Anecdotal report: when my daughter was 19 months old she was hospitalized in
Seattle for suspected sepsis and treated with big gun antibiotics
intravenously for 10 days.  She stopped eating all solids and had explosive
diarrhea about once an hour for the entire time.  I was luckily able to be
there with her and she just nursed constantly, whenever she was feeling low,
or having a dose of antibiotics, which was very uncomfortable for her, as well
as covering her food and fluid needs.  Her weight did not change one ounce
during those ten days, up or down.

The staff suggested yogurt a couple of times, to restore her gut flora, but
always stopped in mid-sentence when they realized she was getting breastmilk.
(They rarely saw more than the back of her head, actually.) As it was not
infectious diarrhea - she didn't have a bacterium left in her body by the end
of that time, I'm sure - and as she remained well-hydrated, no one mentioned
Pedialyte or anything else.  The only IV fluids she got were in connection
with the antibiotics, about 400 ml per day or about 3 good bladder voidings.

The engorgement I experienced the day after she was discharged, and started
eating other food again, was truly impressive too.  Luckily it resolved
quickly and without complications.

She's now almost 22.  I was pleased with our care then, and no less so in
retrospect.  (It wasn't sepsis, either.  It was juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,
but there was no way of knowing that at the time.)
Rachel Myr
Norway

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