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What can a child do after rotavirus? What to feed a child with rotavirus infection? This insidious rotavirus

Rotavirus infection is a common intestinal disease, also called intestinal flu, and is transmitted by airborne droplets, household contact, or the fecal-oral route.

The main symptoms of rotavirus infection include:

Frequent vomiting;

Fever, cold symptoms;

In the treatment of rotavirus, diet therapy plays a major role, which helps relieve the inflammatory process in the intestines and put gastrointestinal activity in order.

A well-chosen diet from the first days of illness becomes the main condition for the patient’s rapid recovery.

What kind of food do nutritionists prescribe when treating this disease?

Basic principles of diet for intestinal and rotavirus infections in children and adults

The main objectives of diet therapy for intestinal infection:

Preventing dehydration that can occur due to diarrhea and vomiting;

Complete exclusion of foods that irritate the esophagus and intestines from the diet;

Restoration of vitamins and microelements lost due to infection, which are necessary for the whole body.

During the first day from the onset of the disease, while vomiting and diarrhea are frequent, you need to temporarily refuse to eat and only “supply” the body with plenty of fluid. Unsweetened tea, decoctions of bird cherry and blueberries, and cocoa brewed in water are recommended. All these drinks contain tannin, which slows down intestinal motility and reduces flatulence.

Once the diarrhea and vomiting have subsided, you can gradually begin to eat. Boiled, pureed and steamed dishes with a semi-liquid consistency are prepared for patients. Food should be eaten warm (33–36 degrees), in small portions (150–300 g) five to six times during the day.

For the first three days, the calorie content of the diet is approximately 2000 kcal per day, then a more complete diet is recommended, based on the same products, but with a higher calorie content (up to 3000 kcal per day) to support the body in the fight against intestinal infection.

What foods should be eaten during intestinal flu for a speedy recovery, and which should be completely excluded from the diet of patients for a while?

Prohibited foods and drinks

Any fatty, smoked, fried, spicy and canned food;

Black bread;

Barley and millet;

Dairy products;

Raw vegetables and fruits;

Mushrooms and nuts;

Dried fruits;

Legumes;

Herbs and spices;

Chocolate, cookies and fresh baked goods;

Hard-boiled eggs and scrambled eggs;

Carbonated drinks and coffee.

Allowed foods and drinks

Crackers made from a white loaf;

Low-fat broth (fish, chicken or meat) and slimy soups prepared with such broth;

Scrambled eggs;

Liquid pureed porridge (rice, buckwheat or oatmeal), cooked in water without milk;

Lean meats and fish cooked in a steamer;

Applesauce and banana puree;

Homemade low-fat fermented milk products;

Homemade jelly;

Tea without sugar;

Cocoa prepared without milk;

Decoctions of dried blueberries, raspberries, bird cherry and currants.

Basic rules of diet for intestinal and rotavirus infections in children

The principles of nutrition for intestinal and rotavirus infections in children and adults are the same, but there are slight differences.

Stomach flu It is more severe in children, since dehydration in them, unlike adults, occurs much faster. When the first symptoms of rotavirus appear, it is recommended to stop feeding the baby during the first day and give him as much to drink as possible. Pediatricians recommend a mint decoction that reduces the urge to vomit or a special solution for dehydration.

During the active period of the disease, all patients, regardless of age, dairy products are strictly prohibited. But if a child who is fed breast milk is sick, then they must continue to breastfeed, because breast milk is the best way to boost immunity and fight infection.

If the child is on artificial nutrition, then during the acute period of the disease he needs to be switched to lactose-free infant formula, since an intestinal infection destroys the enzymes that are needed to break down lactose, and in the absence of these enzymes, abdominal pain and diarrhea only get worse.

As soon as vomiting and diarrhea subside, you can begin to give your child light food in small portions of 100–200 grams. It is recommended to start with oatmeal or rice broth, jelly and low-fat broth. You need to eat often, about two and a half to three hours.

Gradually, applesauce is added to the diet of young patients, which not only makes a strict diet more varied, but is also a source of pectin.

This substance adsorbs the remains of poorly digested food masses, mucus and bacteria. As a result, new portions of food entering the intestines are better digested and absorbed by the body. In addition, apples contain organic acids that help destroy pathogenic bacteria, as well as vitamins that enhance immunity. Apple pulp is used to make puree, and apple peel is used to make a healthy decoction.

What dishes do nutritionists recommend for the diet of patients with intestinal flu?

The first three days of the diet for intestinal and rotavirus infections in adults

First day:

Breakfast: semolina prepared without milk, steamed omelette (100 g), a glass of unsweetened tea;

Snack: steamed soufflé made from homemade zero-fat cottage cheese;

Lunch: light broth from lean chicken meat, steamed veal meatballs, currant jelly;

Afternoon snack: 200 ml of rosehip decoction with croutons and white loaf;

Dinner: steamed lean fish, unsweetened tea.

Second day:

Breakfast: oatmeal cooked in water, steamed omelette (100 g), a glass of tea without sugar;

Snack: apple pulp puree (150 g);

Lunch: lean beef broth, white steamed chicken meat, chopped in a blender, blueberry broth;

Afternoon snack: cocoa with water (200 ml) with croutons from a white loaf;

Dinner: steamed meatballs from lean fish, unsweetened tea.

At night: homemade low-fat kefir.

The third day:

Breakfast: rice porridge prepared without milk, 100 g of apple puree, tea without sugar;

Snack: 200 ml of rosehip decoction with white loaf croutons;

Lunch: slimy rice soup with low-fat meat broth, steamed chicken dumplings, blueberry jelly;

Afternoon snack: a glass of apple peel decoction with dry biscuits;

Dinner: steamed homemade low-fat cottage cheese pudding, cocoa boiled in water;

At night: homemade low-fat kefir.

