Care Advice
Spoiled Food or Drink Swallowed
What You Should Know About Swallowed Spoiled Food:
- Eating a spoiled food or drink shouldn't cause any problems. Your child should do fine.
- Your child may vomit once, just from the taste.
- A few children may vomit or have loose stools within the next 5 days.
- The illness is often mild and goes away on its own.
Treatment:
- No tests or cultures are needed.
- No treatment is needed or helpful.
- Antibiotics are not helpful.
- Feed your child a normal diet.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Your child vomits or has diarrhea in the next 5 days
- You have other questions or concerns
Raw Meat or Egg Swallowed
What You Should Know About Swallowed Undercooked Food:
- Eating undercooked/raw meat or eggs shouldn't cause any symptoms. Your child should do fine.
- A few children may vomit or have loose stools within the next 5 days.
- The illness is often mild and goes away on its own.
Treatment:
- No tests or cultures are needed.
- No treatment is needed or helpful.
- Antibiotics are not helpful.
- Feed your child a normal diet.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Your child vomits or has diarrhea in the next 5 days
- You have other questions or concerns
Feces (or Poop) Swallowed
What You Should Know About Swallowed Human Feces (Poop):
- Eating your own feces is always harmless. All of these germs are already in the child's body and digestive tract. Some young children in diapers may do this at some point. This will not cause illness. Only the parent is bothered by it.
- Eating another human's feces is probably harmless if that person is healthy now. If the other person has diarrhea, your child may also develop it.
What You Should Know About Swallowed Animal Feces (Poop):
- Eating feces from an animal is usually harmless.
- Many swallowed germs are destroyed by the acid in the stomach.
- Your child may vomit once, just from the taste.
- There's a small risk of getting diarrhea.
- There's a very small risk of getting worms.
- Write down the date your child ate the feces and the type of animal.
- If your child has any symptoms, this information may help your doctor. He can decide which tests would be helpful.
Treatment:
- No tests or cultures are needed.
- No treatment is needed or helpful.
- Antibiotics are not helpful.
- Feed your child a normal diet.
Prevent Your Child from Eating Animal Feces (Poop):
- Clean up animal waste from your yard before letting your child play there.
- Raccoon feces are high-risk for serious disease. If you have raccoons in your yard, call a pest control expert.
- Watch your child closely if they put non-food items in their mouth.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Your child vomits or has diarrhea in next month
- You have other questions or concerns
Dirt or Dirty Water Swallowed
What You Should Know About Swallowed Dirt:
- Dirt, sand or water outside can be dirty with animal feces (poop).
- Most all people swallow some dirt.
- Most children will do fine.
- There's a very small risk of getting diarrhea.
Dirty City Water:
- If the public water supply becomes dirty with germs, boil it.
- Bring the water to a boil. Then keep it boiling for 3 minutes. Reason: should kill all the germs.
- Could also drink bottled water until the problem is fixed.
Treatment:
- No tests or cultures are needed.
- No treatment is needed or helpful.
- Antibiotics are not helpful.
- Feed your child a normal diet.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Your child vomits or has diarrhea in the next 3 weeks
- You have other questions or concerns
Other Items or Products on the Swallowed Harmless List
What You Should Know About Other Swallowed Harmless Items:
- Your child should do fine.
- Try to teach your child to only put food in their mouth.
Treatment:
- No tests or cultures are needed.
- No treatment is needed or helpful.
- Antibiotics are not helpful.
- Feed your child a normal diet.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Your child has any symptoms in the next 5 days
- You have other questions or concerns
Remember! Contact your doctor if you or your child develop any "Contact Your Doctor" symptoms.