Diarrhea in Babies: Treatment, Precautions, How to Prevent Dehydration – Explains by Experts

The summer season brings with it many health problems for kids and diarrhea is one of them. For infants and toddlers, parents have to be extra vigilant as babies cannot communicate clearly and this means that they are unable to clearly express what is bothering them. Dr. Saurabh Khanna, Lead Consultant, Neonatology & Paediatrics, CK Birla Hospital in Gurgaon, shares, “Make sure your baby is not dehydrate because if they have diarrhoea, babies can go into dehydration very quickly, And they won’t be able to tell you whether or not they’re feeling dehydrated. So the first thing you have to do is look at what the symptoms of dehydration are.”

Main symptoms of dehydration

Dr. Saurabh Khanna says that the following are the main symptoms of dehydration:

1) Your child is not passing urine for 8 to 10 hours
2) They are not consuming enough fluids
3) She is having loose motions several times a day
4) They do not feel like drinking water
5) His eyes are sunken or his mouth is dry

The above are some of the main symptoms of dehydration. “In such cases, you have to take the child to the emergency and in the meanwhile, you should start giving ORS in plenty. Broadly speaking, it is said to be in a loose motion, if it is less in quantity , there is a loss of 50 mL of water and a large motion, about 100 to 200 mL of water loss at a time. If you are not replacing this loose stool adequately with ORS, the child can go into dehydration. Is.

Also Read: Summer Diet For Kids: Tips For Babies And Toddlers

Loose Motions in Babies: How to Treat Them

Doctors say that we have to ensure that the child is kept well hydrated. For babies up to the age of 1 year, obviously, breast milk is the best that can be given. There is no indication that breast milk needs to be stopped in case of loose motion. Dr. Saurabh Khanna says, if the baby is above six months, you have to give ORS to keep the baby well hydrated.

“Then there are some probiotics that help. Probiotics are good bacteria that reduce the intensity and frequency of loose motions and also reduce the duration of loose motions. So, there are recommended probiotics that can be given to you by the paediatrician. Are.” Dr Khanna further adds, “The third thing is to make ORS at home. If you are not getting ORS which is ready to use then you can prepare ORS at home with salt and sugar water. Also you can Give Shikanji and coconut water too.

Zinc supplements are also prescribed by doctors as they help in improving the immunity of the gut. Depending on the age the doctor will prescribe a dose and then there are antibiotics, which will be prescribed based on the diagnosis.

when to say no to milk

If the child is above one year, Dr Khanna says it is best to reduce milk intake in case of diarrhoea, especially if other sources of nutrition are available. “Lactose intolerance is also one of the very common causes of loose motion. Whenever one is infected, there is an entity called secondary lactose intolerance, which sets in. If one is given to children with diarrhea very often and in large amounts giving milk, they may end up with more diarrhea because our body is not able to digest the lactose present in milk,” says Dr. Khanna.