Do I have to be scared when I get diarrhea?

Diarrhea in babies always scares young parents and causes them to run to the doctor.

But before you sound the alarm, it is worthwhile to figure out why diarrhea in babies has arisen, what to do in this situation and what treatment to choose.

Features of a child's chair

Birth for a child - always stress, because the familiar environment is changing completely. Pressure and temperature of the environment, the way of breathing and nutrition - all these factors in the first days and weeks of the baby's life seriously affect his condition.

All systems of vital activity of the baby should be adapted to new conditions. Not an exception in this matter and the digestive system of the child.

In the first days after the birth of the child departs the original feces( meconium).In appearance, it is thick, black or dark in color, sticky to the touch.

This chair often scares young mothers, but it is absolutely normal. Meconium consists of digested epithelial cells, hair, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile and water.

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All this was absorbed by the child during pregnancy and was excreted by the digestive system.

When a gastrointestinal tract is born, the baby is absolutely sterile, so in the first hours and days of life, the colon is filled with the necessary microorganisms and bacteria.

The baby gets these bacteria when passing through the mother's birth canal, touching her skin and breast milk.

In the first four weeks of life the amount of feces a child can reach 10 times a day. Basically, the emptying of the intestine occurs immediately after feeding.

In the absence of any additional symptoms, such frequent defecation is the norm. Over time, the frequency decreases to 2-4 times a day, by the year the norm of bowel movements is 1-2 times a day.

At the age of up to six months, a rare stool( once every few days or even once a week) by pediatricians is the norm if the baby is breastfed.

Such a rare defecation should not cause concern to parents, if the child is active, cheerful, the stool remains soft, is removed without painful sensations and difficulties.

The color of the baby's feces can be yellow to dark, with mucus, flakes or a green tinge.

Changes in the color and consistency of the stool in a child breastfed are completely normal.

The fact that the baby's liver adapts to the new food and can not always produce the right amount of enzymes to digest it.

Often such changes in the appearance of a child's stool are associated with inadequate infant feeding of fatty mother's milk, the so-called "front" milk.

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With artificial feeding, a similar reaction of the enzymatic system is possible when using a mixture with a high iron content.

The consistency of the stool in children on breastfeeding is always fluid, and it is this type of feces that is considered the norm.

With age, with the introduction of complementary foods and the transition to solid food, the baby chair is made out and becomes less liquid.

In this case, the emergence of a stool in a child of up to a year should be troubling, especially in the presence of pain and anxiety infants.

Diarrhea in the infant

Diarrhea is a multiple bowel movement, in which liquefied feces are abundantly released.

Diarrhea is a protective reaction of the body to the effect of pathological factors. With diarrhea, defecation occurs more than 4-5 times a day.

How to understand if liquid stool is the norm or not? What does diarrhea look like? To correctly determine whether the feces of the child is normal or not, you should look at the general condition of the child.

The symptomatology of diarrhea in infants is as follows:

• is a thin, watery stool;
• unpleasant odor;
• large amount of feces.

Parents should be alerted if mucus in large quantities, veins or clots of blood, white flakes are found in the stool.

If a child suddenly begins to cry a lot, refuses his chest, tights, pulling his legs to his stomach, then you should immediately seek medical help.

If the body temperature rises and pains appear in the abdominal area, it is necessary to call a doctor at home.

If a newborn is not gaining weight or even losing it, diarrhea in breastfed babies may indicate serious disruptions in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, emergency medical care is needed.

With systematic weight gain, if the baby is cheerful and cheerful, quietly asleep, emptying occurs without pain and crying, the loose stool should not bother the parents. However, a pediatrician who observes a child should definitely tell about the nature of the baby's chair.

Diarrhea is dangerous not only in itself, but also possible dehydration. With constant diarrhea, the body loses a lot of fluid, which is fraught with terrible consequences for babies.

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The fact is that with a constant liquid stool from the baby's body vital mineral substances are washed out - electrolytes.

In addition, diarrhea can be a symptom of infection, and in this case, the injured intestinal mucosa is not able to absorb nutrients and fluid in the same volume.

To prevent dehydration, you should milk the baby with diarrhea and weigh the baby, fixing the weight fluctuations. When dehydrated, the weight loss is mandatory.

Need to know signs of dehydration:

• rare urination;
• dark urine color;
• dryness of mucous membranes;
• no tears when crying;
• sinking of the fontanel( in children up to a year);
• dry skin;
• lethargy, drowsiness.

If these signs are present, the baby should urgently call an ambulance or take the child to the hospital as soon as possible.

