How to stop diarrhea in a 3 year old child at home

Meningitis

Meningitis in children can be caused by various pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi).
A sick person is a potential source of infection. Pathogenic microflora is transmitted by airborne droplets or household contact. Suspicion of meningitis in a child is an absolute indication for hospitalization. The child is prescribed bed rest and absolute rest. The therapy method is selected according to the type of pathogen. Antibiotics or antiviral drugs are prescribed. To remove toxins from the body, drip administration of glucose-salt solutions is performed.

When vomiting

Read about diarrhea if anyone is interested, I encountered it myself, now we will treat it.
Why does vomiting and diarrhea occur in a 2-year-old child, and what to do? Now let's look at different situations:

• Vomiting and diarrhea without fever are characteristic symptoms of stomach diseases. In addition, this condition of the child can be caused by taking antibiotics. Taking medications disrupts the normal intestinal microflora. As a rule, probiotics are prescribed along with antibiotics. They compensate for the effect of drugs and stabilize intestinal function. But sometimes that's not enough. While taking antibiotics and for some time after, you should adhere to a strict diet, exclude fatty, sweet, flour, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. Taking activated carbon and Smecta will help stabilize the child’s condition.
• An allergic reaction to a particular product. At the same time, in the vomit it is this product that remains poorly digested and comes out in pieces. To stop vomiting, you should eliminate the allergen from your diet.
• A child's reaction to a stressful situation can cause occasional vomiting and diarrhea. A one-time dose of medication for diarrhea and vomiting will help. Plus, it’s worth eliminating stress factors.

When these symptoms appear, you must first understand what is the most severe manifestation of the disease. Then you should reduce the manifestation of these symptoms.

If the cause of vomiting is an intestinal infection, then very soon diarrhea will appear and the temperature will rise. At the same time, the body loses fluid very quickly

The most important thing in this situation is to ensure sufficient fluid intake to prevent dehydration of the child's body. A decrease in temperature in the presence of vomiting may manifest itself weakly, since medications leave the body with vomit.

In order to stop vomiting, you need to give sorbents:

• "Enterosgel";
• "Smectu";
• Activated carbon.

To reduce the temperature, the child needs to be undressed and rubbed with a vinegar solution. The product is prepared quickly. Mix 50 ml of warm boiled water and 30 ml of table vinegar. This composition will quickly help reduce the temperature. After this, the child should be hospitalized.

– rotavirus infection;

– food poisoning;

– viral hepatitis.

If a child vomits regularly, does not sleep, behaves restlessly, or complains of pain, then it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor. In this case, it is extremely undesirable to rinse the stomach or give antiemetics or antibacterial agents.

You should:

• call an ambulance;
• Give plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration;
• lay the child on his side so that his head is raised;
• make sure that he does not suffocate on the vomit.

Even if vomiting is a one-time occurrence and will not recur, the child should be shown to a pediatrician. This is done in order to avoid further health problems.

A decoction of herbs: chamomile, lemon balm and peppermint. To prepare the product, take all the ingredients in equal parts and mix. Infuse a tablespoon of the mixture in a glass of boiling water. Then give the child a tablespoon three times a day.

A decoction or compote of rose hips helps restore water balance.

Also, when vomiting, it is necessary to give the child a saline solution. This will help avoid dehydration.

Drugs that can be given to a child when vomiting:

• "Smecta", "Absorbent";
• "Enterofuril" is an antibiotic that destroys almost all intestinal and vomiting pathogens;
• "Mezim forte." Can be prescribed by a doctor for intestinal infections;
• "Motilium". Prescribed to relieve severe vomiting in children;
• "Lactofiltrum". The drug removes pathogenic bacteria from the body, improves intestinal microflora, and is prescribed for food poisoning, allergies, and dysbacteriosis;
• "Creon 10000". The drug is similar to Mezim, but more effective;
• “Primadophylus” is a dietary supplement containing bifidobacteria. Designed to improve the condition of a child with food poisoning, diarrhea, dysbacteriosis.

