Four million children go to the emergency room each year in the U.S. and about half of them are there for dehydration from the flu and stomach viruses.
Now there is a new way to help dehydrated children and it was tested right here in the New Orleans area.
Ochsner is one of the international test sites for Hylenex, a special formula that allows the fluid, with just one stick, to be put right under the skin rather than in the vein. And for 24 hours, it is not blocked from getting into the blood stream.
"We create a virtual space for that fluid to go, so that then your body can absorb it more quickly and less uncomfortably," said Dr. Hutchings.
"They are getting hydrated very quickly and that fluid is getting in to the blood stream within 10 minutes, whereas with an IV, it may take 20 minutes or so to get the IV actually placed and get the fluids started," said Dr. Philip Spandorfer, a pediatric emergency room physician at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.
"My daughter was able to sit in my lap. I was able to hold and comfort her. She felt safe. I felt safe," said Hall. "They started the catheter in her upper back, fluids started and I mean within minutes, I can tell that she was feeling a lot better."
And the emotional benefit is the child can't see the needle.
WORRIED MOTHER
Rekina Hall remembers the day her daughter, Mikai, got very sick.
"She had a bad stomach flu and she wasn't able to keep down any fluids, not even water. She wasn't producing tears, no wet diapers, I knew something was wrong," said Mikai's Mother,
Rekina Hall.
A registered nurse in Atlanta, she knew with dehydration it was important to get to the hospital for IV fluids. But there was a concern.
"I know that sometimes it's very hard to start an IV on someone, especially when they are dehydrated," said Hall.
Adults have nice big veins. We're a little bit easier to stick. We hold still. Children, especially when they are dehydrated, we are starting with smaller vessels, okay, so it's harder to stick," explained Dr. Rebecca Hutchings.
Dr. Hutchings is the Director of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Ochsner, and she says children are more likely to become dehydrated when sick, especially with flu. And it is a more dangerous health problem for them.
You can tell a child is dehydrated if he or she is:
-limp and listless
-the eyes are sunken and not making tears
-the lips are cracked and the tongue and mouth are dry
-the skin is cold and clammy and in extreme cases it doesn't snap back when pinched
-there is less or darker urine
-and in infants, the soft spot on the top of the head is sunken in
The study is being done on children six months to 10 years old. After the study is over on December 20, the treatment should be available by the beginning of next year.
