A 9-month-old child has diarrhea, what to do, causes and treatment of diarrhea

What happens with diarrhea

Treatment of diarrhea in children is a common problem for parents of children of all ages. After all, there are a lot of diseases that cause diarrhea and almost all children are susceptible to them. Diarrhea is one of the defense mechanisms that our body uses to get rid of pathogens or toxins that have entered the intestines. However, prolonged diarrhea is dangerous for the baby's body. What happens when a child diarrhea? Normally, the absorption capacity of the intestine is quite large. Infections and intestinal disorders lead to failure of the process of absorption and digestion of food. If these functions are disrupted, liquid and incompletely digested food come out in the form of feces of a liquid consistency. The urge to defecate becomes frequent and rapid. Diarrhea in children is sometimes accompanied by pain. In addition to the unpleasantness of this symptom, there is a very real danger to the baby’s health. And this is not only the fact that the body does not receive useful substances from food, but also that as a result of diarrhea, fluid leaves the body along with mineral salts.

Liquid carbon – a new generation sorbent

Thanks to its thoughtfully balanced composition, Liquid Charcoal for Children is effective against many diseases, the main symptom of which is diarrhea. It can be prescribed by a doctor as a primary remedy or as part of complex therapy. Clinical studies have shown that Liquid Charcoal for children helps cope with diarrhea syndrome due to giardiasis, and also accelerates the disappearance of symptoms of poisoning in intestinal infections.

Liquid charcoal for children is an effective new generation sorbent that not only removes harmful substances from the body, but also restores the intestinal microflora. Its main advantages over other sorbents are:

High sorption capacity
. The product contains pectin, whose sorption capacity is several times higher than that of activated carbon.
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High efficiency.
Due to the liquid form, the effect of the drug occurs much faster than when taking tablet medications. The composition includes fennel, which reduces the discomfort in the stomach that accompanies prolonged diarrhea. In addition, prolonged diarrhea leads to dehydration of the body, and Liquid Charcoal helps replenish the lack of fluid in the body.
Normalization of the gastrointestinal tract.
Liquid charcoal for children is a sorbent with the prebiotic inulin. Once in the gastrointestinal tract, inulin helps normalize the balance of intestinal microflora.
Pleasant taste.
Parents know how difficult it can be to persuade their child to take medicine. With Liquid Coal for Children this problem will not arise. The drug has a pleasant apple taste, so it is ideal for children from three years of age. Even with nausea and vomiting, which often accompany intestinal disorders, as experience with the drug has shown, children easily take it.

Liquid carbon for children is an effective and convenient sorbent. And it's delicious too! THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISING. THE MATERIAL WAS PREPARED WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF EXPERTS.

Symptoms of diarrhea

Diarrhea in a child has the following symptoms:

Loose stools due to frequent bowel movements.
Discomfort in the intestinal area.
Bloating and rumbling in the stomach.

If blood, greens, mucus, and parts of undigested food are found in the stool, then such symptoms indicate such dangerous diseases as colitis, biliary dyskinesia and enteritis.

In case of infectious diseases, as well as due to intoxication due to poisoning, diarrhea may be accompanied by high fever.

Important! Unlike a viral infection, when taking antipyretics is treated with caution and for which temperature is a protective measure, with diarrhea fever is dangerous because it leads to additional fluid loss. Temperatures above 37.5 can already be brought down.

Diarrhea 10 days

When a child suffers from diarrhea for 10 days, the doctor begins to suspect the presence of various serious pathologies. Traditionally, this is the duration of the acute phase of diarrhea. When the treatment undertaken for this symptom does not help, it enters its chronic phase, when loose stools indicate the presence of various dysfunctions in the functioning of the child’s body.

Ten days of diarrhea can provoke:

Crohn's disease;
irritable bowel syndrome;
colitis;
malabsorption syndrome;
rectal oncology.

Each of these diseases is quite serious. Therefore, when a specialist makes such a diagnosis, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment.

Diarrhea in a child, causes

The causes of diarrhea in children can be very diverse. They can be roughly divided into the following groups:

Eating disorders. If the child is breastfed, then the cause of diarrhea may be a violation of the mother's diet.
In older children, this problem can arise from excessive consumption of foods containing fiber or as a reaction to the introduction of complementary foods. With diet correction, the disorder usually goes away.
Drug-induced diarrhea. It occurs as a side reaction to certain medications, especially antibiotics.
Intestinal infections. This is the most common factor that affects loose stools in a baby. The entry of viruses, bacteria, and fungi into the digestive system causes disruption of the intestines, accompanied by diarrhea. The most common pathogens include: rotavirus infection, salmonellosis, escherichiasis, dysentery of amoebic or bacterial origin, and campelobacteriosis.
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Another answer to the question: why does diarrhea occur is found in the concept of biliary dyskinesia.
Enzyme deficiency and impaired intestinal motility can also lead to loose stools.

A child’s body can also react to nervous overstrain with diarrhea. This problem especially often arises at the age of 6, when the child encounters new difficulties at school.

Diarrhea may also be a reaction to climate change while traveling.

Sometimes loose stools occur during teething. This happens because during the period when teeth are coming in, a large amount of saliva is released, which descends into the intestines. This disorder goes away within a few days and does not require special treatment other than controlling the amount of fluid.

When is diarrhea harmless?

Komarovsky considers diarrhea in a child to be a normal phenomenon if frequent loose stools are associated with a change in diet, physical processes occurring in the body (for example, teething), as well as the baby’s experiences.

