Diarrhea in a child at 6 months

Part of a child's life from birth to the end of the period called infancy, i.e. up to a year, very vulnerable.

The child's well-being must be carefully monitored, not attributing unfavorable symptoms to fictitious explanations. For example, teeth are being cut, I changed the mixture for complementary foods, and so on.

Even if this is the case, the attending pediatrician should tell about the child's health. The risk of consequences will be much lower if the help of a specialist is provided earlier.

Diarrhea in a 6 month old baby is the topic of this article, revealing the causes, symptoms and treatment.

Differences between diarrhea and frequent bowel movements in a child

Diarrhea is a familiar term for almost everyone and is expressed in loose, frequent stools.

But in the breastfeeding period of a child's life, especially the first 6 months, diarrhea is difficult to determine.

This is due to objective reasons. Being breastfed, during this period, the child has stools of a soft, liquid, mushy consistency.

Over the course of a child's development, his bowel movements in appearance and frequency change in accordance with changes in nutrition.

In order not to panic, parents should know the norms, type and frequency of bowel movements in a child's first year of life:

• For a month, a newborn baby is characterized by bowel movements after each feeding up to 8 times a day. In color, stool is yellow, rich in color, in consistency, liquid or mushy, having a sour milk smell. The chair, it happens, contains lumps of whitish color, interspersed with mucus. This is a normal phenomenon associated with the adjustment of the baby's intestines and stomach;
• Growing up to 2 months, the child's frequency of bowel movements per day decreases up to 5 times. The smell and appearance of the stool does not change.
• From a three-month period, the chair per day up to 2 times, becomes thicker and darker. The introduction of complementary foods will constantly change the properties of the stool: color, density, smell.

Artificial feeding leaves its mark on the stool. Normally, a denser consistency, a shade of yellow or brown, a specific smell.

Against the background of such well-being, there are reasons that should alert parents:

• Frequent, watery stools beyond the months of the child's development;
• The smell of stool is pungent;
• The color is greenish or brown;
• Feces contain blood, pus, a significant amount of mucus, food fragments;
• The area of ​​the anal passage is irritated, red, rash on the skin around.

Diarrhea develops rapidly and disappears within a couple of days. If concomitant factors from the list join the diarrhea:

• colic in the abdomen;
• a sharp loss of mass in the child;
• the temperature is either high or low;
• vomiting and violent regurgitation;
• deterioration of health: drowsiness, lethargy, whims.

You should not expect that the child's condition will return to normal by itself. In such a situation, the need for qualified medical assistance is maturing.

Typical factors of diarrhea

The cleanest and most tidy parents are not immune to the development of diarrhea in a child. There are objective explanations for this.

Local immune factors, the acidity of the digestive juice in infants are not completely formed.

Therefore, some pathogens can enter the child's body from the outside and cause serious digestive disorders. The most common manifestation of a malfunction is diarrhea.

Its causes lie in the following conditions:

• Intestinal dysbiosis, characteristic of a child of the first month of life. During this period, the work of the digestive tract, intestinal flora is formed. The slightest omission provokes diarrhea;
• Overfeeding a child, expressed in frequent feeding or increased portions, causes difficulties in the functioning of the digestive organs, simply by removing excess food in the form of diarrhea;
• Complementary feeding can disrupt stool in a 6 month old baby. It is imperative to follow the rules for the introduction of complementary foods;
• Teething gives a diarrhea reaction. It is not dangerous as long as it does not cause signs of dehydration in the child's body. If they are present, then it is necessary to go to the doctor.
• Helminths, food poisoning, intestinal infections cause diarrhea in a child from 6 months. This is a reaction to the knowledge of the world through taste preferences. Everything that the baby sees, he tries to learn by trying it in his mouth. At the same time, the sterility of pens, toys and other items is not maintained;
• Diarrhea can accompany any cold or inflammatory illness in a child due to medication, especially antibiotics;
• Allergy causes diarrhea in a baby. It is expressed by a rash and irritation around the anal passage;
• Lack of enzymes provokes the development of lactase deficiency, intolerance to cereal proteins, cystic fibrosis. To determine the lack of enzymes, it is necessary to take tests;
• Stress or climate change often causes diarrhea.

Observation of the child's behavior, his food, mobility on the eve of the appearance of loose stools can explain the reason. But a consultation with a doctor will help to finally determine the cause.

Consequences of diarrhea in a child and treatment

Dehydration is the worst development of infant diarrhea. Loss of moisture disrupts metabolism in the body, contributes to a drop in immunity.

The child has the following symptoms of dehydration:

• complete absence or rare urination;
• a sharp loss of body weight of the child;
• dry mouth;
• lack of tears;
• dry skin;
• dark stains under the eyes;
• retraction of the anterior fontanelle.

Treatment for dehydration should begin immediately. The goal is to restore lost moisture, optimize water-salt metabolism.

The treatment does not contain any particular novelty in the rules. General recommendations:

Diarrhea contributes to the loss of not only moisture, but also mineral salts, which are not so easy to replenish in a child's body.

