Veggie Booty -- What Parents Need To Know!

We had an AHA! moment last night when we first started hearing about the Veggie-Booty-and-salmonella mash-up. The P-I reports:

More than 50 people in 17 states, mostly children age 3 and younger, were infected with salmonella bacteria after eating Veggie Booty, according the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site.

Why age 3 and younger? As a Salon story puts it: "Veggie Booty is basically crack for babies. Which is exactly why parents buy it."

A couple we know just got through with a harrowing two weeks of hospital visits with their baby, who had mysteriously (at the time) contracted salmonella. They knew their baby was sick by the time they visited the hospital, but they were unprepared to hear that if they'd waited another 12 hours it might have been too late.

They'd underestimated just how fast a baby can become dehydrated, and how serious that is. Our friend explained to us:

There are lots of different symptoms -- like headaches, cramping, fussiness -- that are fairly benign. He didn't really have a fever, he was playing. We went to see the doctor just to be on the safe side because he was pooping, like, every half-hour. That's the main problem -- the diarrhea leads to dehydration and weight loss so quickly. Our biggest mistake was not making sure his fluid intake was keeping up with the diarrhea.

They learned some ways to check for dehydration:

1) When the baby is crying, are there tears?
2) If the baby is teething (and drooling), has the drooling stopped?
3) Are diapers wet? That green, runny diarrhea may make you want to hurry through the change, but check for urination.

With diarrhea, after the second or third diaper, weigh and check the baby's weight for reference. During the thick of things, our friends were actually weighing diapers and comparing that to their baby's fluid intake to make sure more was going in than coming out.

The most important thing, our friends tell us, is go with your gut if it's telling you something's wrong. They weren't sure, but they thought it was worth a trip to the doctor. It was.