Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jun
9
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…Just Give Him Coke In A Bottle.”
“Don’t be so paranoid, he doesn’t need that, just give him Coke in a bottle.” – Pediatrician to mother with a still nursing sick two year old, when the mother questioned the doctor’s advice of giving her toddler soda.
There are 57 comments to this post.
So familiar. 
I was told to give my 9 month old Sprite instead of nursing her or her diarrhea/vomiting would “just be around longer”. I told the nut I would take my chances. I was *not* giving a sick baby Sprite when she was already having trouble keeping down actual *nutrients*.
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VW Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 7:53 pm (Quote)
A friend of mine was told the same thing, b/c BM wasn’t a clear liquid, but Sprite is, acc to the ped. Boggles the mind.
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xanthina Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 10:37 am (Quote)
Even that is a perversion of what once was. It used to be advised to give ginger ale to nauseous/vomiting people, because GINGER is an anti-nausea. People have forgotten the reason WHY, and it’s been turned to sprite, clear, or lemon/lime sodas. But the key ingredient has always been GINGER. Not Soda, not lemon-lime, ginger. And it shouldn’t be given to babies!
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Kit Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 10:48 am (Quote)
A friend’s OB (not a pediatrician, her OB, because she was pregnant again) advised her to give ginger ale to her almost 3 year old. She told OB that the pediatrician recommended sprite and he told her that sprite was just sugar water and might make his puking/diarrhea worse, so she should offer ginger ale in a sippy cup and make sure it was nice and cold so it’d be comforting.
Then when he heard the pedi advised ceasing breastfeeding OB rolled his eyes and commented “yeah, because witholding a gentle, comforting food from a sick child is just PEACHY for keeping spirits high.” The OB said that while breastmilk might curddle in the tummy and make the kid throw up more, that wasn’t very likely and as long as the kid wanted it, it shouldn’t be refused.
Apparently the majority of this conversation took place while he was rubbing on her stomach trying to flip her stubborn breech baby.
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And does Coke have living antibodies in it? Was it formulated to be the sole nutrition of a human being? No…? Okay, then thanks for sharing that lovely tidbit, which is certainly something to think about.
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Goldilocks Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 2:39 pm (Quote)
Breast milk wasn’t designed to be sole nutrient of a two year old either. Also antibodies aren’t alive, it would be like saying a hormone is alive.
Not that we should give coke to kids, that’s just weird advice.
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Jane Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 3:32 pm (Quote)
First paragraph:
That’s not the only link where that term is used. I didn’t make it up.
And a two year old COULD survive on just breastmilk. It’s not ideal, of course, but if that was the only food around, a two year old could survive on it (if there was enough of it.)
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Goldilocks Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 6:17 pm (Quote)
Popular press missuses a lot of terms. Antibodies cannot be alive by the definition of life. They lack the ability to reproduce on their own or move. Biologically active would be more appropriate.
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vanessa Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 6:34 pm (Quote)
Actually, people who live in Northern Canada do put coke in their babies’ bottles. The reason is that they cannot afford milk or formula, since most of the food has to be flown in and it’s very expensive. It’s very sad, I’ve seen pictures of 18 month old kids whose teeth were rotted down to the gumline because of coke. 
OP, I hope you ran far far away from this pediatrician!
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vanessa Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 6:45 pm (Quote)
Actually, this comment was meant to be to the original quote. Sorry, my computer did something weird and I have no idea how it ended up here.
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birdflippin' Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 11:09 am (Quote)
I’ve seen it first hand. $20 for a 4L of milk or $10 for a 24 of Coke or Pepsi. Plus pop doesn’t expire in days so they can truck in loads during winter. I’ve seen a whole wall of a Northern store lined with Coke to the ceiling and many cases deep.
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Jane Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 4:09 am (Quote)
Thank you. Then I ask, does Coke contain biologically active antibodies which can reproduce inside the child and help fight off the illness?
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Goldilocks Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 9:07 am (Quote)
Antibodies cannot reproduce, that’s one of the reasons they are not alive. The antibodies in breast milk can supplement for a very young baby whose immune system cannot produce many antibodies yet, but antibodies are made by B cells and those are not present in breast milk. A healthy 2 year old however doesn’t get much benefit from that however because their bodies can and do make antibodies all on their own. I’m not saying give the kid Coke, Pedialyte would have been a better recommendation.
