Diarrhea

Parents must carefully choose a child's diet to control nausea and diarrhea. Use the following guidelines when your child is suffering from diarrhea.

• If you are feeding your baby formula, stop giving formula or milk products until your child has normal stool for two days.
• Give your baby Pedialyte for the next 24 hours. If vomiting, use small amounts frequently.
• If your baby already is eating solids, start the B.R.A.T. diet, which consists of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
• For the next 24 hours, mix half of the Pedialyte with half of a soy formula, such as Isomil DF, or lactofree formula.
• After 48 hours, give your child the full amount of the soy or lactofree formula.
• Continue the soy or lactofree formula until the stools have normalized for a minimum of two days.
• For parents who are breastfeeding, give your baby Pedialyte for 24 hours, and then resume breastfeeding.

• Stop milk products and start clear fluids, such as Pedialyte, white soda, Gatorade or chicken soup broth. Jello and popsicles also are very good. Yogurt is fine, as long as it has active cultures.
• If there is no vomiting, start the B.R.A.T. diet, which consists of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.

Avoid all other foods, especially dairy products, until all of the symptoms are gone. Keep portions small and avoid heavy or fatty foods. Now is not the time to introduce new foods. Stick to nutritious favorites. A fruit or juice smoothie may be more appealing than solids.

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