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humanaevitae
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| Posted: Jan 17 2006 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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What meals do you serve your families when the stomach flu is making its way through your house? What do you avoid?
Do you change your meal plans when you find that the family has been exposed to the flu but no one has gotten sick (yet!)
Thanks,
Nicole
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Sarah
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| Posted: Jan 17 2006 at 7:31pm | IP Logged
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Yes, I change my menu because I've learned the hard way that someone could get an aversion to something the family eats regularly.
Pick something you never eat. Something bland. Not large portions.
Last year when I was in this boat, we ate all different types of Cambell's soup and bread. It was super easy clean-up, and we never eat it. Dh went to the store, bought a bunch of different flavors, and a loaf of white bread-we never eat that either,
Stick to bland, in my opinion, and avoid fatty type stuff, and stuff that will stain-like tomato sauce.
Once it hits, don't ever give water (water with sweet something mixed in it is okay,) even if they want it because " free water" goes right through them--both ends included, and can actually lead to dehydration. Start fluids back with gatorade or if kids will drink the nasty stuff-pedialyte! 1 tsp. every 1/2 hour until they can keep it down. All clear fluids ( jello & broth are included)with diarrhea until they've gone 24 hrs. without it. Watch reintroducing dairy. Lactose is what is not tolerated, so maybe reintroduce with lactose-free.
Here's another thing I've learned. . .you buy a bunch of "sick food"-popsicles, capri suns, etc. and the pre-stomach bug kids eat it, too and then puke it up and hate it by the time they're sick. So we don't let them eat the "sick food" until they're sick. 
Last year my 4 yo son was soooo sick with rotavirus and it was pedialyte that saved him an IV. Now I swear by it, but not all kids will comply--its terrible. They now make pedialyte freezer pops.  Gatorade works well, too.
Can you tell I'm married to a doctor !
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ALmom
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| Posted: Jan 17 2006 at 10:03pm | IP Logged
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Funny you asked - we just recovered from a stomach flu - didn't take long either.
Usually I have no idea that anyone has been exposed - till someone in our house comes down with it.
For the first sick dc, we go with ice chips for the first bit for fluid and keeping the mouth from drying out. Drinking a glass of water might make them sick, but almost everyone can suck on ice chips. Then as they express hunger(usually by evening of first day) we have the popsicles, followed by plain toast and then homemade chicken noodle soup (they can eat just the broth if that suits them). We caution them to start out very slow and make sure it settles first.
I generally start making chicken noodle soup after the first day as we tend to recover quickly, so that is the diet for the "exposed" kids.
The biggest thing I do is caution/remind all the dc to follow what their body is telling them. IE most will have a distaste for food in general if they are coming down with the thing - and knowing that, they don't try to eat before they are ready and I certainly wouldn't push any food or anything unless they really wanted it - as long as we are dealing with the first day. I also remind them to stay away from real triggers like dairy (so they don't try to go from toast to a glass of milk).
Our 8 yo had a "gee I don't feel like eating sort of thing" and he just didn't eat for dinner, went to sleep and woke up fine (ate cheese dip with salsa and tortilla chips before I noticed what he was doing). Our 6 yo had it the worst but still normal within 48 hours (first 1/2 day couldn't have anything but ice chips - we knew he was sick when he couldn't hold water). He tried to push things too fast with the popsicles but learned to slow down and got better. It by passed everyone else, thankfully.
Don't know if it would pass the doctor test - but it always seems to work for us - but we don't tend to be sick for long and ours don't get distastes for any food, regardless!
Janet
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Jenny
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| Posted: Jan 17 2006 at 10:11pm | IP Logged
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We also use flat coke or 7-up. We let them have tiny tiny sips of it to start, then if they have kept that down we'll move on to bigger sips. Next we may let them have 1/2 a piece of plain toast, if they keep that down we'll let them have a little cup of warm broth. we move very slowly. So slowly, the kids are begging for something...anything!
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humanaevitae
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| Posted: Jan 18 2006 at 12:57am | IP Logged
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So what else would be good to feed the rest of the family that is healthy so far?
