Is It Bad for a Baby to Have Diarrhea Why Is It Bad for a Baby to Have Diarrhea

Diarrhea and Your Kid

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When a child'south bowel blueprint changes suddenly to a loose and watery bowel movement (BM, stool, or poop) and occurs more oft than usual, he or she has diarrhea. Diarrhea is a mutual symptom of illness in young children. In the United States, children younger than 4 years may have diarrhea 1 or 2 times each year.

Diarrhea tin can be acute (lasts a short fourth dimension) or chronic (lasting more than than 2 weeks). Here is information from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) nigh acute diarrhea, besides equally how to manage the symptoms, and how to help reduce your child's chances of getting diarrhea.

What causes diarrhea?

Near diarrhea in children is caused by viruses. Diarrhea tin can as well be caused by bacteria, parasites, changes in diet (such as drinking besides much fruit juice), problems with the intestines (such as allergy to foods), and the use of some medicines.

How long volition diarrhea last?

About of the time balmy diarrhea lasts from 3 to 6 days. Sometimes a child will have loose stools for several days more. Equally long as the child acts well and is drinking and eating enough, parents do non need to worry well-nigh loose stools.

When practice I need to phone call the doc?

Children with viral diarrhea have a fever and may vomit. Before long after these symptoms announced, children get diarrhea. Often children with viral diarrhea "feel bad" but do not act sick.

The nearly of import part of treating diarrhea is to forestall your kid from becoming dehydrated. Telephone call your child's doc right away if your child has any of the following symptoms:

Mild to moderate dehydration

• Plays less than usual.

• Urinates less ofttimes (for infants, less than half-dozen wet diapers per day).

• Has a dry mouth.

• Becomes very thirsty.

• Produces fewer tears when crying.

• Is an babe or toddler with a sunken soft spot on the head.

• Stools volition exist loose if dehydration is caused by diarrhea. If dehydration is due to fluid loss (airsickness, lack of fluid intake), a child's usual bowel movements volition subtract.

Severe dehydration

• Meet signs and symptoms of mild to moderate dehydration.

• Very fussy.

• Very sleepy.

• Sunken optics.

• Absurd, discolored hands and feet.

• Wrinkled pare.

• Urinates only 1 to 2 times per day.

Also, call your child'south doc if your child has diarrhea and

• Fever that lasts longer than 24 to 48 hours

• Encarmine stools

• Vomiting that lasts more than 12 to 24 hours

• Vomit that looks dark-green, tinged with blood, or like coffee grounds

• Abdomen (tum, belly) that looks swollen

• Will not consume or drink

• Severe abdominal (tum, belly) pain

• Rash or jaundice (yellow color of pare and eyes)

How is diarrhea managed?

• Mild diarrhea without vomiting. Diarrhea frequently goes abroad in a couple of days on its own. Most children with mild diarrhea do not need to modify their diet and electrolyte solutions are usually non needed. You lot tin keep giving human (breast) milk, formula, or cow's milk. However, if your child seems bloated or gassy later on drinking formula or cow'south milk, ask your kid'due south doctor if these should exist avoided.

• Mild diarrhea with airsickness. Children who take diarrhea and are vomiting volition need to terminate their usual diets. Electrolyte solutions should be given in small-scale amounts, often until the airsickness stops. In most cases, they're needed for but 1 to 2 days. Once the vomiting has lessened, slowly render to your child's usual diet. Some children are non able to tolerate cow's milk when they take diarrhea and it may briefly be removed from the diet by your kid's medico. Breastfeeding should continue.

• Severe diarrhea. Phone call your kid's dr. for severe diarrhea. Children who accept a watery bowel movement every 1 to 2 hours, or more often, and signs of dehydration may need to finish eating for a short period (such as i solar day or less) to focus on drinking to replenish fluid lost in those stools. They need to avert liquids that are high in carbohydrate, high in salt, or very low in common salt (ie, water and tea). For severe dehydration, children may need to exist given fluids through the vein (IV) in the emergency section.

