How to Prepare for a Nasty Stomach Virus: Making an Emergency Food Kit for Your Children

Yuck! You have been hearing about that wicked stomach virus going around, and you really hoped that your children wouldn’t come down with it. Now that they have it, are you prepared with the proper foods to help their bellies and their body feel better and recover over the next 24-48 hours? When my entire family recently came down with the stomach bug, I thought that I was prepared, but I was far from ready and looking back now, I see what I could have done to be ready.

I now have an Emergency Food Kit that is packed up and everything we need for a future stomach bug is ready so we are not scrambling to get everything while taking care of sick children.

A stomach virus can hit at any time, and getting to the store may not be an option, especially with a child who may loose their stomach contents at any time. To avoid calling friends and family, and possibly spreading the virus to them, making an Emergency Food Kit for your children is the best way to start helping your child feel better right away.

I have always used a version of the BRAT diet with my children when they come down with a stomach bug. The BRAT diet stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast. There is some debate as to how effective this diet is and if it is healthy for them. The way I look at it is, if they can keep anything down at all, that is a good thing and it is best to start out with bland foods that will not upset their bellies any further. All these foods are binding foods that are especially helpful with mild to moderate diarrhea. This diet is only meant to be used while your child is sick with vomiting and/or diarrhea, and not for longer than 24-48 hours.

I like to include Saltine Crackers in my food kit too and keep at least 2-3 boxes of saltine crackers in it. One half, to one box per child is a good idea. We usually have whole wheat or multi-grain breads in the house, and breads like that can upset your child’s stomach. Saltines are very bland and easy to digest. The toast that is recommended in the BRAT diet is dry white toast. Saltine Crackers also store for much longer than bread. It is a good idea to place each box in a heavy duty, double zip freezer bag to help keep them fresh and keep the bugs away.

When my kids do get sick, and once they get to a point where they are not throwing up or having diarrhea every 10-20 minutes, I like to start them out with just a few sips of water. Give your child a few sips every 10 minutes, increasing the amount a little bit each time. If after an hour or so, if they can keep the water down there is a good chance they might be ready for food.

Give your child some water and one Cracker. Keep giving them water after the cracker for every 10-20 minutes for about another hour. If they are able to keep the Cracker down you can give your child a few more, but not to many. While one child may be fine an hour or two after throwing up, another might be throwing up again 3-5 hours later. Additionally, your child may stop throwing up, but may still have diarrhea for another several hours, or much longer.

This is also a good time to switch from water to a Pediatric Electrolyte drink to help keep them hydrated and keep their energy up. They will need at least 48 ounces of fluid every 24 hours, so make sure that you have several bottles of this in your kit for each child.

I add several bags of plain white Rice to my emergency food kit. Before you add the bags of Rice, they should be sealed in an airtight food saver bag to keep the bugs out. You can also use a few heavy duty double zip freezer bags and seal them up tightly. If you don’t end up using the Rice after a year, change them out with fresh bags.

Once your child can hold down Crackers you can start adding some Rice. Start out with a few crackers and a small bowl of Rice. Increase the amount slowly and after your child can keep down the Crackers and Rice, try out a bowl of plain Applesauce.

When you add Applesauce to your emergency food kit, it should be plain. Don’t get Applesauce with sugar or cinnamon, they will upset your child’s stomach. It is also a good idea to get a few large plastic jars, the glass jars can break and you might not even know it until you need it. Plastic jars are also much lighter and keep the box from getting too heavy.

Bananas are not really the type of food you can store. We always have bananas in our house, so this is not a problem for us. If you don’t have them and don’t have a way to get to the store, don’t worry about it, you have plenty of other foods to help settle your child’s stomach to help with vomiting or diarrhea.

Once you have all the foods for your Emergency Food Kit, place them in a plastic storage container. On a piece of paper write down everything that is in the kit and the expiration dates of everything. Tape this paper on the outside of your Food Kit where you can quickly see what is inside and when everything expires. Hopefully it will be years before you need to used this Kit, so make sure to change out the foods inside if they are getting close to expiring. If your child does get sick, make sure to replace everything to get ready for next time.