Causes of diarrhea in infants

The causes of diarrhea in infants may be different.

Among the most frequent are the following:

• dysbacteriosis;
• intestinal infection;
• food allergy;
• intolerance to food;
• reaction to changes in the diet of the mother.

Dysbacteriosis - a special condition, in which the composition of microorganisms that inhabit the intestines changes, as a result, the work of the entire gastrointestinal tract is disrupted. In infants, dysbacteriosis can occur after taking antibiotics.

Young parents need to know how to determine the presence of an intestinal infection in a baby. In acute intestinal infection, diarrhea symptoms are combined with other symptoms: abdominal pain, vomiting, fever.

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The causes of diarrhea in the baby are often hidden in the change in nutrition of the mother. If the nursing mother uses foods that cause loosening of the stool, for example, beets, apples, cucumbers, this can affect the baby's condition.

However, some pediatricians do not consider such a link between mother's nutrition and the intestinal work of the baby possible.

In any case, it is recommended to exclude products that can cause an allergic reaction( tropical fruits, nuts, citrus fruits, etc.), from the ration of the nursing mother for at least the first three months of the baby's life.

If a baby has diarrhea accompanied by colic, vomiting, a stool with a green admixture, with foam and a sour smell, one can suspect the development of lactase deficiency.

In this disease, the baby's body does not produce lactase - an enzyme for digesting lactose contained in breast milk.

When introducing foods containing gluten into the diet, special attention should be paid to the condition of the child's stool.

One of the diseases, the symptom of which is abundant diarrhea with foam and an unpleasant odor, is celiac disease.

In this pathological condition, the intestinal mucosa is damaged by the use of gluten - a protein of cereals( wheat, rye, barley, oats).

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About the presence of the disease and says a certain appearance of the child: the abdominal circumference increases, muscle hypotension develops, there are ricket changes in the skeleton.

In infancy, the manifestation of surgical pathology of the digestive system is possible. Diarrhea can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction, inflammation of the appendix, peritonitis.

In all these cases, in addition to diarrhea and temperature, the baby often has vomiting, pain in the abdomen.

For all these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor - self-medication can lead to disastrous consequences.

What should I do with diarrhea?

What should I do first with diarrhea in babies? The most dangerous consequence of diarrhea for children under one year is dehydration, which occurs immediately.

To prevent it, you should dopaivat child with warm boiled water or a special mixture containing important trace elements.

Pediatricians recommend recovering the lost body fluid with a special solution of electrolyte. A mixture for the preparation of the solution can be bought at the pharmacy.

The reception of such a remedy helps to restore the intestinal mucosa and resume the normal absorption of nutrients and fluids.

Breastfeeding is mandatory for diarrhea, since the milk fully satisfies the need of the child's body for nutrients, vitamins and trace elements.

In addition, breast milk replaces water for infants and replenishes fluid loss with diarrhea.

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What to treat diarrhea depends on the origin of the pathology and the severity of the child's condition. Often, antibiotic agents are prescribed for diarrhea, since intestinal infections( rotavirus, enterovirus, etc.) are often the cause of diarrhea.

This approach is condemned by many pediatricians: diarrhea is not always a symptom of infection in the intestine, and taking antibiotics violates its microflora and can worsen the condition of the baby.

A tablet that stops diarrhea, which can be prescribed to an adult, in no case should be prescribed to a baby.

The matter is that the antidiarrheal drug stops the cleansing of the intestines, which can worsen a child's condition if the diarrhea is caused by pathogenic bacteria.

Diarrhea is a natural reaction of the body, and it should not be stopped at all costs if the ailment is not complicated by additional symptoms.

To help the baby at home, it is necessary to restore the lost fluid and salts and, if possible, show the child to the doctor.

Probiotics and prebiotics are very popular today, the reception of which is designed to restore intestinal microflora and strengthen immunity.

The effectiveness of these medications is high with diarrhea caused by intestinal or viral infection, and with diarrhea caused by antibiotic therapy.

Admission of sorbents( Activated Carbon, Smecta, etc.) should be carried out only on the advice of a physician and under strict control: these relatively safe drugs may cause serious complications when the dosage is increased.

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Diarrhea in babies can scare parents. In some cases, there is no cause for concern at all, and this state of the child passes quickly and without consequences in eliminating the cause of the disease.

However, diarrhea can be a symptom of a serious illness associated with intolerance to certain foods or the pathology of internal organs.

In order not to harm a baby, you should contact the pediatrician as soon as possible, which will determine the cause of the ailment and prescribe an effective and safe treatment.