How to treat diarrhea in a child at 11 months

When an 11 month old child has diarrhea, his parents are very anxious. This ailment causes discomfort to the baby, so parents should know what to do to alleviate the condition of their baby.

Why does a child have diarrhea and how to treat it correctly? Let's figure it out.

About the disease

A baby under the age of two is very susceptible to various diseases. A pathogenic infection can enter its still unformed body, which will cause diarrhea.

Children under two years old have an unformed intestine, since only liquid food enters it.

In a child of 11 months, the frequency of bowel movements is 2-4 times a day. When diarrhea occurs, the frequency more than doubles.

In a baby, not only the frequency of the stool increases, but also its volume. Therefore, it becomes necessary to treat diarrhea.

Causes

A child's diarrhea can be triggered by a number of reasons. It is difficult for children aged 11 months to avoid a predisposition to this ailment, since their not yet fully formed organism has not had time to adapt to environmental conditions.

So, the most common causes of childhood diarrhea are:

1. A bacterium can enter the child's body, which, after entering the intestines, can lead to disruption of the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. During the first two years of a child's life, this happens often. Therefore, parents should ensure that their child does not have to play with dirty toys.
2. The stomach glands of a baby under two years old are poorly developed. The production of gastric juice in a child of 11 months is less than that of an adult. Why does diarrhea appear? The fact is that in the gastrointestinal tract of a baby, the antibacterial processing of food is worse than that of an adult.
3. Sluggish intestinal motility. Since the baby has a rich blood supply and sluggish peristalsis, microorganisms that enter his body with food are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, thereby causing disturbances in his stomach.
4. Children under 7 years old find it difficult to deal with excess gas in the intestines. Therefore, young children often have diarrhea.

These causes of diarrhea are closely related to the physiology of young children. The onset of diarrhea in a child can be triggered by external stimuli. Causes:

• Intoxication of the child's body with a viral disease or with acute respiratory infections.
• In children under 2 years of age, diarrhea can be a reaction of the body to the process of teething.
• Dysbacteriosis. Why might it arise? This ailment can provoke long-term medication. Dysbacteriosis can occur even if the mother is breastfeeding with antibiotics.
• Certain drinks and foods that a breastfeeding mother consumes may cause diarrhea. What products and drinks are we talking about? Infusion of sage, garlic, chamomile tea, corn, etc.
• Intestinal infection. This is one of the most common reasons why a baby under two years old may have diarrhea. In this case, the child should be provided with medical assistance, since his body will not be able to cope with the infection on its own.
• Food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when toxins enter the child's stomach. This happens most often when parents do not monitor what their children eat. Also, toxins can get into the child's body due to the ingestion of substandard and stale products.
• Viral infection. Diarrhea is one of the symptoms of a viral illness in children. A baby can become infected with the virus both from his peer and from an adult. It is urgent to treat the viral infection, as the child may become worse.
• Pancreatitis Diarrhea in a child can be one of the symptoms of childhood pancreatitis. In most cases, the disease is genetically transmitted. The ailment can occur in a baby of any age.
• Surgical abnormalities. Diarrhea in a young child often occurs with an abnormality of the pancreas or intestines.

Symptoms

Before you start treating diarrhea in a child, you need to diagnose him. Signs of childhood diarrhea:

1. The kid empties the intestines more than 5 times a day.
2. His feces may contain impurities of foam, mucus or blood. The stool has a watery consistency.
3. The child looks lethargic and apathetic. During the moment of uncomfortable sensations, he may cry and behave restlessly.
4. After each meal, the baby spits up profusely.
5. The child may vomit. The feeling of nausea does not leave him.
6. If diarrhea was triggered by an intestinal infection or a viral disease, the baby's body temperature will rise. He can get hot.
7. The child may refuse to eat.
8. He draws his legs to his stomach.
9. The baby has flatulence, that is, bloating. If gas does not go away even after a bowel movement, this is an alarming symptom indicating the need for urgent hospitalization of the child.

If the baby does not have the above symptoms in addition to loose stool, then he does not need medical attention.

Most likely, diarrhea is a temporary phenomenon, which is explained by the physiological characteristics of an 11-month-old baby.

In other cases, children should be provided with medical care, since without it they will not be able to cope with this ailment on their own.

Drug treatment

Before prescribing this or that drug to your child, you need to consult a doctor. The pediatrician must examine the little patient, and then prescribe him a course of treatment.

In most cases, pediatricians prescribe enterosorbents for babies. Treatment with such medications is effective if children's diarrhea is the result of toxins, infections and viruses entering the child's stomach.

How do sorbents work? These medications envelop pathogens and promote their rapid elimination from the baby's stomach. What sorbents are prescribed for childhood diarrhea?

The most popular absorbent is activated carbon. If an adult should take 10 charcoal tablets at a time, then 1-2 tablets are enough for an 11-month-old baby.

Also, pediatricians can prescribe medications that have a positive effect on the intestinal microflora. These medicines contain lactobacilli.

For example, to relieve children of watery stools and normalize their intestinal microflora, doctors prescribe Hilak-forte or Lactulose.

Drinking for diarrhea

Every parent should be aware that diarrhea leads to dehydration. What can you do to stay hydrated? It is necessary for the baby to drink as much liquid as possible.

After a bowel movement, he needs to be given water. Children need to drink mineral water not only after bowel movements, but also during and between meals.

Drinking plenty of fluids is the key to combating childhood diarrhea. The kid can be given not only water, compotes, decoctions, jelly and juices will help to replenish the fluid balance in his body.

You should also remember about the normalization of the water-salt balance in the child's body. During diarrhea, the baby can be given Rehydron.

The drug is dispensed without a prescription, you can find it at any pharmacy. An analogue of Regidron can be prepared at home.

Recipe

1. The container is filled with 1 liter of mineral water.
2. Next, a pinch of soda, a spoonful of granulated sugar and salt should be dissolved in water.
3. In order for all impurities to completely dissolve, the container must be put on fire. When the water heats up, the container should be removed from the fire.

Such homemade antidarrheal medicine should be given to children within 24 hours.

Folk methods

In order not to burden the already weakened body of the baby with medicines, a medicine for loose stools can be prepared at home.

Here are the most effective methods for dealing with childhood diarrhea:

• Rice broth. You need to mix rice and water in a ratio of 1 to 3. The cooked broth should be lightly salted. Children need to give rice water every two hours.
• Chamomile tea. This medicine for childhood diarrhea will be more effective if you mix chamomile with mint. Dry herbs are mixed in the same amount and poured with boiling water. They must be insisted for 15 minutes. After that, the infusion is filtered. The kid should drink half a glass of this tea. To improve the taste of this healing drink, add a spoonful of honey to it.
• Hawthorn fruit. To prepare such a medicine, the hawthorn fruit should be infused in boiling water for 20-30 minutes. After that, the infusion is filtered and drunk. Hawthorn has a positive effect on the digestive system, improving the functioning of the intestinal microflora.
• Rosehip compote. Rosehip fruits are filled with water in a container. You need to bring the compote to a boil and sugar it a little. Before taking such compote, it should be filtered. You need to drink the medicine three times a day.

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