Salmonella

[kara_leigh]

Does anyone here have any experience with Salmonella? We are pretty sure that our 12 year old son has it. I'm pretty diligent about washing my hands after any interaction with my chickens, but he isn't so much. I make him wash his hands any time I know he has touched the chickens, but there are times that he messes with them and I don't know about it right away. He has never really outgrown that need to put things in his mouth, so he always has his fingers in his mouth or is putting objects in his mouth.

Yesterday morning he threw up twice, but otherwise he has had uncontrollable diarrhea (which I feel so bad for him about, how embarrassing for him!), nausea, bad headache, severe light sensitivity, and bad joint pains. Yesterday he was also running a 102 degree temperature. Today it was 103.5 degrees. So far he hasn't had blood in his diarrhea, but I've read that doesn't always happen.

Since we live so far from everything, we don't usually leave our property except once a week to go grocery shopping. He may have picked something up the last time we were out, but I think it is more likely he got it from the chickens. If it were just a simple stomach bug, usually it would be gone by now. It couldn't be another kind of food poisoning b/c we all eat the same stuff so we'd have it if he did.

We are treating at home for now, but if we feel he starts getting beyond our care we will take him in to be seen. If anyone out there has had it or knows anything about it, is there any advice you can give me? Is there anything I should or shouldn't be doing? We've been keeping him on the BRAT diet and I have these hard ginger "candies" that he's been sucking on that are helping a ton with his nausea.

Any advice and helpful stories would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

(I don't know if this is the right place for this post, so feel free to move it.)

 

[alabamachick]

I've had salmonella... Horrible stuff. Not from my chickens though... cross contamination from my idiot ex gutting fish on my countertops.

BRAT diet, and as much fluids as he can. I know its EXTREMELY hard to keep things down, I actually had better luck crunching on ice than I did trying to drink anything.

I went to the doctor after four days of the throwing up and potty issues (I also have IBS and thought it was just that at first)... they told me I had salmonella and wouldnt treat it unless I became severely dehydrated (which never happened) The diarreha and throwing up is your bodys own way of ridding itself of the bacteria. The fever as well (as long as its not TOO high) is your body way of killing it.

I think I was warned no dairy, and grease, really no fat or sugar. I survived on plain white rice and french bread for like a week.

Hope he feels better soon!

ETA: your ginger candies reminded me of the ginger gum I chewed for Morning sickness while I was pregnant! Worked like a charm for that, he might like the gum better than candy.. I did!

 

[ranchhand]

Given the circumstances and your son's age, I feel very strongly that he needs professional medical care. Even if you only go to a Doc-In-A-Box unit, he needs fluids.

I despise going to a doctor and I don't have insurance either. But I'd hock whatever I had to get medical care for my 12 year old son.

I think you need to reassess your priorities and get him to a professional- immediately.

 

[The Burg Peeps]

You will probably get more responses if you list this under: Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures

As long as he isn't truly lethargic (http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/lethargic) just keep with the BRAT intake (no juice... try pedialyte) and maybe try some acetaminophen to keep his fever down. Otherwise it should clear up within 7 days. It may not be Salmonella, there is no realy way to know if your Chickens are even infected. There are so many things it could be so just keep an eye on him. Do keep an eye on his fever as they can be dangerous... usually not. If you do see blood in the stool... get him to an MD ASAP! You never can be sure if it is salmonella or something more serious. Simple flu like symptoms should just be closely monitored.
Do check this link out about fever and when to be concerned: http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/fever

Also, check out these sites for info:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/stomach/salmonellosis.html#
http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/general/diagnosis.html
www.salmonella.org/

Hope your little guy gets better soon!

Good Luck! Stay Safe!

 

[alabamachick]

Quote:
I think if her son was horrendously sick she would take him in immediately, but like I said before, they wouldnt even treat me... there isnt a whole lot (other than an fluid IV) that can be done for it. Even antibiotics are reletively ineffective.