How to reduce fever during vomiting and diarrhea? Wiping with a vinegar solution, alcohol solution,

Also, for vomiting and diarrhea, children 2 years old can be given Paracetamol with a quarter of an Analgin tablet.

In rare cases, candidiasis dysbiosis is detected in children. Treatment is carried out with antifungal drugs. Vitamin therapy and sanatorium-resort treatment are recommended for frequently ill children.

A woman should pay attention to the prevention of dysbiosis in a child even at the stage of pregnancy. It is necessary to eat right, avoid stressful situations, and get adequate rest.

Intestinal problems can be avoided by early breastfeeding of the newborn.

Common causes of diarrhea in children at this age

It's no secret that children of the younger age group have a habit of putting any objects in their mouths. It is in this way that the vast majority of microbes and viruses penetrate the baby’s body. The main prerequisite for stool disorder in childhood is poor personal hygiene. Children become infected with germs through unwashed hands, vegetables, fruits and, as a result, stomach problems and watery stools. Normally, a baby’s bowel movements should have a porridge-like consistency and no more than 1–4 times a day. Frequent and liquid, more than 5 times a day, should alert parents. The reasons that caused problems with stool in a three-year-old child are infectious and non-infectious in nature.

Non-infectious

In addition to lack of personal hygiene, diarrhea in a 3-year-old child is provoked by improper organization of food intake, for example:

1. Binge eating.
2. Spoiled, expired products.
3. Consumption of foods that are not appropriate for the baby’s age (smoked, fried, hot spices).
4. The daily diet contains a lot of food with coarse fiber.
5. Excessive consumption of sweets and carbonated drinks.
6. Consumption of foods that do not combine with each other (milk and fish).
7. Daily monotonous menu.
8. Intolerance to certain foods or their components (milk, sugar).
9. Stress, strong excitement, worries.
10. Dyspepsia (digestion problems).

It is possible to say that diarrhea is not caused by infection if diarrhea in a 3-year-old child goes away without fever. In addition to the above, there are other prerequisites for problems with stool in babies:

• intoxication with chemical fumes;
• ulcer;
• side effect after taking medications, antibiotics;
• gastritis;
• helminthiasis

Infectious

Frequent bowel movements in younger children are caused by an intestinal infection due to ingested viruses and pathogenic bacteria. In childhood, among the main causes of this disease, the following, the most common, are noted:

• Dysentery. The disease makes itself felt within 3–5 days from the moment of infection. Problems such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, headaches, and fever are observed. The frequency of stool per day exceeds more than 10 times.
• Salmonellosis. The most common type among intestinal infections. Main symptoms: loose stools, vomiting, rapid dehydration. In the absence of timely treatment, death is possible.
• Rotavirus infection. It is common among children under 3 years of age; adults are less susceptible to the disease. During the illness the following symptoms are observed: diarrhea, fever, vomiting. The treatment process must take place in a hospital setting, under the supervision of a specialist.

With an intestinal infection, dangerous signs may be observed, such as bowel movements more than 5 times a day with a watery consistency; with dysentery, there are drops of blood in the stool and mucus, undigested food, and paroxysmal abdominal pain. The main task of parents is to provide timely medical assistance. Treatment of loose stool in a child aged three years due to infection requires a special approach and careful diagnosis.

What symptoms are observed with an intestinal infection? The main symptoms of diarrhea are: frequent and loose stools, pain in the stomach, fever and general weakness.

Treatment of diarrhea at 2 years

Why does diarrhea occur after drinking beer and how to treat it? Diarrhea after beer: possible causes and treatment features

Severe diarrhea in a child requires effective treatment. In some cases, there is a need to use antibiotics, fixative tablets and other means of normalizing the condition.

Antibiotics

Taking antibiotics is indicated for the bacterial type of disorder, as indicated by incessant diarrhea, vomiting, and traces of blood in the stool.

For the treatment of children 2 years of age the following are used:

• Metronidazole;
• Amoxicillin;
• Furazolidone.

Metronidazole is prescribed in case of development of amoebic dysentery, accompanied by diarrhea and fever in a child. For children over 2 years of age, the drug is indicated in a dose of 250 mg. The dose is repeated 2-3 times daily before meals. Duration of therapy – 5 days.

