Caring for children with diarrhea at home

Diarrhea is a condition in which a child has more than 3 bowel movements a day and the child's stools are watery. Children with diarrhea can cause severe, even life-threatening dehydration in the short term. Therefore, parents need to know how to take care of children with diarrhea in the right way to be effective.

When a child has diarrhea, the following symptoms will appear:
Loose stools many times a day, an average of 10 to 15 times. In some cases, young children can have yellow urine with more frequency, about 20 times. Children's stools are watery, mucus, sour, sometimes powdery or bloody. The amount of stool a child passes each time can be more or less, and it can even cause the child to extrude his pants due to the watery stools that the child cannot control. When children have acute diarrhea often accompanied by nausea or vomiting. This is common in acute diarrhea caused by rotavirus. Children vomiting many times a day makes children tired, poor appetite and more seriously, dehydration. Children are anorexic when they have diarrhea for a long time. This is also a concern for parents and must have a plan to help children adjust their nutrition properly to quickly recover. Along with the symptoms of vomiting and poor appetite, children also experience bloating and gas. This condition can lead to digestive disorders in children. When children have diarrhea many times and for a long time, the body may lose water, if not enough water lost, the child will be in danger. One of the signs of dehydration when a child has diarrhea is:
Dehydration makes the child not alert compared to normal children. Children struggling, excited, fussy. If dehydration is severe, children show signs of lethargy, even coma due to shock due to decreased circulating volume in the body. If the child wants to drink water and drinks more than usual, parents need to rehydrate the child. When a child is dehydrated without timely supplementation, the child may become comatose, lethargic... When observing the child's eyes, if there are abnormal signs such as sunken, dry eyes, ... If a child cries without seeing tears, it is possible that the child has lost a lot of water. The child's mouth and tongue are dry. Parents can use two index fingers and pinch the skin folds in the child's abdomen and thighs to check the size of the skin pinch. If the child is normal, when the parents pinch and release the hand, the pinch will disappear. As for children with dehydration, this pinch will last longer. Normally, a child's limbs will be dry and warm, and the nails will be pale pink. But when a child is severely dehydrated or has a fever, his or her hands may turn cold and fingernails pale purple. Children lose weight due to dehydration. Children may have a fever, but not most children have a fever caused by diarrhea. But when there are signs of infection or the effects of bacteria or viruses, the child may have a fever and dehydration. Children with prolonged diarrhea will be at risk of malnutrition. If children do not have good resistance, they will not be able to fight this vicious cycle. Therefore, a reasonable diet will help children develop resistance and fight against invading bacteria from the outside.

When children have diarrhea, dehydration often occurs, making them tired and do not want to eat. However, in order to help children fight the negative effects of diarrhea, parents need to develop a special diet to help the child recover quickly.
The principles of caring for a child with diarrhea at home include:
Give the child more water to drink than usual, if the child is still breastfeeding, the mother will feed the child more than usual, because breast milk also helps provide significant water content. Older children (over 6 months to 5 years old) can be rehydrated orally with any drink they like, such as soup, porridge, coconut water, etc. Children with acute diarrhea and chronic can lose both water and mineral salts. Therefore, if children can drink, parents should use oresol to rehydrate and rehydrate effectively. The care of children with acute or chronic diarrhea requires a reasonable diet. If the baby is breastfeeding, the mother should continue to breastfeed the baby more often. To provide the necessary amount of nutrients for the body, mothers should add nutrients in their daily meals to help milk have the best nutritional value. With weaning children, parents can give them soft, liquid and nutritious foods to help them digest easily. Parents should consult a doctor to supplement zinc for children (if necessary). Many studies have proven that when children have long-term diarrhea, it is advisable to use a short-term course of zinc diarrhea treatment with a concentration of 10 to 20mg per day. In addition, parents can choose to add some zinc-rich foods to supplement their child's diet. Using antibiotics to treat diarrhea in children. If a child has diarrhea due to a bacterial infection, parents need to take the child to the doctor. Adhere to antibiotic therapy. Parents should not arbitrarily use antibiotics because it can cause drug resistance or antibiotic resistance, leading to difficulties in the treatment of children's diseases in the future. In addition, parents need to closely monitor the progress of the child's disease to have a timely treatment plan. When children have signs such as high fever that does not go down, bloody diarrhea, stop feeding, ..., parents need to take the child to see a doctor for timely treatment.

Pediatrics department at Vinmec International Hospital system is trusted by many parents to examine the diseases that babies and young children are prone to. Vinmec brings satisfaction to customers and is highly appreciated by industry experts by:
Gathering a team of leading pediatricians: including leading experts with high professional qualifications ( professor, associate professor, doctorate, master), experienced, worked at major hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108... The doctors are well-trained, professional, conscientious - understanding and understanding young psychology. Besides domestic pediatricians, the Department of Pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) who are always pioneers in applying the latest and most effective treatment regimens. . Comprehensive services: In the field of Pediatrics, Vinmec provides a series of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatric and Vaccine,... according to international standards to help parents take care of their baby's health from birth to childhood. Advanced techniques: Vinmec has successfully deployed many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery - skull surgery, stem cell transplantation blood in cancer treatment. Professional care: In addition to understanding children's psychology, Vinmec also pays special attention to the children's play space, helping them to play comfortably and get used to the hospital's environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical treatment.