The first three days of the diet for intestinal and rotavirus infections in children

First day:

Breakfast: oatmeal cooked without milk (100 g), unsweetened cocoa in water, one soft-boiled egg;

Snack: applesauce (100 g);

Lunch: light broth from lean fish, steamed fish meatballs (150 g), raspberry jelly;

Afternoon snack: blackcurrant jelly (200 ml);

Dinner: steamed chicken breast, mashed (200 g), blueberry broth;

At night: homemade low-fat kefir.

Second day:

Breakfast: semolina cooked in water, steamed omelette (50 g), a glass of unsweetened tea;

Snack: steamed banana puree (100 g);

Lunch: slimy oatmeal soup, steamed chicken meatballs (150 g), blueberry jelly;

Afternoon snack: 200 ml of apple peel decoction with white loaf croutons.

Dinner: steam casserole of low-fat homemade pureed cottage cheese, (200 g), unsweetened tea;

At night: homemade low-fat kefir.

The third day:

Breakfast: pureed rice porridge with water, white bread croutons with unsweetened tea;

Snack: a glass of blackcurrant jelly;

Lunch: light lean beef broth, steamed fish meatballs (200 g), raspberry jelly;

Afternoon snack: cocoa boiled in water (200 ml) with unleavened biscuits;

Dinner: steamed rabbit soufflé, tea without sugar;

At night: homemade low-fat kefir.

After just 2-3 days of following the diet for intestinal and rotavirus infections, children experience a noticeable improvement.

In recovery You can begin to gradually introduce the following foods into the patient’s diet:

Yogurt and fruits, which normalize the intestinal microflora and help restore lost immunity;

Lumpy food, since eating pureed food for a long time leads to intestinal sluggishness and constipation.

Despite the strictness of the diet, in modern dietetics there is a large selection of dishes for patients suffering from intestinal infection. All dishes included in this diet are easy to prepare.

Recipes for dietary dishes for intestinal and rotavirus infections

Steamed chicken dumplings

Make minced meat from half a kilogram of white chicken meat, add one egg and two pieces of stale white loaf soaked in water. Grind the resulting mixture with a blender, add salt to taste and form small cutlets, which we steam for 25 minutes.

Slimy Oat Soup Recipe

In one liter of lightly salted water, boil 100 g of rolled oats and 100 g of chopped carrots and onions until tender. At the end of cooking, you need to puree the soup and add a little vegetable oil.

Blueberry jelly

Add half a glass of dried blueberries and two tablespoons of sugar to one liter of boiling water. Separately, dissolve a tablespoon of starch in a glass of cold water and gradually pour the resulting mixture into the berry broth. Without ceasing to stir, bring to a boil and remove from the stove. The finished jelly must be strained.

Rose hip decoction

For a glass of boiling water you will need a tablespoon of dried and crushed rose hips. The broth is infused in a thermos for two hours, after which it must be filtered.

Prevention of intestinal and rotavirus infections

The diet for intestinal and rotavirus infections in children and adults must be followed for two weeks, and after complete recovery you can return to your usual diet. It is necessary to remember about the prevention of rotavirus and follow simple rules:

Always wash your hands before eating;

Do not swim in bodies of water that are prohibited for swimming;

Thoroughly wash foods such as greens, salads, vegetables and fruits;

Do not eat raw fish and meat;

Strictly follow food storage rules.

Thus, a timely visit to the doctor and compliance with all the above nutritional principles for intestinal and rotavirus infections will help you cope with intestinal flu as quickly as possible!

Rotavirus infection is one of the forms of intestinal infection, which is more common in children aged 6 months to 2 years; children of early infancy rarely get sick. It begins suddenly with repeated vomiting, bloating, frequent, copious watery stools, and dehydration quickly develops; 60% of patients develop cough, nasal congestion, sore throat and sore throat. In this article we will give recommendations on diet for rotavirus infection in children of different ages (up to a year, over a year).

Every year, 700 thousand people worldwide die from rotavirus infection, mostly children under 3 years of age. Western researchers point to a high percentage (up to 50%) of severe forms of this infection. According to Russian doctors, the share of severe forms is much less - about 5%.

The main component in the treatment of rotavirus infection is nutritional therapy. It is not advisable to carry out starvation diets, because ultimately this will lead to a weakening of the immune system, a decrease in the body’s natural defenses, and therefore will delay the time of recovery.

Diet of breastfed children under one year of age

Breast milk helps a baby suffering from rotavirus infection to overcome the disease faster.

The optimal type of feeding for infants is breast milk; during periods of illness, there is no need to transfer the child to or introduce a new one. contains special antibodies against many pathogenic microorganisms, as well as a number of hormones that help quickly restore damaged intestinal cells. It is advisable to breastfeed often, but little by little; if the child is capricious and does not accept such a scheme, feeding should be done on demand, as before.

If milk intolerance develops during illness (lactase deficiency), the child is recommended to take medications containing the lactase enzyme: Lactrase (Finland) or Kerulac (Yamanuchi Europe, Japan). Add a few drops of the drug to expressed breast milk and after 2-3 hours you can give it to your baby.

On a note. 100 ml of milk contains 4.8 g of lactose, 100 g of yogurt and full-fat kefir - 4.1 g, low-fat kefir - 3.8, cream 10% - 4.0, sour cream 10% - 2.9, full-fat cottage cheese - 1.3, dietary cottage cheese - 1.0, butter - 0.9 g. There is practically no lactose in cheeses and feta cheese. A lactose-free milk called Lactaid 100 is available in the United States.

The amount of nutrition in children who are breastfed can be increased to normal from the first day of normal stool.

Diet of formula-fed children under one year of age

For bottle-fed children with rotavirus infection, the volume of food and the time between feedings are also reduced from the first day of illness.