Amoxicillin for younger patients is produced in the form of a suspension. The recommended dose for 2-5 years is 125 mg of active ingredient (half a scoop). The product must be taken 3 times a day.

Furazolidone tablets are not used to treat intestinal disorders in children under 3 years of age. The suspension is intended for patients of this age. The drug demonstrates high effectiveness in eliminating food poisoning, rotavirus infection, dysentery, which often occurs with vomiting and diarrhea in a child.

Before use, pour boiled water into a bottle with soluble granules and shake thoroughly. The resulting mixture is taken four times a day after meals. The dosage regimen should be determined by a specialist, based on age, weight and the nature of the disease. The standard course of treatment is 5-10 days.

Consolidating tablets

When diarrhea in a 2-year-old child occurs without fever, fixative tablets can be used. One such remedy is Loperamide, which is effective in eliminating disorders of various origins (allergic, food, associated with the use of various medications and emotional state). For severe cases of diarrhea, this product plays a supporting role.

Children 2-5 years of age take 1 mg of tablet medication 3 times throughout the day (after each bowel movement). A drop form of the drug is also available especially for children. This product is taken 20 drops four times a day. If there is no effect within 48 hours, a change in medication will be required.

A good fixing effect is ensured by the combined use of Bifidumbacterin and Lactobacterin. Both drugs can be used from infancy. For two-year-old patients, Bifidumbacterin is indicated twice a day, 20 minutes before meals. To do this, one packet of the product is dissolved in a small amount of non-hot liquid (water, dairy product). Lactobacterin is taken in the amount of 2-3 tablets (twice or three times during the day before meals).

Setting Products

It is useful for parents to know how to prevent diarrhea from food. These include:

• boiled rice;
• mashed potatoes;
• fresh bananas;
• blueberries.

Boiled rice and mashed potatoes provide a strengthening effect due to their rich starch content. To get the desired effect, they are consumed without oil.

Pectin and fiber present in bananas help absorb fluid and improve peristalsis. The abundance of potassium in these tropical fruits normalizes electrolyte balance, and the natural prebiotic insulin included in their composition restores the intestinal microflora.

Consolidation of feces is facilitated by the consumption of dry and fresh blueberries. The saturation of this product with tannins allows you to relieve inflammatory processes and normalize secretion in the gastrointestinal tract.

Enriching your diet with nuts, semolina, pomegranates, and baked goods will help eliminate loose stools. Green tea, a drink with mint and chamomile have the same effect.

Enterosgel

Enterosgel is a modern adsorbent that promotes the removal of allergenic and toxic substances from the body and effectively counteracts infectious agents. The drug is also effective against the development of dysentery and salmonellosis.

Children aged 6 months to 5 years are given half a teaspoon of Enterosgel three times a day, 1-2 hours before meals. Before use, the medicine is mixed with warm water. The volume of liquid should be three times the amount of medicine. In case of severe intoxication of the body in the first 3 days of treatment, it is recommended to double the dose of medication.

Review of approved medicines

We offer a list of popular, effective, safe children's drugs to combat the pathological process.

A child has diarrhea: what to do?

Diarrhea and fever in a child

For children, especially young children, diarrhea is dangerous because it causes dehydration. Most often this phenomenon occurs if a child experiences vomiting and diarrhea at the same time. The body rapidly loses fluid, which causes disturbances in the functioning of all its systems.

Signs of moderate dehydration in children:

• dry mucous membranes;
• the appearance of a white coating on the tongue;
• constant thirst;
• retraction of the fontanel in young children;
• decreased number of urinations.

The smaller the child’s body weight, the faster this process develops. Therefore, the first action in case of diarrhea is to feed the child. In order not to provoke attacks of vomiting, this should be done in fractions, but often (1 - 2 teaspoons). If necessary, it is recommended to use a syringe with the needle removed or a pipette.

You should carefully monitor all manifestations of the emerging disease in order to seek medical help in time if necessary.

