hi my bgb triplets caught a bug from the woman who helps us out during the day. it is a diarrhea and vomit bug, and it started with my daughter, then went to one of my sons and then the other...it was harsh with my daughter at first then eased up before i really freaked out and we hoped it wouldnt get too bad with my other sons...now all of a sudden my smallest and more fragile baby has it really badly (2 weeks after it started). he is vomitting and diarrheaing multiples times a day. it smells like vinegar. i am getting very stresses out, he didnt gain any weight this month which is very bad for him as he has bpd/cld and needs to grow so his lung tissue will grow. i dont know how to kick this. my husband and i seem to be getting it over and over again too...but not as seriously as the babies.
has this happened to anyone? how long did it take to go away? what worked? any cleaning advice?
my babies are 8.5 months old and t6 months adjusted.
best, alex

Since you mentioned the smell I am going to venture a guess and say your trio has/had rotavirus which is a type of flu (I think). It is the smell that gives it away. I can't remember how long it lasted. Each one of ours had different degrees of it. The one who was the worst would throw up every 1/2 hour. We were told to give her a teaspoon of water every 15 minutes to keep her hydrated.

As for cleaning, our pediatrician informed us the alchohol is the only stuff that will kill the virus. I bought a couple of big bottles of alcohol and some spray bottles and started spraying down everything. It has a strong smell but it doesn't last. I also did not spray everything, just cribs, door knobs, changing table, toys that they shared.

I wish you luck
Suzan

g/g/b August 21, 2005
my miracle 24 weekers!!!!

hi suzan,
thanks for your reply. they dont seem to think rotavirus, just gastroenteritus. we are not sure yet. he lost a little over a half a pound since last night so he is in the hospital to get iv fluids. they seem to think its just hit him really hard.
we do use alcohol, but not bleach and stuff. good to hear that alcohol works well, i thought it might not be strong enough. also you use it on the toys? i have just been washing all their toys they play with each day...every day and trying to not have them share toys while this thing is lurking...not sure. feeling very insecure.
best, alex

Poor little thing. It sounds like what we had in Dec '08. We got at the first of the Month and it kept going around our house until the first on Jan.
So was he admitted to the hospital? If so before bringing him back home I would go through the house and clean it from top to bottom.
I hope he gets better asap!!

Tanna

06/22/07 29 weeks 4 days
Lincoln 2 lbs 13 oz
Colton 2 lbs 14.4 oz
Dakota 2 lbs 11oz
http://tannastriplets.blogspot.com/

hi tanna,
how did it finally end? i am freaking out. my babies are only 8.5 months actual and 6 months adjusted. of course it hit my littlest one and he keeps losing weight...
did you and your husband also get it a few times? the person claims she has not gotten it again (the one who brought it in)...so dont know why my husband and i seem to keep getting it.
he (kuba) was only in the hospital for a few hours, not the whole day...but of course he cant get his synergis shot right now....so i am totally freaking out as he is the one with bpd...dont really know what to do.
should i give him his synergis even though he is so weak. my doctor told me not to?
best, alex

My hubby and I got it both 2 times. My second time was very minor but my DH got it really bad the 2nd time. He was in bed for about 4 days throwing up very often. He even missed Christmas. I don't remember if any of my trio lost any weight but it would surprise me if they did because of all the throwing up and diarrhea. Make sure ya'll are using really good hand washing and then I would use a hand sanitizer after that. We had to go to the extreme to get it out of our house. Tell all of your friends and family they are not allowed to come over including the nanny (if you can do that) until your are all well. The visitors may bring in other sicknesses, since you immune systems are weak right now it would be a good chance you would get what they were carrying, and you don't want to get them sick and then there be a chance they could give it back to you later.

I would also wait on the synergis until he is healthy. I would hate for him to have even a minor reaction to the synergis on top of him being this sick.

Tanna

06/22/07 29 weeks 4 days
Lincoln 2 lbs 13 oz
Colton 2 lbs 14.4 oz
Dakota 2 lbs 11oz
http://tannastriplets.blogspot.com/