Treatment of diarrhea in children 3 years old. What to do if a child has diarrhea without fever? Various types of enzyme deficiency

Loose stools are a symptom that young parents constantly encounter. Without temperature, it does not attract attention and creates a false sense of calm. A harmless dysfunction may hide a life-threatening infection. Vomiting is the second symptom indicating a digestive failure. It can occur without diarrhea, but more often occurs together.

Organism 3 one month old baby very different from living for 2 years. Most organ systems are forming or learning to interact with the world around them. Frequent bowel movements in an infant (6-10 times a day) are a consequence of the lack of control of the central nervous system above the anal sphincter. Until 2-3 years of age, work is regulated by reflexes.

Pasty stool for the specified age – normal phenomenon. Discharges from big amount water should alert you, even if there is no temperature.

Among all the children age groups Infants have the highest chance of suffering from diarrhea. The danger is the consequence of dehydration. Determined by the following criteria:

Decreased amount of urine and darkening;
Dry mucous membranes: nose, mouth, eyes;
The skin above the “fontanelle” descends into the skull by 3-5 millimeters;
Lack of tears when crying;
Lethargic state.

In children 1 year of age or younger, when unwell, diarrhea and vomiting without other symptoms are clearly evident. Any infectious disease develops within a few hours. You need to remember this and at the slightest manifestation, call your local pediatrician or go to the hospital yourself.

Causes of diarrhea and vomiting in a child under one year old

Common reasons include:

Diet violation by mother. Eating food that is difficult to digest (fatty or fried) will make the milk fattier than usual and the baby will not be able to digest it.
Change of feed mixture. If the child is bottle-fed, a change in the composition of the formula will immediately affect intestinal function.
Feeding too early. A smooth transition to regular food is recommended at the age of 6 months. If you do this earlier, temporary dysfunction is guaranteed. The body does not produce enzymes in the required quantities. This is the case when a child vomits due to dyspepsia.
Binge eating. a common problem for children of all ages. They, on their own or under parental pressure, eat more than they need. The intestines do not have time to process incoming food. There is relief from vomiting caused by a full stomach.
Growth of baby teeth. Teeth begin to appear at the age of 4-5 months. The process is accompanied by functional vomiting and diarrhea.
Congenital pathologies of the digestive organs. At the slightest suspicion of infection, you should call a pediatrician at home.

Causes of diarrhea and vomiting in children aged 1-7 years

When a child turns 1 year old, an important change occurs in his life - weaning. The digestive system becomes similar to an adult, differing only in size. The stool is regular and has a hard consistency. The causes of diarrhea are replaced by those characteristic of an adult organism:

Intestinal infections (salmonellosis, dysentery). Some children have no temperature reaction on the pathogen. Able to appear on the second day. If the diarrhea contains mucus or changes color to green, you should immediately contact a medical facility. Children under 3 years of age should be observed in a hospital.
Diet violation. main reason all difficulties with the gastrointestinal tract. Eating foods that are too fatty, fried foods or sweets provoke indigestion.
Chronic diarrhea. Main symptoms: 2-5 or more bowel movements per day for three or more weeks, liquid feces. Occurs due to diseases of the esophagus, stomach or pancreas.
Allergies to selected foods. Individual intolerance may manifest itself in the form of diarrhea or vomiting, without skin redness or swelling.
Poisoning from chemicals or expired products. In this case, the child vomits violently, and when the stomach is empty, he feels sick. Diarrhea acts as an additional symptom and allows you to assess the severity of poisoning.
Psychological shocks can cause excessive activity of the muscles of the small intestine (irritable bowel syndrome). At the same time, food absorption deteriorates. This is the second most common cause for children over 5 years of age.
Imbalance of intestinal microflora. Experts mistakenly call the phenomenon dysbiosis. Occurs after treatment with antimicrobial drugs.
Infection with helminths. Worm infestation occurs without symptoms. But upon reaching a certain population size, the worms provoke alternating diarrhea and constipation.
Disturbances in the production of enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract. Due to the lack or absence of the required elements, food is not completely digested.
Head injury. Nausea and vomiting are the main signs of closed head injury.