It is not recommended to give children drugs that stop diarrhea (Loperamide, Imodium) at the first symptoms of diarrhea. If there are pathogenic pathogens in the body, loose stool is its protective reaction. Temporarily reducing unpleasant symptoms does not eliminate the cause of diarrhea and may worsen the problem.

If a child has diarrhea accompanied by severe abdominal pain, it is necessary to immediately show him to a doctor to exclude the possibility of appendicitis and other pathologies that may result in peritonitis.

Treatment of diarrhea

First of all, two proven methods will help:

• hungry pause;
• therapeutic diet.

In general, a sick child, as a rule, does not want to eat anything. Here parents should not force him. Fasting is contraindicated in children under 3 years of age. In most cases, it would be better to put the child on a gentle diet.

It is necessary to provide the baby with enough fluids. The thing is that the first thing that diarrhea leads to is dehydration.

It is strictly forbidden to give anti-diarrhea medications to children. If we are talking about an infectious disease, then vomiting and diarrhea allow the body to quickly get rid of harmful substances.

To speed up the cleaning process, it is allowed to give an enema with warm water.

If there is blood in the stool and the fever does not go away, anti-diarrhea medicine should not be used either.

Medicines indicated primarily are those that belong to the class of enterosorbents. A good remedy is Smecta. It is the most harmless and effective. The substances contained in it bind the contents of the intestines, and in addition, promote the renewal of mucous membranes.

Regular activated carbon will also help.

If you have any alarming symptoms, you should first consult your doctor. Only a specialist has the right to decide which medications are suitable in your particular case.

For serious infections, the child needs hospitalization. Bacterial infections must be treated with antibiotics, which parents cannot prescribe on their own.

What can cause diarrhea

All etiological factors of this disease are divided into infectious and non-infectious. Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminthic infestations.

Non-infectious ones arise as a result of functional and anatomical and physiological disorders of the digestive system; most often the disease develops against the background of intestinal infections.

The mechanism of infection is associated with the consumption of contaminated, poorly processed food, consumption of poor-quality water, and failure to comply with hygiene standards.

A child of this age often puts dirty hands in his mouth, this contributes to the development of infectious diarrhea, and diarrhea can also be caused by viruses.

Viral infections are transmitted by airborne droplets; if a child goes to kindergarten, then in a crowded group the likelihood of contracting a pathology increases. The disease is manifested by frequent loose stools.

If the stool contains mucus or pus, this indicates a bacterial infection; most likely, the child's large intestine is affected.

If the stool is copious and oily, then damage to the small intestine should be suspected; if the color changes to greenish or like swamp mud, a bacterial infection is suspected - salmonellosis; an admixture of blood may be present.

If the stool loses its brown color and becomes like rice water, then a dangerous disease - cholera - should be ruled out.

With intestinal infections, the child’s body temperature rises, up to a high fever, and nausea and vomiting may occur.

The baby refuses to eat and drink, complains of abdominal pain, the child’s general condition suffers, he becomes whiny, drowsy, and inactive.

Intestinal infections without proper treatment can lead to serious complications, the most dangerous of which is dehydration, since the body at this age loses fluid very quickly.

Food poisoning and toxic infections

They develop against the background of eating low-quality and stale food.

This group includes:

• Fast food.
• Perishable products.
• Cream cakes in the summer.
• Canned food.
• Chips, soda, sweets with dyes.
• Raw eggs, milk.

A group of products has a toxic effect on the body; an adult may not respond to an irritating factor, and a child may get sick, so you always need to monitor the baby’s diet.

Diarrheal syndrome in a 3-year-old child can be caused by parasites. For some, nothing else bothers them other than diarrhea; for others, the disease occurs with fever, bloating in the abdomen, increased gas formation, nausea, and vomiting.

Parasites are caused by poor personal hygiene; many worms are carried by harmless pets - cats and dogs. It is better to limit children at this age from contact with pets.

Loose stools are not always a sign of an intestinal infection; the syndrome can develop against the background of a child’s intolerance to certain foods. an example would be celiac disease or lactase deficiency.