Therefore, treatment primarily affects their recovery by drinking saline solutions.

The doctor will advise which drug to choose. Dosage, route of administration, indications and contraindications are contained in the manufacturer's instructions:

• ORS-200, carrot and rice water;
• Citroglucosolan;
• Glucosolan;
• Regidron;
• Oralite;
• Tour and others;

The dosage for drinking the baby is calculated by the doctor. Drink is provided to the child after each trip to the toilet. Approximately 50ml in volume.

Drinking technique - in small sips every 5-15 minutes. If you refuse to drink, the solution is dripped from a pipette into your mouth. This can be done while you sleep.

Between drinking solutions to increase the abundance of fluid, a child over 6 months old can be given blueberry compote, rice water or highly diluted juice.

In the current trend, breastfed babies can be fed. In the past, the child was offered hunger to relieve diarrhea.

Having revised the concept of nutrition in a child with diarrhea, you must adhere to the rules:

• do not force the baby to eat if he refuses to eat.
• on the first day with diarrhea, reduce the portion volume by 30-50%;
• food should be from the period when the child ate a couple of months ago, i.e. exclude foods and dishes of the last days of nutrition before diarrhea.
• all dishes must be heat treated. During the period of deviation of the stool from the norm, you cannot eat fresh fruits;
• continue breastfeeding without interruption, making sure that the baby does not overeat;

Bottle-fed babies are offered a feeding break for 6-8 hours, in the interval of which saline solutions are given. These children are recommended mixtures:

Soy:

• Frisosa;
• Sweep through;
• NAN soy;
• Enfamil soy;
• Bebelak-soy;
• Nutri soy;
• Gallium-soy;
• Humana SL and others;

Low lactose:

• Mamex is lactose-free;
• Humana L P;
• Lactofidus;
• NAN is lactose-free;
• NAN fermented milk;
• Fermented milk mixture "Agusha-1;
• Semper bifidus;
• Nutrilon Omneo;
• Biolact "and others.

Lactose-free:

• Fermented milk Lemolak - a medicinal mixture developed for babies who are prone to diarrhea when changing food;
• Medicinal mixtures, lactose-free

For babies, the use of means for fixing the chair is prohibited. But drug treatment is not excluded, depending on the severity of the factors accompanying diarrhea.

The most harmless drugs are sorbents. They are prescribed to alleviate the condition of the baby - to remove toxins and gases, harmful flora from the intestinal tract:

• Activated charcoal 3 times a day between feedings. Calculation - 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight;
• Smecta, one sachet per day, divided by the number of feedings. Drink in between.
• Enterosgel. Release form - paste or gel. The gel is stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. A day, half a teaspoon is drunk up to 5 times between feedings. You can clarify the dose with a doctor;
• Polyphepan;
• Pecto is drunk up to 5 times between meals and medication;
• Enterodesis;
• Espumisan;
• Subsimplex;
• Disflotil.

The factor that caused diarrhea, in its pathology, requires specific drug treatment. It is the doctor's prerogative to prescribe enzyme, anti-viral, anti-infectious therapy. Any diarrhea cannot be treated with a cleansing wash.

Measures to prevent diarrhea in infants

The principles of prevention are simple but powerful:

• Wash your hands with a detergent for caring for the baby, preparing his feeding, sterilizing dishes - bottles and nipples;
• Utensils for feeding the baby require priority attention. It must certainly be dry. Some mothers sterilize bottles for a long time, but leave some moisture in them after the sterilization process. And moisture promotes the reproduction of pathological flora;
• Eliminate frequent transfusions of food from one container to another. The less often this is done, the better. This is why modern breast pumps have the ability to attach a feeding bottle.
• A pacifier, a spoon, and any other children's dishes that have been in your oral cavity are saturated with dangerous microbes for the baby. For example, the bacterium Helicobacter. Disease-causing organisms are transmitted through contact between people. Therefore, having dropped a pacifier on the floor, it is better to rinse with water than to disinfect by licking;
• Observe the personal hygiene of the baby, daily bathing, clean ironed clothes;
• Correct feeding of the child, without overeating, gradual introduction of complementary foods, correct heat treatment of dishes for the child;
• Diarrhea in surrounding relatives requires the isolation of the baby from the sick. Disinfection of the toilet and adjacent surfaces - switches, door handles, kills the infection.

In conclusion, it must be said that once diarrhea is experienced on oneself, it does not allow one to forget its manifestation for a long time. It's good if he found a person near the toilet.

Twisting in the abdomen, spasm, rising up, to vomiting, cramping bowel movements, this is how diarrhea is manifested. I am ready to eat any pill or take medicine just to stop it.

Children also feel bad in the same way. Babies will not tell in words, they express their discomfort by crying. Diarrhea, even associated with teeth, causes trouble for the child.

Therefore, parents should make the condition of their child as easy as possible. Call your doctor at home every day. Have him examine the child and advise on what to do next.

Remember that you are not a doctor, and you are not allowed to treat a child on your own.

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