On average, you should feed 7–8 times, every 2.5–3 hours, 60–100 ml. If the child feels well, then you can reduce it to 5-6 times a day, every 3.5-4 hours, 140-200 ml. It is better to give those that contain bifidobacteria and lactobacilli: “NAN fermented milk”, “Nutrilak fermented milk”, “Humana LP”, “Humana LP + MCT”. You can give dairy-free porridge (rice, buckwheat with apple, banana).

In more severe conditions (with persistent vomiting and diarrhea, refusal to eat, if the child is low weight), feeding should be done more often, every 2 hours and a 6-hour break at night, with 10 to 50 ml of food per feeding. You need to give so-called polymer mixtures (). Such mixtures include: “Alfare”, “Peptida Tutelli”, “Nutramigen”, “Pregestimil”. For persistent vomiting, antireflux mixtures are suitable. In case of severe infection, the mixture can be diluted with rice water.

If this amount of food is not enough for the child, you can supplement with a glucose-saline solution (add 1 teaspoon of table salt, ½ teaspoon of baking soda and 4 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon of sugar per liter of water, for taste you can add orange juice or raisin infusion), tea, .

As you feel better, you can gradually increase the amount of food and reduce the frequency of feedings; from the 5th day you can use vegetable decoctions in preparation. New complementary foods should be introduced into the diet no earlier than 2–3 weeks after recovery.

Diet for children over 1 year old


During illness, the child should drink as much fluid as possible.

Food for sick children should be homemade, freshly prepared, physically and chemically gentle (steamed or boiled, pureed), easily digestible, foods that enhance putrefactive, fermentation processes, the secretion of gastric juice and pancreatic secretions should be excluded. The volume of food should be reduced on average by a quarter (in more severe cases by a third to a half) at the expense of carbohydrates; protein (cottage cheese, eggs) should be supplied at the age norm, since it is protein that can prevent fluid loss in the body. Offer your child fluids as often and as much as possible. The baby should be fed 5-6 times a day.

The following products are excluded:

  • Avoid sweets for the duration of your illness. Sugar no more than 30–40 g per day;
  • all fruits and berries in their natural form, dried fruits, vegetables are excluded;
  • all fatty foods, fatty meats and fish;
  • whole cow's milk, dairy products. There are cases that children tolerate milk well in small quantities, as well as dairy products with lower lactose content;
  • bakery products;
  • millet, pasta, pearl barley and barley;
  • canned foods;
  • legumes;

It happens that, out of the blue, a person suddenly develops a fever, a stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhea. What kind of misfortune is this, because there were not the slightest prerequisites for any disease. Most likely you have contracted a rotavirus infection, which, as a rule, always begins unexpectedly. Rotavirus, or as it is also called “intestinal flu,” is one of the most common intestinal infections. At the first symptoms, you should immediately take action, namely, start following a therapeutic diet aimed at restoring the body after “food poisoning.”

What is rotavirus infection

Rotavirus infection is a contagious viral disease transmitted by airborne droplets, through the consumption of low-quality or spoiled food, as well as through dirty hands. Rotavirus infects the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract and is then eliminated from the body naturally. However, not every intestinal infection is a rotavirus; the diagnosis can be accurately determined in the laboratory after testing.

Symptoms of rotavirus infection:

  • Sneeze;
  • Heat;
  • Sharp pain in the abdomen;
  • Diarrhea;
  • Vomit;
  • Malaise and weakness.

According to statistics, about 137 million people in the world suffer from rotavirus infection, while only a quarter of them are hospitalized. In order to avoid hospitalization, it is necessary to urgently take a number of measures to treat the disease. The main methods of treating rotavirus infection are: diet, drinking regimen and additional intake of rehydration solutions.

Basic principles of diet for rotavirus infection in adults


In order to cure rotavirus infection at home, you should follow a soft, gentle diet aimed at replenishing fluid deficiency in the body.
The first step is to exclude from your diet all dairy products, fatty, fried, smoked, pickled foods, as well as sweets and fresh baked goods.

In the first days, due to intoxication of the body, diarrhea and vomiting, there is a lack of appetite. However, in order to replenish all nutrient losses, it is simply necessary to eat, preferably 5-7 times a day, but in small portions. Food should be easily digestible, have binding and astringent properties in order to prevent diarrhea. It is recommended to eat porridges, low-fat soups, and wheat bread crackers during the diet. You can eat vegetables during your diet, but only boiled, stewed or baked.

With rotavirus, the human body is dehydrated, and therefore it is worth drinking as much fluid as possible. It is recommended to drink 50-70 ml every 30 minutes. You can drink both purified water without gas, as well as compotes and jelly from berries, and herbal decoctions. You can add sugar for taste.

For a speedy recovery, it is recommended to use rehydration solutions, which you can prepare yourself at home (for example, rice water, rosehip infusion), or purchase specialized drugs at the pharmacy (hydrovit, rehydron, humana, gastrolit), which are diluted with water and taken half a glass every 1.5-2 hours.

Features of the diet for rotavirus infection in children


Children are much more susceptible to rotavirus infection, especially at an early age (up to 2 years). The symptoms of the disease in children correspond to adults, however, treatment is much more difficult, since in childhood the immune system is not yet fully formed. The main method of treating rotavirus infection in children is diet, since there are no specialized drugs to combat rotaviruses.

If the child is breastfed with rotavirus infection, then you should continue your normal diet, since breast milk contains all the necessary vitamins, immunoglobulins and other beneficial substances. In this case, you should refuse other complementary foods. Infants who are bottle-fed it is necessary to switch to a dairy-free diet (porridges and mixtures that do not contain lactose).

Diet for rotovirus in children 2-5 years old according to Komarovsky is aimed at relieving inflammation in the intestines and replenishing fluid deficiency in the body. In the first 2-3 days, it is necessary to give the child porridge cooked in water without oil, lean broths, and crackers. In the following days, you can gradually expand your diet by adding lean meat and fish, steamed omelettes, potato, apple or carrot puree. Baked fruits (apples, pears) are recommended as snacks. At the recovery stage, when gag reflexes cease, temperature and stool normalize, it is recommended to include yoghurt in the child’s diet to restore intestinal microflora.

