Tummy Bug Survival Kit

Since we’re in the thick of the tummy bug from hell, I figured I might as well jot this all down before I suffer from momnesia before the next time around and I’ll make all of the same mistakes. This stomach virus began ravaging our family about ten days ago, and I have figured out a few things since then. (Or if I am being honest, my dear friends and family have made kind suggestions that have served us well.)

So, if your little one is suffering from the annual (or in our case, bi-annual) stomach virus, this list will hopefully make your life a little bit easier until you emerge on the other side of the dark, dark, tummy bug tunnel. Solidarity, mamas.

1) Pedialyte  As always, consult with your pediatrician before giving your child anything of the medicinal nature, but ours recommended Pedialyte to keep the girls hydrated and prevent them from losing precious vitamins and minerals as Everything. Goes. Straight. Through. Them. I bought the kind with additional probiotics because that is the kind of tummy bug we have got going on over here, if you know what I mean. Stock up, because you have to dispose of it 48 hours after you open it, and we are going through two a day over here. (No joke).

2)  Mattress Pads  My mom just brought me these today, and oh my goodness, why didn’t I think of these before?! I have been doing an enormous load of bedding times two every morning and every afternoon after nap time. It is driving me crazy and not all that easy on our water and power bill. Not to mention we’re running low on detergent, Spray n’ Wash, and bleach. I repeat, why didn’t I think of these before?! Whyyyyyyy?

3)   Probiotics Once a virus has plundered and pillaged your digestive system, it takes a while for your intestines to regain the good bacteria it needs to digest things. Our pediatrician advised giving the girls some probiotics to help speed this process along and told us to avoid diary for a little while (except yogurt). As always, consult with your pediatrician before giving your children this, but it is over the counter. I have been putting a packet of it into some cold grape juice, and the girls have been guzzling it down. Since I started giving it to them, their messes have substantially decreased.

4)   Waterproof Mattress Cover I only got one of these for each of our mattress, and boy was that a mistake. Once one got ahem soiled, and we didn’t have time to wash it before putting the patient back to bed, I was SOL. I picked this one because there are 2 in the package and it distinctly says machine washable (and dry-able). One of the stupid ones I have says to air dry. Ain’t nobody got time for that!!

5) Dial Hand Soap. It might have just been a Dial-funded scam, but I will never forget my college Bio Lab where we dropped samples of different brands of soaps into Petri dishes of bacteria. Every sample still had a substantial amount of bacteria around it except for the Dial sample. The desolation around the Dial soap was complete. Not a bacterium to be found. I have been a Dial soap devotee ever since. Wash your hands after every diaper change, handling their food and drinks, handling their laundry (including out of the washer, it is the dryer that kills the germs), and after cleaning up their messes. I know, it is a fruitless endeavor, but you feel like you’re doing something.

6) Diaper Cream All of those diaper messes had a deleterious effect on my poor children’s bums. This diaper ointment is by far the best that I have ever used. I saw vast improvement the very next morning after putting it on at night. Then, I just started making a habit of putting it on before bed every night since they were bound to wake up in a mess anyway. That way, we managed to avoid any angry diaper rashes on top of all their misery over the horrible illness. Just a word of warning, if your 3 year old decides it would be fun to rub some into the carpet, it will be practically impossible to get out.

Well there you have it! I hope this little list manages to carry you through the stomach bug season. What items have you found to be helpful surviving stomach bugs? We suffer through it every year, and it usually takes a good month for us to finally be rid of it, so I am always on the lookout for things to make it more manageable. I’d love to hear from you!

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7 thoughts on “Tummy Bug Survival Kit

  1. Leah

    Oh, this is good, thank you! I feel like I’m inviting all kinds of jinx here, but we have not had a tummy bug ever, to date (I only have one child, though, and he’s not yet two). But this post makes me want to go ahead and buy these things to keep on hand, so I’m prepared!

    Reply
    1. sylvia.hobgood@gmail.com Post author

      So jealous! I will take a fever or even a nasty lingering cold/cough over this grossness. And yeah, I am definitely going to keep these on hand seem we seem to be prone to it.

      Reply

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