Not So Hot for the Trots

Last week when I went to pick Claire up from daycare on Monday afternoon, her teacher advised that she might have pink eye. Ugh. Claire had gone to daycare that morning directly from her dad's house, so I obviously hadn't seen her eye for a few days. After the teacher told me, I turned to look at her and DUH. Her eye was just about matted shut and very glassy. Of course the next day I had an interview (grr), so I had to call her dad back up to watch her for the day. I managed to get a doctor appointment for 1:10 pm, which was after the interview. We took her in and the pediatrician checked her out and told us it wasn't pink eye. Poor sweetie has a bacterial sinus infection that is draining out of her nose AND right eye. Ewww. Yep, the same booger stuff that comes out of the nose was coming out of the corner of her eye as well.

This is just the beginning for this poor girl. I can't explain enough how severe the allergies and sinus problems run with both myself and her dad.

Anyhoo, the doctor prescribed antibiotics (ugh, but a necessity...it's bacterial, and that is what is needed to cure it) and eye drops. Double ugh. Thankfully we're done w/the eye drops (that was a special piece of hell I don't wish to repeat any time soon). But the antibiotics are twice a day for two whole weeks. I have been successful at hiding it in her milk. The first day or two we tried to give it to her from the syringe and that was a total fiasco. So I'm sure putting it in her milk isn't ideal, but it's the only way she's actually getting the full dose and not injuring herself or us in the process.

So it wasn't long before she had a loose BM. Yep, it's called antibiotic diarrhea. My child, unfortunately, gets diarrhea a LOT. I have probably spent upwards of $500 on Pedialyte since she's been born. When she gets it, she remains happy, her appetite is good, and she has no fever. The pediatrican tells us it's called toddler's diarrhea, and they just get it for no reason. Oh joy.

So I've just had enough. I have tried to coax her to eat yogurt for the live cultures, but she doesn't like yogurt. She probably gets that honestly, because I didn't like yogurt as a child. I acquired the taste for it as an adult.

Off to the internet I went, as usual. What I found was this:

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Culturelle - Lactobacillus is Not Created Equal
Only a limited number of probiotics survive stomach acid. Further, studies are mixed between the U.S. and the rest of the world on the value of Lactobacillus. So the question is, does Culturelle really work?

http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/352986/culturelle_lactobacillus_is_not_created.html
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I break one capsule open and pour it into a cold drink once a day. The good bacteria are then supposed to counteract the effects of the antibiotics. So far, so good. She has had some not so pleasant dirty diapers, but I think that has more to do with the fact that daycare fed them CHILI BEANS for lunch last week. That's a whole other blog, and I'm not dwelling on it now. But she is not having more than her usual daily BMs and they are not loose or runny (lovely conversation).

Apparently Culturelle also is beneficial in building the immune system (same concept DanActive). I figure it can't hurt. And it gives me something natural to possibly prevent her ever frequent runs. I'll take that!