With congenital anomalies, the baby does not produce the enzyme responsible for digesting cereals or milk for life, and irritation of the intestinal wall occurs, leading to diarrhea.

Such patients are treated with enzyme replacement therapy and complete exclusion of negative foods from the diet.

Congenital malformations of the digestive tract.

They usually manifest themselves at an earlier age; in some cases, the disease can develop fully by the age of 3 years and older; laboratory and instrumental research methods help diagnose this condition.

Inflammatory changes in the intestinal lumen.

These include: enteritis, colitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis. Inflammatory pathologies occur with severe pain, intoxication, impurities in feces, and fever.

The baby is very worried, his condition is depressed, treatment is carried out in a hospital under the strict supervision of a doctor.

Food allergic reactions may be accompanied by diarrhea.

They occur with a rash on the skin; the mother of her child may observe an increase in stool frequency after eating certain foods; when they stop taking them, the diarrhea goes away.

Poisoning with toxic substances.

It is worth closely monitoring your child, since at 3 years old children are very nimble and mobile, they can put dangerous toxic and chemical substances into their mouths, such as soap, powder, cleaning products, vinegar, etc.

Causes

The causes of diarrhea without fever in a 3-year-old child can be very diverse, from diseases to external factors. In order not to be unfounded, let's talk about the causes in more detail.

1. Poor nutrition. Very often, parents forget that the baby’s digestive system is not nearly as well developed as, for example, theirs. Hence all sorts of “delicacies” such as fast food, fatty and fried foods, various chemical sweets and so on. The abundance of such products in the diet is the cause of most cases of loose stools without fever in a 3-year-old child.
2. Dysbacteriosis. The digestive system is finally formed only by the age of four to five years, and at exactly the same time all processes in the intestines are normalized, including maintaining the balance of microflora. In the meantime, pathogenic microflora can prevail over beneficial ones even without third-party factors, such as taking medications. By the way, antibacterial therapy is another reason why a baby may develop diarrhea without fever.
3. External factors. We are talking about fatigue, overheating, nervous shock. A child's body reacts more sensitively to external stimuli, and therefore diarrhea for this reason occurs here much more often than in an adult.
4. Food intolerance and allergic reactions. Has your child had diarrhea without fever for 3 days? Consider if he has eaten anything new lately. Often parents only monitor the freshness of food, thinking that this is a guarantee of normal digestion. It must be remembered that an allergic reaction manifests itself not only as a rash and redness of the skin, upset stool is also its distinctive feature.
5. Diseases of the intestines and other organs of the digestive system. Such diseases are characterized by chronic diarrhea, which lasts more than two weeks. In this case, treatment is prescribed only by a doctor, after tests and studies have been performed.

Treatment of diarrhea in children - what can be given to a child?

According to medical research, children are more sensitive to dehydration than adults. Therefore, if they have diarrhea, they must replenish fluid losses. Until age 6, oral rehydration is the main intervention. To do this, it is necessary that the child drinks little and often, even if he does not feel thirsty. It is not recommended to take IMODIUM Express if the child is under 6 years old.

Regardless of the causes of diarrhea in children, it is important to comply with several conditions. Feeding solid foods

Nutrition for diarrhea should meet the child's need for energy and essential nutrients. You can give yogurts, lean meats, grains (especially rice), fruits and vegetables. At the same time, you should avoid coarse fiber foods, as well as products with a laxative effect. A gentle but nutritious diet for your child will help the body fight infection and stop diarrhea

Feeding solid foods.

Nutrition for diarrhea should meet the child's need for energy and essential nutrients. You can give yogurts, lean meats, grains (especially rice), fruits and vegetables. At the same time, you should avoid coarse fiber foods, as well as products with a laxative effect. A gentle but nutritious diet for your child will help the body fight infection and stop diarrhea.

Compliance with drinking regime.

To restore water balance and prevent dehydration during diarrhea, it is unacceptable to give your child sugary drinks, since carbohydrates increase the release of fluid into the intestines and aggravate dehydration. Therefore, juices, lemonades and energy drinks, and sweetened water are excluded. It is advisable to drink water and saline solutions.