How about bland rice dishes? Tatortot hotdish? What kinds of meats? I would think chicken and ground beef. Are there foods that I really should stay away from? I assume spaghetti (red sauce and long noodles), large chunks of meat, dairy (would this include cream and cheese based soups?), and citrus.
It is hard as the healthy kids are soooo hungry but I'm so afraid they will be next! They get tired of eating the bland foods like applesauce, oatmeal, toast,and chicken soup. After a day or two I do too!
So do I trust that as they start feeling sick they will just stop eating? Do we throw caution to the wind and only stay away from foods that would stain?!
What is your game plan?
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Sarah
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| Posted: Jan 18 2006 at 11:44am | IP Logged
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humanaevitae wrote:
So do I trust that as they start feeling sick they will just stop eating?
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Its been our experience, that you can get a big hunger boost right before you get sick. . .I don't know why that it. 
This happened last year with tons of fish sticks for lunch, and then lots of lasagna for dinner. . . 
I wish I could think of something else. I would stay away from beans. . .they can be hard to digest.
My kids were trying to brainstorm for you too and they said they wouldn't want to eat their favorite meals, in case they ended up hating them forever.
They all said. . .stick to soup. But that does get old. What about some kind of noodle thing, with small noodles? Maybe some sandwiches- lunch meat?
I hope it passes quickly.
My ds7 is on day 5 now with diarrhea as his main symptom and I'm starting to really worry about him. I wonder if its food poisoning!?
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Sarah
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| Posted: Jan 18 2006 at 11:50am | IP Logged
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I forgot to say, too that your suggestions looked good to me. I'd feed my kids tatertots in your situation.
In the end, don't stress too much about it, let them eat, keep lots of bath towels & buckets handy. My kids usually give ample warning during the daytime with slowing down. . .lying on the couch. . .the older ones feel it coming on & verbalize it.
So, don't worry. Most kids will get it by 48 hours of being exposed.
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Jan 18 2006 at 12:23pm | IP Logged
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Sarah wrote:
Its been our experience, that you can get a big hunger boost right before you get sick. . .I don't know why that it.
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Oh I do! After twelve rounds of chemotherapy, I'm an expert in . Your body misinterprets low-grade nausea as hunger. You keep eating to try to abate the hunger. It doesn't work...and then...
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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humanaevitae
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| Posted: Jan 18 2006 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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On a funny note-
Last Easter I stocked up on multicolored plastic easter buckets (they look like ice cream buckets) to use as puke pails. Everyone gets their own color and it is easier to keep them straight!
Nicole
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Jan 18 2006 at 10:04pm | IP Logged
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I like sorbet for re-hydrating. It's easy to eat one spoon at a time. Dreyers all fruit Peach keeps me out of the ER during morning sickness.
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Sarah
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| Posted: Jan 19 2006 at 11:42am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| Your body misinterprets low-grade nausea as hunger. You keep eating to try to abate the hunger. It doesn't work...and then... |
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That might explain why, during pregnancy, when I have that "low grade nausea" I feel like food will fix it, but it never does. . . 
Thanks for the info. . .
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Jenny
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| Posted: Jan 19 2006 at 11:16pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth that info is good to know.
Last year I woke dh up in the middle of the night. I was brand new pregnant & begged for a tuna fish sandwich. When he got up to make it (finally!) I went to the bathroom & threw up all over the place He came in & said, "Do you still want a tuna fish sandwich?"
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Karen E.
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| Posted: Jan 20 2006 at 9:43am | IP Logged
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Sarah wrote:
That might explain why, during pregnancy, when I have that "low grade nausea" I feel like food will fix it, but it never does. . . |
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 Yes, that's me ... while pregnant, I'm always looking for that one food that's going to make me feel better. With Kate, it was celery and Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk. Seemed like it would work at the time ....
When I'm keeping meals simple during sick-time, we sometimes do things like pancakes, french toast, cereals. There's always the risk that they'll get turned off to the last food they ate, but it doesn't always happen. My oldest had lots of pizza before she last got sick, but she's still a pizza lover!
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Karen E.
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Topic: best meals during flu times?