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Krista Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 1:11 pm (Quote)
I’m reminded of this story; the mother kept her 7 month old and 4 year old alive for 9 days when they were trapped in a car in the snow by nursing them. Pretty amazing.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2701717&page=1#.T9T_FFIat8F
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Goldilocks Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 11:09 am (Quote)
That’s really cool, I’ve also heard of it being done in other emergency situations.
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Knitted in the Womb had this to say,
Jun 9, 2012 @ 11:33 am (Quote)
Good grief! Run, run screaming!
Since when does ANYONE “need” Coke? Okay, so the Dr. doesn’t think extended nursing is beneficial, we get that he needs remedial learning in that area. But he could suggestion a beverage that actually has nutritional value or water, and for a 2 year old it should be in a CUP for Pete’s sake, not a bottle!
I think I hear the dueling banjo’s going now…
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arzt4empfaenger had this to say,
Jun 9, 2012 @ 11:58 am (Quote)
I actually remember being told about coke as a quick remedy for something in a lecture… I think dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting in adults? Something about the sugar and electrolyte balancing effect.
However, I always understood it as something you could do when you were on a trip and caught by the plague, not as a standard solution for a sick child at home. I have a vague idea how that pediatrician got the idea, and can sort of nearly understand how he got to say this, though. Not saying that I agree with this situation!
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arzt4empfaenger Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 12:07 pm (Quote)
It seems that the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition actually did a multicenter study at some stage (ESPGHAN) where 16% of the questioned health care members saw coke, salt pretzels and juice as standard therapy for not complicated dehydration in kids. It seems that they also concluded that this conviction is false. But yeah, once a medical myth like that is out there, people remember it (like I did remember hearing about it in my lecture) and adapt it without any critical questioning. So it is definitely a common misconception of doctors, or so it seems! (Maybe the lecturer said “if you have nothing better, then coke and pretzels is a really good alternative” – that would be correct. It definitely shows the importance of questioning and researching “stuff you’ve heard” instead of just believing everything without a critical eye.
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VW Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 7:51 pm (Quote)
I grew up in Germany, and my mother would always give me flat coke and pretzels for vomiting/diarrhea. I liked it (the only time I was allowed soda) but you do have to wonder who came up with that crackpot idea/prescription
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Aron Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 3:19 am (Quote)
Well, soda itself (and Coke is one of the oldest still marketed) was originally sold as a “health product” for stomach ailments. So I can imagine how this line of thinking first got started.
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Lizzie K Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 7:57 am (Quote)
My mom always gave me lemon-lime Gatorade. Now even the smell of it makes me start feeling nauseous. We had a heat wave a couple of weeks ago and I got so dehydrated water made me feel sick, so I asked DH to pick me up some Gatorade. He made a smart comment about hoping he could find lemon-lime. I threatened to slap him. He ended up getting fruit punch.
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Kasondra Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 5:45 pm (Quote)
I remember hearing (a long time ago) that Coke SYRUP (not bottled coke) is good for nausea…but that could just be “old medicine”
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Jessica P. Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 5:31 am (Quote)
There’s a product on the market for nausea called Emetrol that’s basically sugar syrup (much like coke syrup). Supposedly it works for some people sometimes, but it didn’t work for me when I needed it.
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Kit Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 10:54 am (Quote)
I swear I’ve seen “Coca-Cola” syrup in some pharmacies. Of course the time I thought I saw it I had a pretty high fever so I couldn’t remember where it was to go back and get a picture.
My great grandmother drank bottled coke all through her pregnancies because she had terrible morning(and noon, and evening, and night) sickness. She still advises all pregnant ladies she sees to “get them some good coke” to soothe their stomachs.
Of course, she also made fresh lemonade at every family gathering for the kids because she felt that sodas are for adults and “not good” for little ones.
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Hearing stories like this make me love our ped even more. Every time my 19 month old daughter has been sick (and she’s been sick a LOT), her doctor has started his advice with, “Nurse her as often as she’s willing.” Coke? I think he would have a stroke if I walked into his office feeding my toddler coke in a bottle.
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Yes, coke syrup can settle a queasy tummy, but I wouldn’t give soda to a 2 year old who has never had it before. I mean, sugar shock. And yes, sugar can also settle the stomach (Emetrol, a nausea remedy, is practically nothing but corn syrup). But what works for some people, makes other people worse.