Vomiting and diarrhea in a teenager occurs for similar reasons.

Types of dyspepsia

The most common is a lack of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose into simple sugars. Congenital deficiency makes it impossible to consume mother's milk and dairy products. Therefore, the child is transferred to an artificial formula without lactose. Symptoms: , bloating, intestinal colic, intestinal gases with a sour odor.

Gluten enteropathy – genetic disease, in which proteins of plant origin (gluten, hordein, avenin) are not broken down in the intestines. This makes it impossible to eat cereals made from wheat, rye and barley. All products made from wheat and rye flour are prohibited. It is detected during the first feeding at the age of 6-8 months. Symptoms include: bloating, delayed physical development, decreased immunity.

Main pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract in children

Gastritis is inflammation of the gastric mucosa. Occurs in acute and chronic form. Occurs due to dietary disorders and exposure Helicobacter bacteria pylori Symptoms: pain in the left hypochondrium, nausea, belching, coating on the tongue.

Stomach ulcer and duodenum. The disease is inherited, but its development is provoked by a bacterium that causes gastritis. Characteristic pain on empty stomach, in the epigastrium and around the navel, occurring 2 hours after eating. Symptoms: vomiting, nausea, heartburn.

Gastroenteritis – inflammatory disease stomach and small intestine. Symptoms: vomiting, fever, flatulence, diarrhea.

Hepatitis is a liver disease in which the organ increases in size. The cause is the hepatitis virus or an effect on the organ chemical substances. Symptoms: pain in the right hypochondrium, yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, lack of appetite, vomiting.

Cholecystitis is an infectious disease in which inflammation bile ducts. The causative agents are streptococci and staphylococci. It happens as a consequence of hepatitis. Symptoms: pain in the right side and near the navel, vomiting, nausea, fever.

Pancreatitis is a disease that affects the pancreas. The pathology is characterized by pain in the left side or the entire abdomen hurts. The pain may radiate to the back or left hand. Symptoms: loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, bloating, diarrhea.

What to do if you have diarrhea and vomiting

Treatment of diarrhea infectious nature carried out antiviral drugs and antibiotics under medical supervision.

Diarrhea caused by eating disorders goes away on its own if you follow a strict diet for a week:

Replenish lost fluid with boiled water.
Kissels, compotes, juices, sweet tea.
Rice or oatmeal porridge with water.
Lean meat (turkey, chicken fillet).
Boiled vegetables. It is advisable to eat more potatoes. He secures the chair and is great source carbohydrates.
Dairy products: fermented baked milk, katyk, kefir (with caution), yogurt.

If diarrhea or vomiting caught at night, you need to provide first aid:

Rinse the stomach. For 5-10 minutes, 1-5 liters of warm water are drunk. This unpleasant procedure. In the hospital, for this, a probe is inserted into the esophagus and forcibly poured required quantity liquids. Rapid filling will cause a gag reflex. If this does not happen, the parent presses with two fingers on the root of the tongue and the child vomits the drunk liquid. Vomiting removes some of the poison from the body.
Give an enterosorbent (activated carbon, Smecta, Enterosgel). It will absorb toxins in the small and large intestines.
To replenish the lost fluid, take Regidron or Trisol. Such situations often occur late in the evening or at night. If there is no 24-hour pharmacy nearby, it is better to prepare the solution yourself. There are 2 recipes that are equal in effectiveness. 1st method: pour a mixture of 1 tsp with a liter of boiled water. salt and 4 tsp. Sahara. The resulting solution is taken 1 teaspoon every 10 minutes. Method 2: dissolve 1 teaspoon of soda, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar in 1 liter. Use in the same way as the first method.
Antiemetics and medications for nausea and diarrhea are not recommended to be offered for the purpose of self-cleansing of the body. Washing the stomach and taking sorbents will be quite enough. If the child is hungry, give homemade crackers or crackers. They do not irritate the stomach and will not provoke new vomiting. Within a day, the mucous membrane will return to normal.
If diarrhea and vomiting last for 2 days or more, seek medical attention. medical care.