In very young children, loose stools can be observed about 20 times during the day, which is considered quite acceptable. After reaching 3 years of age, stool is usually characterized by a mushy consistency, yellow or brown color, and a bowel movement frequency of 1 to 3 times per day.

If a child’s loose stools have not stopped by the age of 3 and bother him with the same intensity, he should urgently contact a pediatrician, who will try to identify the causes of the disease as accurately as possible to make a correct diagnosis.

The doctor will be interested in the duration of the intestinal disorder, the frequency of bowel movements and urination, the consistency of stool, weight loss, tears during bowel movements, blood and mucus in the stool, as well as associated symptoms: vomiting, rash, fever, abdominal pain. Information about the child’s visits to childcare facilities, illnesses among family members at the time of the examination, sources of drinking water, etc. is also important.

Complications

If diarrhea is treated untimely or incorrectly in children, complications may develop. Their severity depends on the severity of the cause of diarrhea.

The main complications most often are:

Loss of fluid (dehydration).
Development of seizures.
Stomach disorders.
If diarrhea was caused by dysbiosis, then asthma, dermatitis, intestinal dyskinesia, and chronic gastroduodenitis may develop.
Neurotoxicosis, cerebral edema, infectious-toxic shock, electrolyte disturbances, hemolytic-uremic syndrome, sepsis, if intestinal infections lead to diarrhea.
Dysentery can cause complications such as encephalitis, arthritis, neuritis, anemia, hypovitaminosis, pyoderma, otitis, and pneumonia.
In especially severe cases, there is a risk of death.

What are the dangers of dehydration?

Infantile diarrhea threatens the child with loss of fluid. Why is this condition dangerous? Water takes part in almost all regulatory processes of the body. Lack of fluid has a detrimental effect on the functioning of the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. In addition, mineral salts are lost along with water during diarrhea. A convulsive state may develop.

Signs of dehydration:

Sunken fontanel on the top of the head.
Lack of tears and saliva.
Dry skin and mucous membranes.
Dry tongue and lips.
The baby does not urinate for about 6 hours.
Lethargy, apathy, drowsiness.

Rehydration methods

If symptoms of dehydration are detected, the loss of fluid and mineral salts in the body should be replenished. Pharmaceutical rehydration powders, for example, Regidron and Humana Electrolyte, are suitable for this purpose.

They can be given to a child even in the first year of life. You can prepare this drink yourself. To do this, take 2 tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon each of salt and baking soda per liter of chilled boiled water. Mix everything thoroughly and heat the solution to body temperature, so the liquid is better absorbed by the body. You need to drink often and in small portions. A pacifier, cup, spoon, and even a regular syringe without a needle are suitable for this purpose. The main thing is that the child drinks.

Important! The smaller the child, the more dangerous dehydration is. If there are signs of severe fluid loss and parents are unable to give their baby something to drink, they should go to the hospital immediately.

How to treat diarrhea in a child

How to cure diarrhea in a child so that the process is most effective and the disease does not leave consequences? First of all, you need to call a pediatrician at home, who will prescribe medications to treat diarrhea. You also need to understand the reason why the diarrhea started. If loose stools are affected by disruptions in the diet, then you need to adjust the child’s menu. The baby should be given a drinking regimen and given anti-diarrhea medications (activated carbon, smecta, enterosgel). When treating diarrhea, it is necessary to monitor the general condition of the baby, his temperature; if it increases, the child should be given an antipyretic drug. The picture is slightly different for diarrhea caused by infection or poisoning. In this case, at first there is no need to fasten the intestines, since with the help of loose stools the body gets rid of toxins. It is necessary to give the baby water and monitor his condition.

For diarrhea, the following groups of medications are prescribed:

Enterosorbents relieve intoxication and strengthen the intestines.
Probiotics are a complex of beneficial bacteria that improve the condition of a child’s gastrointestinal tract with dysbacteriosis.
Antimicrobial medications - get rid of the causative agent of diarrhea of viral etiology, and also slow down intestinal motility.

Prescribing antibiotics for diarrhea is not always useful, since their aggressive effect on the intestinal microflora can aggravate the situation.

Catering for diarrhea

If you have diarrhea, you need to be very careful with what you eat. Sometimes it is advisable to organize a fast for your baby, during which you need to drink plenty of fluids. Often the child himself refuses food. The exception is infants, for whom large weight loss is dangerous. Breastfed babies need to be put to the breast more often. In older children and children on an artificial diet, it is necessary to exclude dairy foods and meat products. You can give your child porridge with water, crackers, biscuits. And, of course, a lot of liquid in the form of special solutions, compotes, teas. After recovery, when the baby develops an appetite, you should not immediately load the child’s fragile gastrointestinal tract with fatty and heavy foods.

Prevention of prolonged diarrhea

Functional illness that bothers a child for several days can be easily prevented if you follow certain rules:

To prevent severe diarrhea, avoid expired foods, raw eggs and unsterilized milk.
Be sure to carry out heat treatment of fish and meat products.
All cutlery should be washed thoroughly after use.
Store ready-made meals only in the refrigerator, since in the warmth bacteria quickly begin to multiply on them, causing prolonged diarrhea. Everyone should know what to do with expired food.
When traveling abroad, children should not be given raw water to drink. It is necessary to use only bottled drinks, and from manufacturers whose reputation is beyond doubt.
When visiting exotic countries, before eating fruits, you should not only wash them, but also completely remove the peel.
On the territory of Central Asian states, it is better to refuse to purchase melons. There, to increase the weight of the berries, they are often pumped with raw water. After consuming such a product, lingering diarrhea is guaranteed to occur, which will be difficult to get rid of.

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