I say mom decides when soda is okay. And she’s not being paranoid. She’s doing her job as a mom.
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Do these people even hear themselves? Just last month, I asked a pediatric GI about the various diets out there, and he said his only recommendation was no soda because it had too much sugar. Then he said, “Who wants candy?” And gave my kids Fun Dip. FUN DIP! He clearly had no sense of irony.
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Is this a generational thing? I’ve had a relative say “how about some lemonade instead?” when my two year old asked me for breastmilk, not five minutes after she’d critised me for letting her have too much birthday cake. Did soft drinks used to be actually recommended for toddlers?
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first time mommy Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 7:46 pm (Quote)
http://organicclimber.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Cola-Earlier.jpg
Dunno if that’s a *real* ad or not, but I’ve seen it floating around =/ seriously, if the pedi ACTUALLY believes that?! OI.
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Jane Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 4:11 am (Quote)
The ad says soda “boosts personality.” Um…. Uh…. Has anyone met a two year old who required a personality boost?
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first time mommy Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 7:32 am (Quote)
according to my dad lol his old co-worker’s 2 y/o could =P but that’s only b/c the kid isn’t talking yet lol. Nothing is wrong – the doctor isn’t concerned and he’s healthy in every other way and he does respond when talked to.
But I wouldn’t recommend giving ANY 2 y/o Coke =P
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Erica Douglas had this to say,
Jun 10, 2012 @ 6:17 am (Quote)
I get really csrsick and the only thing that helps is Coca-Cola…preferably fountain Coke, not canned or bottled. But I’m an adult, not a two year old drinking Coke out of a bottle! Besides, what ped is recommending a bottle for a toddler?!? I thought the ‘rule’ was to wean off bottles at one!
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This is mine.
My son had roseola, he was doing fine but I wanted to take him to get his rash checked out just to confirm it was roseola and not anything serious. It was the weekend so I took him to an out of hours walk-in centre.
The doc looked at him and confirmed the roseola and then asked if he was eating. I said he had only been eating tiny amounts but was nursing a lot more than usual. She told me to keep his sugar up I should put flat coke in his bottle.
I said “He’s never had a bottle. He drinks water or diluted fruit juice in a cup, and I’m not concerned about him having low appetite for a couple of days because he is having plenty of breastmilk.”
That was when she said “Don’t be so paranoid, he doesn’t need that. Just give him coke in a bottle.”
I just said, “I don’t think so.” and left, shocked at the advice. Even my 5 year old has never had coke.
He was completely fine anyway and spent one more day nursing like a newborn (made me glad I was breastfeeding because I didn’t have to worry about him not eating). He’s going to be 3 in a couple of weeks and still has his “booboos” 
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Jane Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 2:32 pm (Quote)
ROTFLOL — “Don’t be paranoid” even though the one who’s acting fear-based is the doctor! Projection much? Who’s the paranoid one, the one who wanted to double-check a rash, or the one who feared dehydration, hypoglycemia and malnutrition in a child who showed no symptoms of any of those?
Glad you walked out on that doctor.
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abba12 Reply:
June 10th, 2012 at 5:12 pm (Quote)
Wow, that’s even worse, roseola dosen’t generally come with nausea does it? Just a fever high enough to make a grumpy baby unwilling to eat (my one year old had it a few months back, our after hours clinic wouldn’t even examine her because she was smiling, and smiling means that she feels fine even if the thermometer is giving an absurdly high reading apparently. Nevermind the fact she is about the happiest, smiliest baby anyones ever met, and even in the worst of her teething pain when she needs medication just to settle down she will still smile coyly and play peek a boo with any stranger who looks her way!)
My mum did used to give us 50/50 diluted or flat lemonade/lemon soda when we had fevers and nausea, the remaining bubbles were mild enough to actually make it go down better, and the sugar helped us feel better (even now with hyperemesis, soda is far easier to drink than water, and if I am trying to eat a nice meal out now that the nausea is managed I will always order a mild tasting soda to give me the best chance of finishing the meal) but that was for nausea and dehydration, neither of which your little one seemed to have! And coke? Do Americans not care that coke contains caffiene? Here in Australia soda is not unusual as a treat for toddlers, my daughter has had it a handful of times, and even the most ‘crunchy’ mums usually give soda as a treat, but never coke, lemonade or orange or whatever, fine, but you’ll never see a toddler with coke or coke being served at a childrens party because of the caffiene. When mums give toddlers soda for nausea it’s almost always lemonade, because it’s sweet but not sickly like orange etc. Ginger beer obviously is the best, but most kids I know won’t drink it and most parents don’t know gingers qualities anymore.
