- Dehydration in a child - how to recognize it?
- How can I prevent my baby from becoming dehydrated as a result of acute diarrhea?
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Acute diarrhea in children is one of the most common he alth problems in children under the age of 5. Acute bacterial or viral diarrhea is particularly dangerous, because the child's body is particularly susceptible to dehydration. Find out how to prevent dehydration of your baby from severe diarrhea.
Child's diarrheacan very quickly causedehydration . A child has severe diarrhea when he or she has 3 or more liquid stools a day. In infants with severe diarrhea, an infant produces 3 or more liquid stools a day during formula feeding and 6 or more stools a day.
Usually stools are of the wrong consistency and often show blood, mucus or pus. Other common symptoms of acute diarrhea in children and infants are fever, abdominal pain and vomiting. In the course of virus infection, diarrhea is often accompanied by symptoms of catarrh of the upper respiratory tract.
Dehydration in a child - how to recognize it?
Dehydration is a condition in which the body's water content drops below the amount necessary for it to function properly. For a human, this value is 1 percent of the body weight. Visible signs of dehydration occur with a water loss of 3 percent of the body weight. Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable to the effects of dehydration.
However, dehydration in children is different than in adults and can be identified by the following symptoms:
- dry lips, tongue and oral mucosa
- thick saliva
- cry without tears
- collapsed fontanel
- apathy or irritation
- dark urine (little or no urine)
- sunken eyes
- bloated stomach
- gray and cool skin
- inelastic skin - touched by two fingers and released, does not immediately return to its place
- faster and deeper breathing (the so-called breathing of a dead dog)
- convulsions may appear
If you do not help your child, he or she will develop the most dangerous stage of severe diarrhea, coma. This means that the baby has lost 3% of its body weight in water. The child lies still, does not react toexternal stimuli, his eyes are fixed on the distance, his face is without facial expressions. There are disturbances in many organs, the composition of body fluids and the distribution of blood in the blood vessels.
How can I prevent my baby from becoming dehydrated as a result of acute diarrhea?
- Oral rehydration fluidsare the most effective way to prevent dehydration or to restore hydration and the correct electrolyte content of a child's body. Oral irrigation fluids contain water, electrolytes (sodium, chlorine, potassium) and glucose in precisely defined concentrations. As a result, these preparations are fully absorbed by the body. The rehydration fluids can be given to children over 6 months of age. Oral rehydration fluids should be administered within the first 3-4 hours after the onset of diarrhea and after any diarrheal stool. A small child can be given boiled water or bitter tea to drink in small sips.
- Diet- in the initial period, the so-called a strict diet, i.e. rice gruel and possibly dry bread. Over time, the diet can be gradually expanded. In the youngest children, the mixing of milk with rice gruel begins (first, more gruel, gradually more milk). older children are served porridges, carrot soup and lean, cooked poultry.
- Probioticsare used to restore a child's bacterial flora or prevent viruses and bacteria from disrupting its natural state. You can use acidophilic milk, which contains live cultures of probiotic bacteria, and if drunk regularly it helps to strengthen the immune system.