What To Feed Your Toddler During Fever ?

Fever may not be a disease in itself; however it does leave your toddler agitated, and cranky. The weakness and the refusal to eat food can add to the crankiness. So what do you do to ensure that your toddler is hydrated and eating healthy? These are some of the questions I am trying to answer here.

Can I Feed My Toddler Breast Milk Or Formula During A Fever?

If your toddler prefers only breast milk or formula during fever and shows aversion towards solid or semisolid food, you can rely on it until the fever has come down.

1. Fluid intake is significant during the fever for fast recovery
2. With a fever, your baby will be prone to dehydration. Both breast milk and formula not only provide all the essential nutrients but also help prevent dehydration
3. Breast milk is more beneficial for your baby since it contains antibodies
4. Breast milk is easy to digest. Keep feeding your child at regular intervals
5. Above all, the act of nursing not only provides nutrition for your child, but also comforts your baby who is experiencing ill effects of fever
6. Once her appetite is back she will go back to her normal feeding routine

Things To Keep In Mind About Feeding Your Child During A Fever

When your toddler has a fever, keep these things in mind

1. Loss of appetite: A fever does bring about a loss of appetite.
   1. Convincing your toddler to eat during fever can be a difficult task. Patience is the mantra. Don’t give up and start worrying about it
   2. Keep offering different foods that your baby likes. This will help your child overcome his lack of appetite
   3. Don’t force-feed your child if he isn’t hungry
2. Body ache: Fever can cause moderate to severe body ache.
   1. Your child may refuse to get up from the bed. Never feed the child who is lying down
   2. Make him sit in an erect position while you feed
   3. You can use pillows and cushions to make him comfortable, before feeding him
3. Nausea and vomiting: If your child vomits, don’t feed him anything for next 10 to 15 minutes. After that,offer your child fluids or easy-to-digest, bland food
4. Good sleep:Proper rest is important to fight the fever
5. Don’t experiment:Never try new food just because it is nutritious. It is always better to choose the items that your baby eats on a regular basis

How To Select Foods To Feed Your Toddler During A Fever?

During fever your toddler’s diet should satisfy the following conditions.

1. Nutrition dense:The diet should be high-calorie (to provide energy), high-protein, low-fat (for easy digestion), and include lots of fluid (for fighting the possibility of dehydration). Also, during a fever, the intake of certain nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B, calcium, iron and sodium should be increased
2. Plenty of fluids:During the first couple of days during fever, the toddler should have more fluids,such as soups, juices, glucose water and milk. Staying well hydrated is important for speedy recovery of the toddler. This is because WBC of the toddler’s blood fights the infection better and the toxins produced by the microbes causing the infection can be easily removed when the body is hydrated properly
3. Smaller meals:Give your toddler small meals at regular intervals. At the beginning give him food in every 2 hours. This can be slowly increased to every 4 hours
4. Bland and soft: The food should be warm, less spicy, semi-solid and soft. This will ensure the food will digest and absorbed easily and the chances of stomach upset will be less

Foods To Avoid During A Fever

There are some foods that your toddler should stay away from during a fever.Don't give your child anything that will irritate his stomach, or is hard to digest.

1. Fatty foods: Avoid fatty foods during fever. Oily and greasy food can cause digestive issues and slowdown the healing process
2. Spicy food: Don't give him spicy and strongly flavored food or beverages
3. Sweet food: Avoid giving your child sweets during fever. WBC in the blood that fights the infection works slower in the presence of sugar
4. Refined foods:During fever toddler should avoid eating high-calorie carbohydrates like pastries, bakery items or cookies
5. Highly fibrous food: Stay away from highly fibrous food,which is hard to digest. Beans, corn, and broccolibelong to this group
6. Cold food: Cold food should strictly avoid during fever

Foods To Feed Your Toddler During A Fever

Here are some foods that you can feed your toddler during fever. While cooking, try to use turmeric and ajwain copiously. Also use curry leaves while cooking (you can take it out before feeding). All these have antibiotic properties and facilitate bringing the body temperature down and fighting the infection.

1. Soups: Include clear vegetable broths and chicken soups in your toddler’s menu during a fever. Broths and soups are highly nutritious and help to fight infection and provide energy
2. Boiled vegetables: During fever give your toddler cooked vegetables. Raw vegetables will be hard to chew and digest. Vegetables like carrots that are rich in beta-carotene should be included
3. Fruits: Include fruits that are high in antioxidant vitamin C. Orange, apple and banana should be included in the diet
4. Porridge: It is low in calorie, nutritious and easily digested
5. Dal khichdi: Moong dal khichdi, that can be easilyprepared by pressure cooking moongdal, rice, turmeric, and salt, is good to feed the toddler during fever
6. Oatmeal: It is highly nutritious, light and can be easily digested
7. Roti: Soft roti made with whole grains is a good choice for your toddler
8. Dalia: Dalia made with broken wheat is an excellent choice for your toddler during fever
9. Boiled egg: It is high in protein and helps to increase the WBC count
10. Fluids: Fruit juices (without added sugar), glucose water, coconut water, barley water, and just plain, good old water, will help your toddler to remain well hydrated. Make sure your toddler drinks one to two oz of fluid every 30 minutes when he is not sleeping

A fever can make your child extremely uncomfortable and restless. And when he doesn’t eat, it can really make you anxious. Don’t stress yourself out too much, and definitely refrain from force-feeding your child. Offer these foods regularly, and when your child feels like it, he will definitely eat. Above all, make sure he is well-hydrated at all times!

Did you find these diet tips for your toddler during a fever, useful? Share your feedback with us in the comments section!