Diarrhoea & vomiting in children
How to look after your child with a tummy bug, and the warning signs to watch for.
Your child has a tummy bug (diarrhoea and/or being sick). It usually clears up on its own within a few days. The main risk is dehydration — not enough fluid in the body. Read this and keep it handy so you know what to do.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
These need an ambulance.
- Pale, grey, blue or blotchy skin, lips or tongue, or cold hands and feet
- Drowsy, hard to wake, floppy, or not responding as usual
- Breathing fast, or struggling to breathe
- A rash that does not fade when you press a glass against it
- A fit or seizure
- Green (bile-coloured) vomit, or a swollen tummy with very bad pain
Bring them to the ED or the service named above the same day.
- Fewer wet nappies, no tears when crying, or a very dry mouth
- Sunken eyes, or a sunken soft spot on a baby's head
- Blood in their poo or their vomit
- They cannot keep any fluid down at all, even in small sips
- A high fever that worries you
- Diarrhoea lasting more than 7 days, or vomiting more than 2 days
The aim is to replace fluid faster than it is being lost. Give small amounts very often — a teaspoon or a syringe every few minutes works better than a cup they will bring straight back up. Keep breastfeeding or bottle feeding, more often than usual. If rehydration sachets were advised, the plan for your child is written in Your care details above — make them up exactly as the packet says and do not add extra water or sugar. Avoid fizzy drinks and undiluted fruit juice, which make diarrhoea worse. Food can wait; fluid cannot. Wash hands well, and keep your child off nursery or school until 48 hours after the last episode.
Caring for your child
- Give small amounts of fluid often, even if they keep being sick.
- Keep up breast or bottle feeds as normal.
- Offer oral rehydration solution if a nurse or doctor advised it.
- Avoid fruit juice and fizzy drinks — they can make diarrhoea worse.
- Once they have stopped being sick, offer normal food when they are hungry.
- Everyone should wash hands well and not share towels.
Stopping it spreading
- Keep them off school or nursery until 48 hours after the last bout of diarrhoea or vomiting.
- No swimming for 2 weeks after the diarrhoea has stopped.
- Wash hands with soap and warm water after the toilet and before food.
When to see your GP
Contact your GP or call NHS 111 if your child keeps being sick and cannot keep fluids down, if the vomiting lasts more than 2 days, if the diarrhoea is not improving after about a week, or if a baby under 1 keeps having symptoms. Most children get better at home, but it is always fine to ask for advice if you are worried.