Here - Health Promotion Agency

Illness and accidents
D IARRHOEA
YOUNG BABIES
Most young children have occasional
loose stools. Diarrhoea means the
frequent passage of unformed watery
stools. Diarrhoea, together with
vomiting, is called gastro-enteritis.
The main problem is that, if diarrhoea
or gastro-enteritis continues for more
than a few hours, your baby can lose
too much fluid from the body and may
then become dehydrated. The baby
becomes lethargic, has a dry mouth,
the skin becomes loose and the eyes
and fontanelle (soft spot on the top
of the head) may become sunken.
The baby will also pass very little urine.
To prevent or treat dehydration
your baby will need extra fluids.
There are special fluids available
which can be bought from your local
pharmacy or chemist or prescribed
by your doctor. These are called oral
rehydration fluids and include
Dioralyte, Electrolade and Rehidrat.
If the diarrhoea continues for
more than a few hours, or your
baby is also vomiting or is
unwell, contact your doctor or
health visitor urgently for advice.
In general, for mild diarrhoea:
●
●
●
give extra fluids in the form of
oral rehydration fluids – for
example, in between feeds or
after each watery stool;
don’t stop breastfeeding – give
the extra fluid in addition to
breast milk;
if you are bottle feeding offer
normal formula feeds and give
extra fluids in the form of oral
rehydration fluid.
For more severe diarrhoea or
for diarrhoea and vomiting:
●
don’t stop breastfeeding – give
oral rehydration fluid in addition
to breast milk;
●
●
stop formula feeds and give oral
rehydration fluid for three–four
hours;
start giving normal formula
feeds after giving oral rehydration
fluid for three to four hours.
Your doctor will give you further
advice. Many no longer advise that
you should stop bottle feeding for 24
hours, and also advise that toddlers
can go back on to a normal diet
three–four hours after having
rehydration fluids.
Remember, if your baby is
unwell, or if watery diarrhoea has
lasted more than a day, seek your
doctor’s advice straight away.
TODDLER DIARRHOEA
Some children between the ages of
one and five pass frequent, smelly,
loose stools with mucus or bits of
vegetables in them. Usually these
children are otherwise perfectly
healthy and are growing fine, and the
doctor cannot find any serious cause.
This type of diarrhoea is known as
‘toddler diarrhoea’. If your toddler
has diarrhoea for which there is no
obvious cause the following may help.
●
●
Giving less fluid between meals
and at meals if your child
drinks a lot. In particular, cut
down on low-calorie drinks with
artificial sweeteners and clear
apple juice if your child drinks
these. If your child is used to
drinking a lot, you may have to
do this gradually by offering
smaller amounts. Also, if your
child wants a drink in between
meals, try offering some snack
food too, such as a piece of bread
and butter with a smaller drink.
Try to introduce more foods
with fat, such as full-fat yoghurt,
cheese, fromage frais and butter.
93