Basic rules of diet for rotavirus infection according to Komarovsky:

  1. Exclusion from the diet of dairy, fermented milk products, raw fruits and vegetables, carbonated drinks, sweets;
  2. Drink plenty of fluids. You should give your child a rehydron solution as often as possible, but since it tastes unpleasant, you can replace it with compotes, jelly, and berry decoctions. The child needs to drink 50 ml every 30 minutes;
  3. Meals should be fractional (7-8 times a day), but in small portions so as not to provoke vomiting;
  4. There is no need to force a child to eat;
  5. Before starting a diet, you should definitely consult your pediatrician.

List of permitted and prohibited products


Diet for rotavirus infection - allowed foods and dishes:

  • Dried wheat bread;
  • Low-fat fish or meat broth;
  • Vegetable soup;
  • Lean meat (beef, rabbit);
  • Lean poultry (turkey, chicken);
  • Low-fat fish (hake, carp, bream, pollock, pike);
  • Eggs (1 hard-boiled egg per day);
  • Buckwheat, rice, semolina;
  • Potatoes, beets, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower;
  • Jam, honey

The following drinks are allowed during a diet for rotavirus infection: tea, compotes and decoctions of berries (blueberries, currants, raspberries), herbs (chamomile, St. John's wort, mint), jelly. During the day, you need to drink as much fluid as possible, at least 2-2.5 liters of pure water without gas, to restore the water balance in the body, which was disturbed by rotavirus infection.

Prohibited foods during the diet for rotavirus infection:

  • Fresh bread (rye, wheat);
  • Butter baked goods and flour products;
  • Fatty meat (lamb, beef);
  • Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, trout);
  • Fat bird (duck, goose);
  • Fatty meat broths and other first courses (soups, borscht);
  • Sausages;
  • Smoked and canned goods;
  • Pasta;
  • Pearl barley, millet, barley;
  • Dairy products;
  • Fermented milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, sour cream, yogurt);
  • Cheese (all varieties);
  • Radishes, onions, garlic, white cabbage, cucumbers;
  • Legumes (beans, peas, lentils);
  • Citrus fruits, plums, grapes, apricots;
  • Chocolate, candy and cocoa.

When dieting during the acute period of the disease, carbonated drinks and coffee are excluded.

Menu for the week


Sample menu for a week for rotavirus infection (breakfast, snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner):
Monday:

  • Steamed omelette;
  • Dried fruits compote;
  • Bouillon. Wheat crackers 2 pcs. Steamed pollock fillet;
  • Toast with jam;
  • Boiled chicken fillet. Boiled grated carrot salad.

Tuesday:

  • Buckwheat porridge on water;
  • Kissel;
  • Vegetable soup. 2 crackers;
  • Boiled beet salad;
  • Mashed potatoes. Boiled turkey fillet.

Wednesday:

  • Semolina;
  • 1 hard-boiled egg;
  • Mashed potatoes. Steamed beef cutlets;
  • Berry juice;
  • Hake soup with pieces of fish. Dried wheat bread.

Thursday:

  • Rice porrige;
  • 1 hard-boiled egg;
  • Vegetable cream soup with croutons;
  • Compote;
  • Stewed rabbit meat. Vegetable stew.

Friday:

  • Carrot puree;
  • Kissel;
  • Cauliflower soup. Steamed fish cutlets;
  • 1 hard-boiled egg;
  • Mashed potatoes. Boiled beet salad.

Saturday:

  • Steamed buckwheat;
  • 1 hard-boiled egg;
  • Chicken soup. Crackers;
  • Rosehip decoction. Toast;
  • Steamed carp fillet. Boiled carrot salad.

Sunday:

  • 1 hard-boiled egg. Kissel;
  • Toast with jam;
  • Pike soup with pieces of fish. Dried wheat bread 2 slices;
  • Green apple;
  • Rice porridge on water. Turkey meatballs.

During a diet for rotavirus infection, you can eat even at night if you feel hungry. You can have a snack with a baked apple, grated carrot salad, and crackers.

Recipes

At the very beginning of treatment for rotavirus infection, during the period of exacerbation, the drinking regime plays the most important role rather than food. During this period, it is necessary to include rehydration solutions in the diet menu. You can use pharmaceutical preparations (hydrovit, rehydron), which are produced in the form of ready-made powders and are simply diluted with water. If you don’t have any at hand, don’t be upset; you can prepare decoctions of herbs and cereals at home, as well as water-salt solutions to replenish fluid loss in the body.



Water-salt solution for rotavirus infection

Ingredients:

  • Water 1 liter;
  • Sugar 2-4 tablespoons;
  • Table salt 1 tablespoon;
  • Soda 0.5 teaspoon.

Cooking method:

  1. Bring water to a boil, add sugar, salt and soda, stir until the ingredients are completely dissolved.
  2. Let cool. Take 50 ml of solution every 2 hours.

In order not to provoke excess salts in the body, it is recommended to use a water-salt solution during the diet in combination with other drinks (decoctions of berries, herbs).

Congee



Congee

Ingredients:

  • Rice 3-4 tablespoons;
  • Water 1 liter;
  • Salt 0.5 teaspoon;
  • Soda 0.5 teaspoon.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, add rice and cook over low heat until fully cooked.
  2. Let cool slightly, then strain the broth through a sieve.
  3. Add 0.5 teaspoon of soda and salt to the broth, stir until the ingredients are completely dissolved.

Rice water has an enveloping effect and will help you quickly cope with diarrhea during an exacerbation of the disease, so it is recommended to use it in the first days of the diet.

Rose hip decoction



Rose hip decoction

Ingredients:

  • Rosehip berries;
  • Water.