ETA
She said he threw up twice, but had diarreha (spl?) diarreha isnt THAT bad as long as it doesnt last more than a week. Your body is still processing food if tis coming out (scuse my frankness) that end. Throwing up is the worst since your body doesnt get the chance to absorb anything.

I know because, like I said, I have IBS, and I am STILL around....

 

[The Burg Peeps]

Given the circumstances and your son's age, I feel very strongly that he needs professional medical care. Even if you only go to a Doc-In-A-Box unit, he needs fluids.

I despise going to a doctor and I don't have insurance either. But I'd hock whatever I had to get medical care for my 12 year old son.

I think you need to reassess your priorities and get him to a professional- immediately.

With these COMMON FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS most MD's will simply tell you to do the BRAT method and monitor the fever. How dare someone question your love for your son

... trust your instincts! Just be sure to monitor him closely. It does not sound like a bacterial infection... since it has the common viral symptoms so antibiotics would be of no assistance. Just remember that if it worsens, the fever becomes uncontrollable with acetaminophen or you see blood in his stool do take him to an MD.

Your a good Mom by being concerned and asking for others opinions.

God Bless!​

 

[alabamachick]

Quote:
With these COMMON FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS most MD's will simply tell you to do the BRAT method and monitor the fever. How dare someone question your love for your son

... trust your instincts! Just be sure to monitor him closely. It does not sound like a bacterial infection... since it has the common viral symptoms so antibiotics would be of no assistance. Just remember that if it worsens, the fever becomes uncontrollable with acetaminophen or you see blood in his stool do take him to an MD.

Your a good Mom by being concerned and asking for others opinions.

God Bless!

Agreed!

And I think someone needs to read her own siggy and follow the advice. Talk about jumping to conclusions...

 

[kara_leigh]

Thank you. I have a medical background, so I am very capable of knowing if my son needs immediate medical attention. I am a CNA, but all of my work was with babies and I didn't really see any Salmonella cases so I don't have any personal experience so that is why I asked for advice. The CDC estimates that around 1.4 million people get Salmonella every year, but only 40,000 are reported. The rest just care for it at home. Only very young, elderly, and immune-compromised are really at risk of have serious complications. He is getting plenty of fluids and he is able to keep things down now. He is miserable, but it is nothing that we can't take care of. He is definitely not dehydrated. We are pushing lots of fluids.

Thank you for the suggestion of going to the ER if we find blood in his diarrhea. I'll tell him to keep an eye out for it.

I didn't post this in the Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures section, b/c I thought it was only for emergencies and diseases in chickens. haha Could someone move it for me? I don't want to get in trouble for posting in two places.

 

[azalea]

I don't think ranchhand was questioning the love for her son, so much as urging her to be very aware that medical intervention might be necessary NOW, rather than waiting until the next time they went to town. The original post says a fever of 103.5, in my book, that's called hello Doc! Maybe I'm too cautious, too, but the OP's medical background wasn't mentioned until later on. So there was no info beyond serious symptoms and a 12 year old kid?

Anyway, hope he feels better soon!

 

[HeatherLynn]

My daughter had it. They didn't treat it at all. The doctor just wanted us to watch her and to keep her hydrated. So we went home I poured probiotics down her like there was no tomorrow. I have little powder pills you can break open and she got adult doses twice a day. Other than that I kept her drinking. she was fine. She had the blood in the poo even. Once they got the labs back they wanted to doantibiotics just in case but by that point I felt we were fine on our own. The doctor pretty much agreed but said it was protocol. I even had the health department call me after because any time they have this reported they have to do a survey. blah blah blah blah. Told her we picked it up probably at a animal stockyards or something and that my daughter was fine. blah blah blah No there was no treatment. The doctor kept an eye on the situation and I used probiotics. Yes we had a follow up and she was fine. more blah blah blah and that was it.

Bland diet, fluids, and probiotics is my best recommendation. Laurel ate pretty much just toast and milkshakes spiked with probiotic powder. The doc said no milk but thats all she wanted and it was one of the few things that did not make her sick. Also a heating bad if the stomach cramps get too much. She lived with hers for several days.