Dear Parent,

Stomach bugs are every families' worse nightmare and Kiwi Families are here to help! Whether it's you or your child who is suffering from the stomach bug - vomiting, pain and diarrhoea are exhausting and unpleasant. Find about more about Campylobacter, Gastroenteritis, Giardia, Rotavirus, & Salmonella here.

If it's your child who is ill, then not only will you have a sick child in the middle of the night who needs love and support - you will also have a huge pile of laundry to sort out (so you can be certain it will rain the next day!)

The majority of stomach bugs will come and go in the space of a day or two. The child will initially be off their food and look pale and tired. Then they have one awful night when you are all awake, followed by a day of recovery, sipping water and watching DVDs.

Occasionally, however, a stomach bug can be more serious and warrants attention from the doctor to prevent complications occurring, particularly in young babies.

The most common stomach bugs in children are covered in this section - each article gives information on the illness, the symptoms, the cause and treatment and a very useful section on what we can do at home to help our children.

Keep a bucket and lots of old towels at the ready and try your best to minimise the spread of the bug through the rest of the family!

Good luck!




In this Stomach Bugs section you will find the following topics:

Paula Skelton is a qualified nurse and midwife and the mum of three lovely girls. Paula is passionate about children's health, nutrition and exercise and loves to coach the kids' sports teams.