Cooking method:

  1. Grind the rose hips, pour them into a saucepan and add water in a ratio of 1:10 (i.e., take 1 liter of water for 100 grams of berries).
  2. Place the pan on gas, bring to a boil, cover with a lid.
  3. Leave the broth to infuse for 12 hours.

Rose hips are an effective remedy against pathogenic bacteria, especially the digestive organs, and therefore a decoction of these berries is extremely useful in a therapeutic diet for rotavirus infection.

Nutrition after rotavirus infection


With rotavirus infection, an inflammatory process begins in the intestines, which disrupts the synthesis of an enzyme capable of breaking down lactose. That is why in the first days dairy and fermented milk products should be completely excluded from the diet. However, they are necessary to restore normal intestinal microflora, so it is important to continue to follow the diet correctly after rotavirus infection, both for children and adults.

During the rehabilitation period, which lasts at least 3 weeks, you should continue to follow the diet menu for rotavirus infection, eat cereals, soups, boiled or stewed vegetables, lean meat and fish. Foods prohibited during the diet should be introduced gradually during the rehabilitation period. In the first week, you are allowed to flavor the porridge with a small amount of butter or vegetable oil, and add honey to tea or compote.

During the recovery period, other side effects are possible with the diet - constipation or stool retention. In this case, you need to drink a couple of tablespoons of freshly squeezed beet juice at night or prepare a salad of boiled beets, grated, seasoned with lemon juice and vegetable oil. Adults can add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic to the salad.

Towards the end of the recovery period you can gradually add dairy and fermented milk products to your diet(for example, kefir or natural yogurt), observing the body’s reaction and gradually increasing their amount.

In preventive measures, to avoid re-infection with rotavirus infection, it is recommended to carefully observe the hygiene regime, wash your hands with soap before meals, and also pay close attention to the food products consumed, monitoring their consumer characteristics and expiration dates.

A diet for rotavirus infection requires adherence to special principles and rules, because this disease disrupts the water and salt balance in the body and impairs the functionality of the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal flu, as rotavirus infection is also called, is quite severe. Despite this, serious complications rarely occur.

Diet for rotavirus infection

The causative agent of the infection is rotavirus, a favorable habitat for which is considered to be the gastric and intestinal tract. That is why this disease has many names - intestinal and stomach flu, rotavirosis, rotavirus gastroenteritis. Read more about intestinal infections.

To treat this infection, a specific diet must be prescribed, the principles of which are based on the following:

  • Since rotavirus leads the body to, you need to drink as much fluid as possible. Give preference to mineralized and ordinary water without gas. It is recommended to drink the Regidron solution.
  • The diet should be as balanced as possible so that a sufficient amount of nutrients enters the stomach. Thanks to this, local immunity can be strengthened.
  • The diet is exclusively fractional, that is, you need to eat in small portions and often. The food must be easily digestible.
  • Food must be processed using gentle methods. You cannot fry, but it is advisable to boil, bake without oil, stew and use a double boiler.
  • Pay special attention to the body's reaction after eating. It may be that after a certain product the patient’s condition worsens significantly. In this case, you will have to exclude it from the diet.
  • Appetite during rotavirus infection is greatly reduced, as a result of which the patient refuses food. Therefore, it is important to prepare dishes that are especially tasty and attractive in appearance.
  • You should not eat foods containing high levels of vitamin C if you have increased acidity of the gastric juice.
  • It is very important to eat high-carbohydrate cereals.
  • Be sure to drink light broth 1-2 times a day.
  • The duration of the diet ranges from 5 days to a week, if there are no complications. The maximum time is not clearly defined, as it is related to the characteristics of the body, the course of the disease and the presence of concomitant pathologies.

It happens that the patient has a complete lack of appetite; give him a variety of liquids to drink as food. In these cases, vitamins and minerals are definitely needed, so you can include fresh juices, compotes, jelly and decoctions.

Diet for adults

The diet for rotavirus infection should saturate the body with useful substances and normalize water and salt metabolism, restore normal microflora and the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. An example menu might look like this:
  • For breakfast, you need to boil water-based porridge, eat a cracker, and drink a cup of tea without sugar, but with honey. Porridge can be replaced with a steam omelette.
  • For second breakfast, a small amount of natural yogurt or an apple baked in the oven is suitable.
  • At lunch you should drink a glass of broth or eat mashed potatoes with a steamed cutlet of lean meat, washed down with rosehip decoction.
  • During your afternoon snack, allow yourself dry unsweetened cookies and natural jelly.
  • For dinner, boil fish and rice porridge.
  • A couple of hours before bedtime, bake 1 apple and top it with crackers.

Drink more water throughout the day. Be sure to consult a specialist so that he can prescribe you a more detailed diet, based on the characteristics of the course of the disease and the individual indicators of a particular organism.

Diet for children

Children are especially susceptible to rotavirus infection, so their diet should be more strict. Milk and raw vegetables and fruits are completely excluded. The first day you can feed the baby only crackers, the second - rice porridge cooked with water and without sugar. On the third day, the child should eat oatmeal or buckwheat. You can allow some mashed potatoes.
  • steam cutlets and omelettes without dairy products and butter;
  • broths from lean chicken and veal;
  • grated carrots and baked apples;
  • after that the broths are replaced with soup-like masses, with grated vegetables and meat;
  • at the end of the diet, you can gradually introduce low-fat kefir and natural yogurt.
While following the diet, the child needs to be given plenty of water. This will prevent dehydration of the body. What is recommended to give:
  • Ordinary purified and mineralized water, but without gas.
  • Pharmaceutical solution "Regidron" and "Smecta". This drink does not bring pleasure to the baby, so you can wash it down or mix it with compote or tea.
  • Herbal decoctions, weak tea.
  • Rice water. For a liter of water you need 3 tsp. rice cereal. Cooking time – no more than 50 minutes.
  • Compotes should be made from dried apple slices or blueberries.
  • Kissel. To prepare it you need to take the same fruits as for the compote. For 1 liter of compote you will need 2 tbsp. l. starch diluted in cool liquid.