How practice I reduce my kid's chances of getting diarrhea?

Here are ways to help reduce your child'due south chances of getting diarrhea.

• Cease germs from spreading. Frequent handwashing with soap or using a hand sanitizer is the all-time way to prevent these germs from spreading.

• Avoid germs. Try to keep your kid away from children who take diarrhea or are vomiting.

• Do not give your kid raw (unpasteurized) milk or foods that may be contaminated.

• Avoid medicines, particularly antibiotics, if they are not needed.

• Breastfeed your baby. Breast milk has many substances that formulas don't have that help protect your babe from many diseases and infections. The AAP recommends breastfeeding as the sole source of nutrition for your baby for about half dozen months. When you add solid foods to your babe's diet, continue breastfeeding until at to the lowest degree 12 months. You tin can proceed to breastfeed after 12 months if you lot and your baby want.

• Limit the corporeality of juice and sweetened drinks.

• Make sure your child has received the rotavirus vaccine. The rotavirus vaccine protects against the most common cause of diarrhea and vomiting in infants and young children.

What are electrolyte solutions?

Most children with mild diarrhea do not need electrolyte solutions. Electrolyte solutions are very helpful for the home management of moderately astringent diarrhea.

Electrolyte solutions are special fluids that have been designed to replace water and salts lost during diarrhea. Soft drinks (soda, popular), soups, juices, sports drinks, and boiled milk take the incorrect amounts of sugar and common salt and may make your child sicker.

Do not attempt to prepare your ain electrolyte solutions at domicile. Apply only commercially available fluids—shop brand and proper name brand work the same. Your child's medico or chemist can tell you what products are available.

Mutual Questions

Q: Should a child with diarrhea fast (not eat)?

A: Fasting is not a treatment for diarrhea. Even so, some children may benefit from reducing their intake of solid nutrient if they are airsickness. It is appropriate to proceed to offer pocket-sized amounts of fluids, specially electrolyte solutions, in these cases. As children recover from their illness, it is fine to let them consume as much or as petty of their usual diet as they want.

Q: What about the BRAT diet?

A: The bananas, rice, applesauce, toast (BRAT) diet, once recommended while recovering from diarrhea, is no longer considered useful. Because Brat diet foods are depression in fiber, poly peptide, and fat, the diet lacks plenty nutrition to assistance a child's gastrointestinal tract recover. Some pediatricians believe that it may actually brand symptoms last longer. The AAP now recommends that children resume eating a normal, well-balanced diet appropriate for their age within 24 hours of getting sick. That diet should include a mix of fruits, vegetables, meat, yogurt, and complex carbohydrates.

Q: What about antidiarrheal medicines?

A: Over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicines are not recommended for children younger than 2 years. They can also be harmful in older children. Always check with your child's doctor before giving your kid any medicine for diarrhea.

Also, do not give your child homemade remedies. Because diarrhea is so common, many different domicile remedies have been tried through the years. Some of these homemade remedies may non be effective and some may actually make things worse.

Q: Practise probiotics aid diarrhea?

A: Probiotics are types of "good" bacteria that live in the intestines. They may have beneficial wellness effects, although more than studies are needed. Some studies have shown that foods or babe formula containing probiotics can prevent or even care for diarrhea in children, whether this condition is chronic or acute, or associated with the utilize of antibiotics. To date, the strongest evidence suggests that probiotics may help prevent or meliorate viral gastroenteritis; they may also strengthen a kid's affliction-fighting allowed system and thus help fight off a number of infections that could pb to diarrhea.

Remember

If you lot have whatever questions or concerns about your kid's health, contact your child'southward doctor.

The information contained in this publication should non be used equally a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may exist variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

© 2020 American University of Pediatrics. All rights reserved.

AAP Feed run on iii/five/2022 2:20:31 AM. Article data concluding modified on 1/24/2022 half dozen:59:16 AM.

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Source: https://palsmds.com/Diarrhea-and-Dehydration

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