Diarrhea in children: what to do?
Children have a sensitive gastrointestinal tract, which is why they often get diarrhea. If your child has persistent diarrhea, there is a risk of dehydration. It is therefore important to treat it as soon as possible. Find out what you can do for your child if they have diarrhea.
If your child has diarrhea , it will feel weak and uncomfortable. You can relieve your child’s symptoms and treat their diarrhea by taking appropriate measures. First of all, create the basic conditions for your child’s recovery.
Diarrhea in children: Your child needs a lot of bed rest
Your sick child belongs in bed. Rest and especially sleep promote the recovery of your child. Stress and lack of sleep weaken his immune system and prevent him from successfully recovering from his diarrhea. In the event of illness, the following applies: the more sleep, the stronger the immune system.
If you have diarrhea, your child needs to drink a lot
When your child has diarrhea, they lose a lot of fluid. The greatest danger that exists with diarrheal diseases is that of dehydration. This can be particularly critical for babies and children, as they have a much more sensitive and unstable fluid balance compared to adults. So babies and children tend to dehydrate faster than adults. For this reason, you should ensure that your child drinks plenty of fluids in order to compensate for the loss of fluids caused by the diarrhea as much as possible. Of course, this also applies to breastfeeding children. These should be applied more often during diarrhea. Apart from breast milk, still water or unsweetened tea are also particularly good for replenishing fluids. Carbonated and caffeinated drinks, on the other hand, should generally be avoided, as they only irritate the gastrointestinal tract unnecessarily. In terms of fluid intake, babies and children should generally consume 80-150 ml per kilogram of body weight.
Since diarrhea not only loses fluids, but also valuable minerals that are important for the body such as sodium, potassium or chloride, it is of course important to compensate for this loss as well. There are special preparations from the pharmacy for this, with which you can easily produce a so-called electrolyte solution. This can replace the lost salts in the body. Electrolyte solutions come in different flavors. So there should be something for every taste.
What should your child eat when they have diarrhea?
The notion that nothing should be eaten when you have diarrhea is outdated and now outdated. Little food also means slow recovery. In the case of diarrhea, however, a diet with bland food applies in principle. Easily digestible and stomach-friendly foods should therefore be on the menu for your child. Such a food build-up relieves the digestive tract and your child can gradually switch to the usual food. When your child has diarrhea, weigh up what is good for your child and what is not good for him. Wild food combinations are generally not recommended, as they only irritate your child’s gastrointestinal tract unnecessarily and only aggravate the diarrhea. In the case of diarrhea, the following foods are generally harmlessfor your child:
- zwieback
- crispbread
- White bread
- pretzels
- gruel
- potatoes
- rice
- pasta
- bananas
- apples
- carrots
- chicken broth
Some foods, on the other hand, only irritate the gastrointestinal tract and should therefore be avoided in the event of diarrhea. If you have diarrhea, the following foods are of concern :
- spicy dishes
- greasy food
- milk and milkproducts
- Sweets
- foods that cause flatulence, such as legumes
- carbonated drinks
Which diarrhea inhibitor for your child?
Anti-diarrheal drugs should be used with caution. You should therefore never give them to your child just like that. Always consult a doctor beforehand. He will certainly be able to help you with the treatment of your child.
Does your child have diarrhea? Find out here how you can counteract diarrhea in children with very simple home remedies against diarrhea .