If your baby is bottle-fed, then you need to prepare cereals and mixtures that do not contain lactose. If you are breastfeeding, you do not have to give up breastfeeding.


Learn more about rotavirus infection in childhood, as well as the features of restoring water-salt balance during treatment from this video.


When complete recovery occurs, children and adults are allowed to gradually introduce the following products:
  • butter, but of good quality and in small quantities (as an additive to porridge);
  • honey instead of sweets;
  • any fermented milk products;
  • raw fruits and vegetables;
  • soft-boiled egg.

About a month after the end of the diet and therapy, familiar foods and dishes are allowed to be introduced into the diet. However, you should be especially careful with fried, smoked and canned foods. You can't eat a lot of sweets.

Allowed and prohibited foods on a diet

Allowed:
  • Vegetable soups and light meat broths.
  • Porridges made from rice, semolina, oatmeal, buckwheat. Accordingly, without sugar and milk.
  • Vegetables and fruits in boiled, steamed, baked form.
  • Drinks - water, still mineral water, decoctions of rose hips, St. John's wort, jelly, compotes (natural). Kefir, yogurt, Activia, Lactobacillin, Acidophilin, Bifidok.
  • Steam omelette.
  • Mashed potatoes, carrots, baked apples.
  • Fish and meat dishes - soufflé, quenelles, meatballs, meatballs, cutlets. Lean meats. Fish – pollock, hake, cod.
  • Fresh cottage cheese (low-fat and grated).
  • Homemade crackers from any type of flour.
Forbidden:
  • Fatty meat, fish, dairy products, milk.
  • Preservation, marinades, pickles, canned food.
  • Candies, cakes and other sweets, sugar.
  • Mushrooms, sausages and similar products.
  • Alcoholic, carbonated and tea-coffee drinks (not strong tea).
  • Pasta, pearl barley, barley, millet.
  • Garlic, any onion, radish and cabbage.

Features of the diet for pregnant and lactating women

Since rotavirus does not have a negative effect on other internal organs, it cannot harm an unborn child. However, there are a number of consequences that can lead to miscarriage, slower fetal development and other pathological disorders. This happens due to dehydration.

The diet for pregnant women is based on stabilizing the water and salt balance and eliminating the symptoms of intoxication. In principle, the diet for pregnant women is no different from other requirements for rotavirus infection. But before following a special diet, it is imperative to consult with a gynecologist who is managing your pregnancy.

Is it necessary to stick to a diet and why?


With rotavirus infection, a diet is not only possible, but also necessary. This will shorten recovery time, prevent dehydration, and also reduce the level of stress on the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, local and general immunity will be strengthened, and the microflora of the stomach and intestines will be restored.

Diet for rotavirus infection is a therapeutic method of treatment. They often try to eliminate this disease with help, but this is not always necessary.

Recipes you can use

A monotonous menu does not always bring pleasure to the patient, so ordinary boiled foods can be prepared differently each time.


First meal

  • Ground vegetable soup. Boil some potatoes and carrots. Pre-chopped. You can add a little bell pepper for taste. After the vegetables are completely cooked, grind them through a sieve or chop them in a blender. Serve warm.
  • Soup with meat broth. For the broth, you can use chicken, turkey or veal fillet. Cook as usual. Remove the meat and grind it in a meat grinder (blender), add to the broth. Add potatoes, carrots and boil. Grind in the same way as in the previous recipe.
  • The soup can be cooked with the addition raw minced meatballs instead of boiled meat.
  • Oatmeal soup. For one liter of water you will need 100 grams of grated carrots and oatmeal. Combine all ingredients and put on fire. The soup should be simmered until tender over low heat. Stir it constantly, as oatmeal gives a slimy consistency, which causes the liquid to stick to the pan. It is allowed to add salt and vegetable oil.

Second courses

  • Steam cutlets, meatballs. For minced meat you need to take chicken fillet or turkey, you can use veal. The minced meat is chopped in the usual way, but adding onions is strictly prohibited. It is allowed to add boiled carrots and 1 raw egg. Place some boiled rice in the meatballs. The cutlets need to be steamed.
  • Stuffed vegetable peppers. Finely chop the young zucchini and eggplants, grate the carrots. Cut the tail off the bell pepper so that you can put the prepared filling inside. Cover the pepper with the cut top. Steam for half an hour.
  • Baked fillet. Soak chicken fillet in mineral water. This will make it softer. Cut the tomatoes into rings and the carrots into strips. Place the vegetables on the bottom of the baking sheet, with the chopped fillet on top. A small amount of salt may be added. Bake for 30 minutes under foil.
  • Vegetable stew. You will need bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, eggplants and tomatoes. All components are cut into cubes and placed on a heated frying pan. Add a little water and simmer until done.
  • Chicken steam soufflé. Cut the chicken fillet into small cubes and boil until tender with a little salt. Cool the meat and grind in a blender. Add 1 raw egg yolk and a little flour. Stir in the prepared broth. Beat the resulting mass and place it in any form that needs to be placed over a boiling pan. This will create a steam soufflé. Amount of products: broth – 50 ml, flour – 35-40 grams, chicken fillet – 250 grams.

Desserts, drinks

  • Apple and carrot puree. Take 2 sour apples and the same amount of peeled carrots. Bake the ingredients in the oven until done. When the ingredients have cooled, beat them with a blender, add a little loose cinnamon and honey. The soufflé is ready.
  • Kissel. You can take blackcurrant berries and boil them in water. Then strain through a sieve. Separately, combine starch with cold water. Pour it into the resulting currant compote, which should simmer over low heat. Stirring thoroughly, combine with honey. For 500 grams of berries you need to take 70 grams of starch and 1 tbsp. l. honey.