Your doctor sounds like a fruitcake to me 
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Nicci P Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 5:14 am (Quote)
Yeah, roseola just made him feel a bit rubbish and be off his food. He wasn’t vomiting and didn’t have diarrhea. The “logic” behind the quote was that as he hadn’t been eating much actual food he needed to keep him sugar and electrolytes up.
I’m a UK mama and I don’t know what this woman was thinking in regards to the caffeine. My friends and I certainly watch for things like caffeine in food, although I don’t know if most people do, I have seen babies with bottles of coke being fed crisps at 4 months.
Sorry to hear about your hyperemesis. Must be really rough.
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My son had an endoscopy and colonoscopy a few months ago and had to do the full cleanse. It is what it sounds like and involves multiple doses of laxatives and then a “clear liquid diet.” I was shocked that a nationally respected GI/Allergy clinic would suggest that Sprite (“among other drinks”) is allowed during the cleanse. Yes, the directions were specifically for the peds patients.
Just what I want around the house… a 4 year old on an insane dose of laxatives who has been drinking massive amounts of sugary soda.
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Zen Angel had this to say,
Jun 10, 2012 @ 5:06 pm (Quote)
Not to be argumentative, but the answer to the question of who needs Coke…is me. Diet in my case, but still very much needed. I have secondary-progressive MS. Without that caffeine, I would be asleep or nearly so all day from the fatigue caused by the disease and made worse by the medications to treat it. I can’t stand coffee and while I like tea, I can’t drink it every day. The so-called fatigue meds do nothing for me. It’s either soda, or a zombie. I’m not thrilled by the situation by any means, but that’s life.
But I’ve never heard of a condition that would warrant giving a sick toddler soda in a bottle. I’m blown away that any ped would recommend it.
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lilmrsmchenry Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 9:29 am (Quote)
I have wonky dips in my blood pressure and when I am out when it happens, I often buy a caffeinated soft drink to help it rise enough to keep be from blacking out. So for those with occasional low blood pressure it can also be a helpful tool.
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Rafyre Reply:
July 18th, 2012 at 1:07 pm (Quote)
I’m a caffeine addict myself that hates coffee- but http://www.bolenreport.com/feature_articles/feature_article062.htm I know you can find arguments for and against everything, but I like to err on the side of as natural as possible. I’ve been drinking the Pepsi Throwback (1 per day).
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lilmrsmchenry had this to say,
Jun 11, 2012 @ 9:31 am (Quote)
I have a 18 month old and I think the last bottle he had was when he was about 6 months old. He moved on to a cup with a lid at that point and was using a regular cup by a year. I think the only things that he has had to drink so far are milk, water and maybe a little juice about half a dozen times. It was the same with my 3 older children, no soft drinks until they were about 5. My in-laws seem to think that they are deprived of a key element of childhood somehow. My 9 year old just recently had her first caffeinated soft drink and honestly wasn’t very impressed.
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Sadly not the first time I’ve heard the two compared, alleged breastfeeding “expert” Clare Byam Cook famously said breastmilk was “no better than Coca Cola” http://hoydenabouttown.com/20100201.7216/nestle-sponsored-tv-show-breastmilk-no-different-from-coca-cola/
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DaynawithaY had this to say,
Jun 14, 2012 @ 4:00 am (Quote)
Arisce – ‘coca’ leaf extract, not ‘cocoa.’ the difference is huge.
Coca-cola was invented as a type of medicine. In fact, a version of the syrup (w/out the cocaine in it, of course!) is usually available OTC at pharmacies in the US. Our family doc recommended it for my younger sister when she had a terribly upset stomach the day we were to leave for vacation. It tasted good, she was able to keep it down, and it made her feel better.
Coca-cola is available w/out caffeine most places where soda is sold, so if you do have to give it to a tyke, look for caffeine-free cke.
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…that way I can berate you when he becomes overweight, and ends up with tooth decay…
coke??? really? at 2? What 2 year old needs all that sugar, and all that caffeine? For any reason? And why a bottle?
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