked like dry blood. i took him to the hospital and they told me it was a virus and to give him light stuff like pudding and jell-O or apple sauce and if he doesn't throw up then he can try eating solid food. but now he has diarrhea and it comes through his diapers. What should i do?

[jemma116]

Never give any milk products to anyone who has sickness and diarrhea.  

Diluted juices and the products specialmom suggests will help against dehydration.  Like specialmom says do not give your child a drink to drink all in one go.  Give him little swigs and often.

Some children's eczema is linked to a lactose intolerance and that is why milk is not given to them.  You can buy lactose free milk products.
My friend's young daughter couldn't even eat chocolate because it contained milk solids and made her eczema much worse.

My baby granddaughter that was being breast fed has been diagnosed as being lactose intolerant.  She came out in a dreadful rash all over and had very bad diarrhea.  He mother has to avoid all dairy products and has now been given a lactose free baby milk, which is given to the baby as the last feed.  

When your child has recovered and eating and drinking normally, keep a food and drink diary to find out if his eczema worsens so that you can find the culprit food/drink.  You could consider getting him checked for any allergies like specialmom suggests.

I presume that you have special bath emollients and do not use ordinary soap on your son and use an non biological washing detergent and anti-allergenic clothes softeners.

Wishing him a speedy recovery.

[specialmom]

Hi there and welcome.  Oh goodness, so sorry your little one is so ill,  the most important thing is hydration right now.  When vomiting and diarrhea, you have to work to keep a child hydrated.  If their stomach is irritated, they also can't drink a lot at one time.  My pediatrician recommends that you just sit with them and every 15 minutes have them take a big sip of a drink rather than down a cup of liquid.  

Again, don't worry about food right now but rather the hydration aspect of it.  Things that have worked with my kids are---  gatoraid drinks which help with restoring electrolytes.  Pedialyte is the go to liquid for keeping sick kids hydrated but my boys never liked this.  They would occasionally eat the pedialyte popsicles though.  In fact, all popsicles are usually a hit and are liquid with a bit of sugar in it to make them feel better.  I would put it in a bowl and have them use a spoon rather than try to eat off the stick when feeling ill.  

Jello is also good.  Another thing is make chicken noodle soup and try to get them to eat the liquid.  I would use gold fish crackers and put them in the soup and have them go 'fishing'.  They'd get a lot of the broth that way.  My boys sometimes wanted fresh fruit when sick as it was refreshing.  And of course, there is the BRAT diet that is a classic go to thing as you reintroduce food to a child recovering from a stomach virus.  B= bananas, R= rice, A=apples, and T= toast.  This diet is often recommended for kids like your son when they are recovering.  

But really any liquid you can get them to drink or eat is important.

watch for signs of dehydration.  My son became extremely dehydrated after a day of vomiting and what it looked like was him being very lethargic and you could feel his heart beating very rapidly.  Do call your doctor if you feel you can't keep him hydrated yourself at home.  My son needed iv fluids.  

so, see how today goes and keep in touch with your doctor if things don't seem right to you.

as far as milk, some kids have an allergy to milk that shows up looking like eczema.  You'd need to determine if milk is involved in the skin issue and you do that with an allergist.  And in terms of being sick and milk----  I did stay away from it a bit because it is so nasty to vomit it back up.  It curdles and my kids hated that!  so, I went with clear liquids.  good luck