What do I give an infant with vomiting/diarrhea? Be persistent! Keep pushing the fluids and the body will eventually recover. This is why it looks like the fluids you are giving by mouth are coming out the other end. If things are moving rapidly through the intestinal tract (as in the case of a viral illness), the contents do not sit in the colon/rectum long enough for the body to reabsorb any excess water. Every time you introduce something into the stomach, the colon starts moving things along and the rectal sphincter relaxes to expel whatever happens to be down there. This is because the body has a "gastro-colic" reflex and no tone to the anal sphincter when you are very young. Remember when you first brought your child home as an infant? Every time you fed him/her, he soiled his diaper. This may appear to be the case but is really not what is happening. What if it seems like everything I give goes right through my child? Reintroducing their favorites such as hot dogs and pizza too early may make symptoms reappear. In general keep your child's diet boring and bland for a few days, even when their hunger returns. Other foods that can help are bananas, decaffeinated teas, rice/rice cakes, and applesauce (the pectin helps to stop diarrhea). If your child is tolerating fluids, you can use carbohydrates such as pretzels, crackers, toast, and noodles to "soak up the fluid". With multiple episodes of diarrhea, the lactase gets washed away and may require a few days of being well to replenish itself.) (The lactase enzyme which digests lactose sugar in milk/dairy is in the very center of the intestinal tract.
Avoid things that cause loose stools on a good day (such as apple juice and cider) and avoid dairy products, as diarrhea will cause temporary lactose intolerance in most children. Again, clear, sugary fluids or Pedialyte are good choices. The goal is to replace fluids by mouth in an amount that is roughly equivalent to that which they are losing in diarrhea. As a rule of thumb, if a child takes 2 ounces of electrolyte solution for each watery stool, he or she will remain in balance. If a child has one or two loose stools, the parents can offer more fluid, however, if more stools ensue, it is important to start Pedialyte, kaolyte, or other electrolyte solution.Įlectrolyte solutions such as Pedialyte were developed in the 1960s and are formulated to replace the lost water and electrolytes. It is of utmost importance to replace lost fluids, otherwise, a child can get progressively weaker and start to experience electrolyte disturbances. Infants often get a red, raw diaper rash. These undigested sugars can aggravate diarrhea and make it more irritating to the skin. Cow's milk and apple juice can be incompletely digested in the small intestine and reach the colon. Recovery occurs as the intestinal lining is restored.ĭuring this time, the intestinal lining is injured by the virus, nutrients might be not completely absorbed. This is because every intestinal cell that was attacked by the virus has to be replaced by a new cell. However, depending on the pathogen and severity of infection, some will take days or even weeks to completely resolve.
Most children experience several episodes of diarrhea.
Babies can pick up these germs through contact with unclean food or water or when they touch germy surfaces and then put their hands into their mouths. An infection with a virus, bacteria, or parasite.
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