What to Do About Recurring Illnesses

 well as a few hours on hands.10 It's all too easy for rotavirus to be passed around in your own home, and far easier at daycare. (Fortunately, washing hands with soap deactivates the virus.)

But don't blame all loose bowels on viral invaders. "Some antibiotics, such as Augmentin, Biaxin, and Zithromax, can speed up transit time in the bowels," notes Dr. Fisher. "And for young toddlers, the most common cause of frequent diarrhea is diet. Too much fruit juice makes the bowels pull in extra water." Other dietary causes include lactose or soy intolerance.

Advice for Parents

Limit fruit juice, since it has little nutritional value, says Dr. Fisher. Also, go easy on milk; if your child has had a bout of diarrhea, their gastrointestinal system may be hypersensitive for a while.

Vomiting

Getting frequently sick with vomiting could be caused by gastroesophageal reflux or something called cyclic vomiting, which is repeated vomiting with no known cause. Vomiting is no fun for anyone, but if there's any good news in this, it's that most bouts of vomiting aren't serious, and they'll self-resolve in short order.

What's Normal

Two or three episodes of vomiting per year is average. Babies may spit up once a day.

What's Not Normal

Repeated vomiting on any given day.

Why Your Child Might Be Vulnerable to Vomiting

True vomiting—usually a reaction to infection, food poisoning, or stress—is different from a baby's everyday spit-up, says Dr. Fisher. The gastrointestinal system of some babies takes extra time to mature, and they'll experience wet burps or gastroesophageal reflux. This is normal.

But if your baby or toddler vomits fiercely after each feeding, they may have a condition known as pyloric stenosis, a thickening of the valve between the tummy and intestines that keeps the stomach contents from emptying.11

Some babies and preschoolers gag easily while eating or having their teeth brushed, causing them to vomit. Other preschoolers (and elementary school kids) could have cyclic vomiting syndrome. This condition involves intense vomiting for several hours or even days, followed by weeks or months of peace.12