How to… cure stomach flu in infants

A few months ago Ayub was down with stomach flu.

These were his symptoms:

1) Vomited everything and anything he ate or drank immediately
2) Extremely lethargic
3) Fatigued and continuously napping
4) Fever

This was the first time Ayub had these symptoms and I guessed it was stomach flu and ‘confirmed’ it online through medical journals and advice and feedback from babycenter.com.

This was his cure:


According to all my reading there is no ‘cure’ per say for stomach flu. It eventually passes. No medication needed. But this is what I did:

Gave him baby panadol for his fever. Let him sleep. I didn’t force him to eat or drink.

Late in the afternoon, several hours after he had last vomitted, based on the BRAT (banana, rice, applesauce, toast) diet, I gave Ayub dry wholegrain cheerios (which he loves). He finished a small handful. I gave him a few sips of water. Waited. No vomit.

About half an hour later I gave him a banana. He ate half. Drank a little water. Finished the other half.

He was still very lethargic and limp in my arms. But at least he was smiling and reacting to me, his toys and his cartoons.

When his dad came back from work in the evening, he brought Ayub to the doctor just to check everything was ok, although I wasn’t too worried. They came back with a bag full of medication. Including an antibiotic CURAM. I read the leaflet in box and it said the antibiotic was to cure upper and lower respiratory infections as well as urinary infections. Side effects included vomiting and diarrhea. Genius. What a dumbass of a doctor. Really. You wanna cure vomiting and diarrhea by prescribing a drug with side effects of vomiting and diarrhea?

I really hate Malaysian doctors. Not all of them. But I’ve met some really dodgy ones, that leave you wondering where the hell they got their license from.

Anyway, I didn’t give Ayub ANY of the medication the doctor prescribed (included flu meds!!) Just fed him a little at a time, mostly cheerios and bananas (he’s a fussy eater!) and he was back to his normal self by the next day.


When it comes to stomach flu, here’s what you need to worry about: dehydration.

1) No tears or sweat
2) Little or no urine
3) Very dark urine
4) Dry, parched mouth and lips
5) Fever
6) Lethargy

That was my concern when Ayub was ill. It may seem like common sense, but a week after Ayub had stomach flu, his cousin, my husband’s nephew, had the same thing. And he became so dehydrated, he was rushed to hospital, admitted and put on a drip for several days.

Hubby and I were so angry at his sister for allowing that to happen. Apparently the baby had a high fever for a week, was lethargic, had no tears, vomited non-stop… and she did nothing. I’m angry just thinking about it now! Luckily he was back to himself after a week. But of course, my in-laws decided that it must be ‘something’ disturbing him and changed his name. (WHOLE other rant about that coming soon). Never take education, knowledge, common sense and the Internet for granted.

Moral of the story is: Read a lot. Be knowledgeable. Look after your babies. Don’t trust doctors blindly. But know when you need to see one. And pick one with proper credentials!