Providing comfort.

It is advisable to provide the child with a comfortable environment. When using diapers, they must be changed after each bowel movement, even if the stool was light. During diarrhea, it is better to replace toilet paper with toilet paper or wet wipes. If the perianal area is irritated, oil or cream can be used to protect and heal the skin.

About the problem

Diarrhea is a manifestation of the body’s ability to get rid of bacteria and viruses, of which there are a great many around the child. Neither the water that the baby drinks, nor the food, nor the air is sterile. What can we say about playing in the sandbox, crawling on the grass, on the floor, etc. Humans have several such protective “systems”: saliva is designed to destroy microbes at the stage of entering the mouth, bronchial and nasal mucus protect the respiratory organs from getting into them bacteria and viruses, gastric juice effectively destroys those microorganisms that managed to enter the body through the mouth and reach the digestive organs unharmed. Bacteria, which are the indigenous inhabitants, await “uninvited guests” in the intestines. Their task is to prevent malicious agents from taking root.

Some viruses, such as rotavirus, also cause diarrhea. The intestinal mucosa is an excellent breeding ground for their reproduction, and therefore digestion is disrupted, the intestinal mucosa is irritated and diarrhea occurs.

Danger of diarrhea

The most serious danger of diarrhea lies in the possibility of dehydration. The younger the child, the higher this risk. Potassium, calcium, and sodium salts, which are extremely important for life, are released with feces. Fluid is rapidly lost. Therefore, it is not as scary if a 3-year-old child goes to the toilet five times a day and does not show signs of dehydration as if five times diarrhea happened to a 6-month-old baby. After all, the baby’s reserves of water and mineral salts are much more meager, and he loses them at a faster rate.

If diarrhea is caused by a viral infection, and in addition to frequent trips to the toilet, there are all the signs of a viral illness, you should not feed the child antiviral drugs, they do not help and their effectiveness has not been clinically proven. Antibiotics are also inappropriate because they have no effect on viruses. No special treatment is required; it is enough to provide the child with the right help and prevent dehydration. If diarrhea is the result of food poisoning or intestinal infection, the treatment approach should be the same.

First of all, you should make sure that the baby is not dehydrated.

To prevent such a dangerous condition, parents’ actions in case of diarrhea must be coordinated and clear:

• The child definitely needs to drink. And drink a lot. All drinks should be warm, about 20 degrees, so that the liquid is absorbed and absorbed by the body as quickly as possible. If a child refuses to drink from a cup, he should be fed with a spoon, little by little but often. If he does not drink from a spoon, as children under 7-9 months often do, then you need to draw the liquid into a disposable syringe without a needle and drink from it drip-wise. If the baby resists this method, you should not wait and persuade, you should immediately call an ambulance so that you can administer liquid to the child by drip.
• The child needs to restore the balance of salts. To do this, Komarovsky advises using ready-made pharmaceutical sachets with oral rehydration products. "Smecta" is suitable, you can buy "Regidron" or "Humana-Electrolyte". These drugs must be in every family's home medicine cabinet. If diarrhea has already occurred, and there are no such drugs, you can use a recipe that has received full approval from the World Health Organization: add a teaspoon of salt and the same amount of soda to a liter of water. You can also give your child this solution.
• Need control over secretions. What you drink should stand out. As long as the baby, who has not yet reached the age of one, wears diapers, the mother has nothing to worry about. At any time, she can measure the amount the child drinks, and after 3 hours weigh his used diaper on an electronic kitchen scale to understand whether the water is being excreted normally. If the child is already using the potty, control will also not be difficult. But a 2-year-old child, who has most likely already mastered the toilet, will have to follow on his heels.
• The child does not need food. You should not try to feed him at any cost. Diarrhea will go away much faster if the baby is hungry. You should give food only when he asks for it. If you have diarrhea, you should not eat fatty or sweet foods, drink carbonated drinks and milk. It is better to give porridge, mashed potatoes, crackers from yeast-free bread, vegetable soup with lean broth.
• Activated carbon - in the correct dosage. Another useful drug that should be in your home medicine cabinet. Parents should remember that activated carbon is dosed at 1 tablet for every 10 kilograms of body weight at a time. Thus, a child weighing 10 kilograms is given 1 tablet, and a baby whose weight is 15 kilograms is given 1.5 tablets. Modern medicine recommends modern enterosorbents, which are easier to take. If the financial capabilities of the family allow, you can buy and keep Enterosgel in the first aid kit for such cases.