Water-salt drink necessary for rotavirus

This liquid is simply necessary to restore water and salt metabolism. This solution can be purchased at a pharmacy, but it will contain an excessive amount of sodium.

You will need:

  • 1 tsp. table salt;
  • 1 liter of water;
  • a little less than half a glass of raisins;
  • 0.5 tsp. baking soda;
  • 2 tbsp. l. sugar without a slide (can be replaced with honey).
Preparation:

First, boil the raisins in water and strain the resulting broth. Be sure to squeeze and grind the berries so that more nutrients are released into the water. Add the remaining ingredients and cook a little. Drink cold.

Rotavirus infection is a fairly common infectious disease; the disease is severe and accompanied by a lot of unpleasant symptoms. But if you strictly follow all the recommendations and follow the doctor’s requirements, you can greatly alleviate the condition of the child and adult during this period. The main thing is proper nutrition. A diet for rotavirus in children can quickly eliminate unpleasant symptoms and completely cure the disease. It is important to know its features and rules.

What is the danger of the disease

At the initial stage, rotavirus infection is accompanied by sneezing and fever, so it can easily be confused with ARVI. Diagnosing this disease is quite difficult. But it is important to identify it as early as possible, because if it drags on, the infection can become severe and cause a lot of unpleasant symptoms.

Transmission of the virus of this disease occurs quickly. Infection with it can occur not only during communication with a carrier, but also during contact with hygiene and household items, as well as through food and water.

When a virus enters the body of a healthy person, it immediately penetrates the digestive system. First of all, it enters the small intestine, then the large intestine. This results in diarrhea.

What signs are accompanied by rotavirus intestinal infection:

  • increased body temperature;
  • the occurrence of diarrhea;
  • severe pain in the abdominal area;
  • state of weakness and malaise.

The main danger of rotavirus infection is that diarrhea causes dehydration. Doctors use a special diet to completely correct dehydration and completely eliminate it.

The main purpose of the diet

The diet prescribed for rotavirus and after it provides the following:

  1. Allows you to reduce the load on the digestive organs.
  2. Nutrition prevents dehydration.
  3. Shortens the period of complete recovery.

Diet is considered the main method of therapeutic therapy, because this viral disease cannot be eliminated with medication.

What products are prohibited

Since rotavirus infection causes diarrhea, which causes dehydration, you should first remove foods from your diet that enhance this process. Children over 2 years old and adults should pay attention to some foods that should be excluded from the menu if they have a rotavirus infection:

  1. Dairy products because they are irritating to the intestines, which during this period is in an inflamed state. It is not recommended to eat sour cream, cheese, yogurt;
  2. Heavy foods – fried and fatty. Its use has a negative effect on the body.
  3. Fast food, chips and all kinds of desserts.
  4. Coffee. This drink has an irritating effect on the structure of the intestinal lining and aggravates its condition. It is advisable to replace caffeinated drinks with juices, water or weak tea.
  5. During the recovery period, you should reduce the amount of food consumed. Portions should be small, but you need to eat often, up to 5-6 times a day. If there is no appetite, then you should drink as much fluid as possible, up to 3 liters per day.
  6. Smoked meats, sausages, salted products and canned food.
  7. Porridge from millet, pearl barley, barley, pasta.
  8. Onions, garlic, cabbage, radishes.

Authorized Products

It is also important to eat properly after rotavirus. During the period when appetite is restored, children and adults can include the following types of products in their menu:

  • homemade croutons made from white loaf pulp;
  • drying and biscuit-type cookies;
  • porridge from rice, semolina, buckwheat. A little later - oatmeal in water without butter and granulated sugar;
  • low-fat broths, for example, from vegetables, and secondary broth from meat or fish is also allowed;
  • soups with heavily boiled vegetables and cereals;
  • steamed omelette or soft-boiled egg, no more than one per day;
  • fish and meat soufflé, meatballs, quenelles, cutlets. All these dishes need to be steamed; it is recommended to use chicken, turkey for meat, and hake, pollock, cod for fish;
  • non-sour apples baked in the oven;
  • puree from boiled carrots or potatoes, but they must be boiled in water. You cannot put butter and milk in the puree;
  • if there is no diarrhea, then you can include pumpkin or squash puree in the menu;
  • on days 3-4, fresh cottage cheese is added in a mashed state;
  • on days 3-4 it is allowed to drink fermented milk drinks - acidophilus, activia, lactobacillin, bifidoc.

During treatment for rotavirus, it is important to prevent dehydration, especially in children. For this reason half of the diet should be liquid. The virus can be washed off not only with ordinary and mineral water, but it can also be quickly removed using teas, juices, decoctions, jelly and other home-made drinks.

You should drink as often as possible, but in small quantities. At the beginning of the disease, to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, you should drink a rehydron solution. However, due to the fact that this drink has a specific taste, not everyone wants to drink it, especially children.

At home, you can prepare a rather tasty drink with a medicinal effect. The drink will require the following components:

  1. Warm water – 1 liter.
  2. Salt – 1 tsp.
  3. Baking soda – ½ tsp.
  4. Granulated sugar – 2 tsp.
  5. Raisins – 100 grams.

The raisins should be soaked until they soften. Then knead it a little, put it in a container and fill it with water. Next, the container is placed on the fire. Boil for about an hour. The pan must be removed from the stove, the solution should be filtered through gauze material. All components are added to the solution. The drink is placed on the fire again for 3-4 minutes. You can add chamomile or mint tea to the finished drink.

You can make the following drinks for children from 2 to 5 years old:

  • sugar-free compotes based on dried fruits and dried berries;
  • homemade jelly. Kissel can be made from corn starch and water; juice or homemade jam can be added to improve the taste;
  • juice from carrots and apples. Apples and carrots should be boiled, then they are ground in a blender until pureed. The puree is diluted with warm boiled water, a little granulated sugar is added;
  • rice based broth;
  • weakly brewed tea;
  • decoctions of chamomile, rose hips, mint.

