How to Care for a Child With Diarrhea

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A child has diarrhea when he or she passes three or more watery stools a day. It is important to realize that the more numerous the watery stools, the more dangerous the diarrhea. Some people think that drinking liquids makes diarrhea worse. This is not true. A child with diarrhea should be given drinks as often as possible until the diarrhea stops because drinking lots of liquids will help the child replace fluids lost during diarrhea. It is vital to give liquids to a child with diarrhea; dehydration can lead to death for babies and toddlers if not treated quickly.

Steps

1. Check for symptoms of diarrhea. The main symptom is having loose, watery stools more than three times a day. Other possible indicators that may be present include:
   
   • stomach pains
     
   • vomiting
     
   • complaints of pain when passing stools
     
   • nausea
     
   
   
2. Seek immediate attention from a medical professional or health care worker if the following signs are also present. To know if you need to seek immediate medical attention, check for these signs:
   
   • passing several watery stools in only one to two hours
     
   • presence of blood or mucus in the stools
     
   • high fever
     
   • loss of appetite - does not want to eat and/or drink
     
   • sunken eyes
     
   • extreme thirst
     
   • weakness or lethargy
     
   • persistence of diarrhea for one week or longer
     
   
   
3. Note that if you need to take your child to emergency care, administer an ORS solution during transportation and waiting.
   
4. Keep the child well hydrated. For a child that can be treated at home, give the child liquids as often as possible, and definitely after each stool movement. Breastfeed children of breastfeeding age as often as possible.
   
5. Give liquids to children 2 years and over in the following amounts:
   
   • for a child under the age of two years: between a quarter and a half of a large cup
     
   • for a child aged two or older: between a half and a whole large cup.
     
   
   
6. Select appropriate liquids for your child. Good choices include:
   
   • breastmilk (mothers should breastfeed more often than usual)
     
   • soups
     
   • rice water
     
   • fresh fruit juices
     
   • weak tea with a little sugar
     
   • coconut water
     
   • clean water from a safe source. If there is a possibility the water is not clean, it should be purified by boiling or filtering.
     
   • oral rehydration salts (ORS) mixed with the proper amount of clean water.
     
   
   
7. Be patient but persistent. If the child vomits the drink up, wait for 10 minutes and begin again. Give the drink to the child slowly and in small sips each time.
   
8. Continue with high level of liquids until the diarrhea has stopped.
   

Tips

• Dehydration is the loss of body fluids. Body fluids are made of salt and water and a heavy loss of body fluids from a child can lead to death in a short space of time.
  
• Use a clean cup. All drinks must be given in a clean cup. Do not use a feeding bottle because it is very hard to keep clean and reinfection might occur and continue to cause diarrhea.
  
• Diarrhea usually stops after three or four days. If it lasts longer than one week, caregivers should seek help from a trained health worker.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Treat Diarrhea Without Medicines
  
• How to Avoid Having Diarrhea During Travel
  
• How to Take Precautions to Prevent Diarrheal Illness
  
• How to Get a Child With Diarrhea to Eat Food
  

Sources and Citations

• The principal source of this article is UNICEF et al: Facts for Life - "Diarrhoea: Supporting Information"
  

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