Dr Phil Kieran: Tummy bug has left my child with low energy levels

Up to 10% of children with gastroenteritis will develop mild lactose intolerance following the illness, which can cause diarrhoea, bloating, and fatigue

Dr Phil Kieran: "Tummy bugs usually last five to seven days and then settle down. One of the most common causes of severe gastroenteritis used to be rotavirus, which sometimes resulted in young children going to hospital due to dehydration. This is no longer the case since the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine, now included in the infant vaccine schedule"

My five-year-old daughter picked up a tummy bug about three weeks ago. While she got over the symptoms within a few days, her energy levels are still low.

Tummy bugs or gastroenteritis (gastro) are one of the most common illnesses kids get. Almost all of us will have had gastro during our lives and many of us will get bouts of it again when we become parents (by catching everything our kids get). The vast majority of tummy upsets are caused by viruses and the most common is a little bug known as norovirus or the 'winter vomiting bug'. There are also some important bacterial and parasitic causes of tummy bugs and we will test for these in children who are particularly unwell or in high-risk categories (like where a local well has been contaminated or in areas where unpasteurised milk is usually ingested).