Diet features

If a patient is diagnosed with rotavirus, then first of all it is necessary to prescribe a certain dietary intake. The diet for rotavirus in adults should consist only of approved foods, as well as dishes from the dietary menu of table No. 4.

During this period, the patient may experience poor or complete lack of appetite. You should not force him to eat; it is best to give him as much fluid as possible, this will restore the water-salt balance in the body.

Be sure to follow important dietary recommendations:

  1. Treatment should be based on increased fluid intake. It is recommended to drink a lot of mineral and ordinary water, as well as rehydron solution.
  2. During the day, 5-6 meals are allowed. Portions should be small.
  3. After each meal, it is imperative to monitor the patient’s condition. If he experiences deterioration after consuming a certain product, then it should be removed from the diet.
  4. Nutrition for rotavirus in children and adults should be carefully considered. It is recommended to consume light, easily digestible foods with increased levels of nutrients.
  5. Since at this time the patient has a decreased appetite, all dishes should be tasty and appetizing. It is important during this period to diversify your diet, make it interesting, but at the same time healthy.
  6. During the day, the patient can make porridge with a high level of carbohydrates, vegetables, stewed or raw. It is advisable to include fruits with a high content of vitamin C, they will boost the immune system.
  7. To improve the condition of the microflora of the digestive organs, you need to drink broths once a day.
  8. Dietary nutrition for rotavirus infection usually lasts from 5 to 7 days, sometimes a little more, it all depends on the dynamics of recovery.

Features of nutrition after rotavirus

The diet after rotavirus may include various foods, but it is recommended to introduce them with extreme caution. At the initial stage, it is worth consuming one product at a time and in small quantities, then gradually increase.

After rotavirus, you should not immediately return to your usual diet. Especially if it does not meet the standards of proper and healthy eating. It is advisable that healthy foods with a high content of vitamins be present during this period.

How to eat properly after this illness:

  • In the first period, you should eat light vegetables, porridge, and some lean meat is also allowed.;
  • after an illness, the body is greatly weakened, so it should be protected from the effects of various stresses;
  • in order not to put too much strain on the internal organs, you should exclude all fried, fatty foods from your diet, you should remove rich soups with fatty meats, coffee;
  • It is recommended to drink as much fluid as possible and stay in the fresh air.

Features of nutrition for infants

If rotavirus disease appears in an infant, then it is important to provide all the necessary conditions for a comfortable stay during this period. The child should be given as much fluid as possible. If he is breastfed, he should be put to the breast more often. Breast milk contains an increased level of beneficial and nutritional components that help the baby overcome this infection. If the baby is bottle-fed, then he needs to drink the formula, preferably as often as possible. During this period, the baby needs to drink more fluids.

Features of baby nutrition:

  1. During an exacerbation of the disease, you should not introduce additional complementary foods into the menu.
  2. If the child is bottle-fed, then he needs to be temporarily switched to dairy-free cereals and lactose-free mixtures.
  3. Parents should carefully consider their child’s menu; it should not include prohibited foods that can greatly harm the baby during this period.
  4. When creating a menu, you should be based on the general rules of the diet, permitted and prohibited foods, as well as the child’s taste preferences.

Nutrition after rotavirus

In order to quickly and completely restore the digestive organs after an illness, It is recommended to maintain proper nutrition for two weeks. After recovery, during this period you should refrain from consuming the following foods:

  • various low-temperature drinks and foods, such as ice cream;
  • dishes from legumes;
  • Rye bread;
  • beet;
  • wheat porridge;
  • whole milk.

Recipes

What to feed a child with rotavirus infection? What can you eat if you have rotavirus? In these cases, you can use special recipes that will help quickly eliminate all the signs of this disease.

For the souffle you will need 500 grams of chicken breast, one egg, 75 grams of wheat flour, a little salt.

How to make soufflé:

  • chicken breast should be cut into small pieces;
  • put the meat in a pan, add water and boil until done;
  • after this, the chicken is ground in a blender or minced;
  • you need to add egg yolk to the prepared minced chicken;
  • the egg white is whipped until foamy and poured into the minced meat;
  • pour 100 ml of broth and add flour and salt;
  • Mix the finished base thoroughly, put it in a mold and steam it.

For the jelly you will need 600 grams of black currants, a liter of water, 75 grams of starch, a little granulated sugar.

How to prepare jelly:

  • First, wash the berries and rub them through a sieve;
  • the resulting juice should be poured into a container and stored in the refrigerator;
  • the remaining cake is filled with water and placed on the fire. Everything is boiled and strained;
  • starch should be diluted in cold water and poured into a decoction;
  • Add granulated sugar and let it boil, stirring constantly;
  • Pour the currant juice into a container and boil the jelly for about 3-4 minutes;
  • Remove from heat, cool slightly and serve.

To prepare you will need several apples and carrots.

How to cook:

  1. Carrots should be washed well and boiled until tender.
  2. Apples are baked in the oven until cooked.
  3. Vegetables and fruits should be placed in a blender and grind to puree.
  4. Apples and carrots can be rubbed through a sieve or minced.

For cooking you can use several tomatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, eggplants.

How to cook:

  • tomatoes should be washed and cut into small slices;
  • rinse carrots and eggplants and cut into slices;
  • remove seeds from pepper and cut into half rings;
  • Place all ingredients on foil, add a little salt and wrap;
  • Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until fully cooked.

In any case, before starting a diet, it is worth studying all its nuances, recommendations and rules. Rotavirus infection is a fairly serious disease that is accompanied by serious symptoms. It is worth starting the treatment of this disease from the first days. The only way that can eliminate this disease is to follow proper nutrition. Therefore, it is worth studying which foods can be eaten during this period, and which should be excluded. You also need to maintain proper nutrition after full recovery.