Treatment of childhood diarrhea

Parents need to understand how to properly stop diarrhea and when it is better not to do so. The reason for the development of diarrhea will influence what measures should be taken and why it is better to abstain.

The table below shows treatment recommendations depending on the factors that provoked the disorder.

We recommend: Diarrhea in a one-year-old child - possible causes and treatment features

When treating diarrhea, it is important to stay hydrated. This is the most basic complication caused by diarrhea. When there are disorders, the intestines actively throw out water, trying to get rid of toxic compounds. As a result, the body loses a lot of water. And for small children this is a very dangerous condition.

Diarrhea in a child

If your child has diarrhea, you should consult a doctor.

Children suffer from functional intestinal disorders almost more often than adults.

At the same time, treatment of diarrhea in children usually requires a more detailed and attentive medical approach.

How do you understand that a child is experiencing digestive problems and it’s time to show him to the doctor? To determine whether your child’s stool is normal, it is enough to remember the age norms regarding the frequency and specificity of bowel movements in children:

• up to 1 year – evenly loose stools (no more than 10 sessions per day), not accompanied by signs of dehydration;
• 1-2 years – more or less formed feces (no more than 4 or 5 bowel movements per day);
• 2-3 years – fully formed, soft feces without impurities (no more than 5 acts of defecation during one day).

Any deviations from the described characteristics in the direction of liquefied stool or increased urge to defecate can be considered characteristic symptoms of childhood diarrhea, which in itself is a reason to take your baby to the pediatrician.

The only exception is diarrhea that occurs when a child is teething. In these cases, diarrhea, accompanied by an increase in general body temperature, usually does not last longer than a day or two and goes away on its own, without any outside intervention.

In all other cases, diarrhea in a child will most likely be caused by one of the following reasons. Among them it is worth highlighting the following:

1. unhealthy diet (“spoiled” by the mother’s incorrect diet, breast milk, complementary foods introduced at the wrong time, a violent allergic reaction to some
2. a specific product, an excess amount of fiber in the baby’s diet, etc.);
3. excessive “infatuation” with medications (especially antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs based on bile acids, as well as
4. medications with a pronounced laxative effect);
5. damage by the causative agent of acute intestinal infection (viral, bacterial, parasitic or even fungal origin);
6. insufficient level of secretion of digestive enzymes in the baby’s body;
7. functional disorders of the biliary tract in a particular child (dyskinesia);
8. the influence of negative environmental factors (for example, sudden changes in weather or even climatic conditions);
9. nervous disorders (severe stress, regular emotional stress, etc.);
10. disturbances of normal natural motility of certain parts of the intestine.

Why does diarrhea occur?

By 3 years of age, digestive

The children's system has not yet been fully formed, so loose stools are not a pathology. Abnormal bowel movements can be caused by a new product or strong emotions (positive and negative).

Functional diarrhea does not cause complications. How is diarrhea different from just loose stools? Its signs:

• defecation more than 5 times a day;
• stomach ache;
• stool is heterogeneous, watery.

Diarrhea in children can be caused by:

• intestinal infections;
• poisoning (food, chemical);
• worms;
• gastrointestinal pathologies (such as colitis, gastritis).

In this case, in addition to loose stools, vomiting, high fever and weakness appear. Unlike functional diarrhea, with pathological diarrhea, the stool changes its color (from white to black), and its smell becomes very pungent. In the stool you may notice helminths, undigested food, foam or blood.

If a child under 3 years of age has diarrhea and has the symptoms described above, you must call an ambulance. This condition is dangerous due to the rapid dehydration of a small organism.