To treat diarrhea caused by stress or fear, you need to find out the cause by talking to your child or seeing a psychologist. For a teenager, a mild sedative is appropriate. Tincture of valerian or motherwort, for example.

The famous pediatrician Komarovsky advises adhering to a rule that includes three simple recommendations: cold, hunger and peace. In such conditions, the body will quickly recover.

Prevention of the disorder

To reduce the likelihood of diarrhea, just follow the recommendations:

Meals are regular and varied, without difficult-to-digest components.
Don’t forget to wash, cook and peel vegetables, meat and fruits.
Teach your child to observe basic rules of personal hygiene.
When buying products in a store, pay attention to the expiration date.
Maintain a calm psychological environment in the family.

The digestive system in children is sensitive to changes in diet. Therefore, new foods should be introduced into the diet in small portions. If a child vomits from food, then flushing the stomach and taking activated charcoal will help get rid of diarrhea and vomiting. dieting, clean hands and fresh food is a guarantee of a healthy gastrointestinal tract. You cannot treat a child on your own without consulting a specialist!

Diarrhea in a child common occurrence, and its reasons can be very different. Not all parents know how to distinguish infectious diarrhea from physiological disorder stomach, what measures to take as first aid, and when to call a doctor. Let's look at the types of the disease, medications that can be used, and home remedies for treating diarrhea in children.

It is impossible to raise a child and never encounter gastrointestinal problems, so every parent should know how to stop diarrhea

Why might a child have diarrhea?

Let's figure out what causes diarrhea in children:

Changing your diet. Stomach upset in children often occurs with changes in the menu. The mother must remember what the baby ate the day before and a couple of hours before the appearance. Diarrhea can be caused by eating vegetables that are high in fiber, fruits, and all types of legumes. Overeating and fatty foods also contribute to stool liquefaction. Stomach and small intestine cannot cope with the excess amount of food and undigested pieces are sent to colon, where the fermentation process starts. The intestinal walls become irritated and diarrhea begins.
Rotavirus infection. According to some reports, this reason is also one of the most possible in children. Rotavirus is extremely contagious and enters the body through Airways and instantly spreads to children's team. Symptoms rotavirus infection combine fever, diarrhea, vomiting. In addition, respiratory manifestations are possible - redness of the throat, rhinitis and cough.
Other intestinal infections. Less common are diseases such as salmonellosis, dysentery, coli infection, and giardiasis. These states have various symptoms, and loose stools are just one of them.
Dyspeptic diarrhea. It occurs due to a violation of the production of enzymes, or secretory insufficiency of the stomach, pancreas, or liver.
Medical diarrhea. This type of diarrhea occurs after a course of antibiotics that suppress the natural intestinal microflora.
Neurogenic diarrhea. Indigestion is sometimes a result of stress and can also be a reaction to fear.

Features of therapy depending on age

This article talks about typical ways to solve your questions, but each case is unique! If you want to find out from me how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free!

Therapy for diarrhea depends not only on the cause of the disease, but also on the age of the child. Treating a 6-month-old baby is different from helping an older baby. It is very important to ensure that the crumbs do not have dehydration. Symptoms of a condition in which you should consult a doctor are as follows:

rare urination;
dry mouth, dark coated tongue;
general weakness, lethargy;
Sometimes a baby's fontanel sinks in (looks sunken);
To monitor the condition of an infant (from 1 to 12 months) with diarrhea, it is worth carrying out daily weighings.

Similar symptoms - warning sign. In this situation, you cannot hesitate; you should call an ambulance.

Diarrhea in the chest

In infants, determining the cause of diarrhea is not always easy. The fact is that a child under one year old can have up to 4 bowel movements per day. Very young children (1-2 months) have stool after each feeding, especially if the baby is breastfeeding.

To determine whether there is diarrhea, you should carefully examine the contents of the diaper. Normally, a baby's stool is light brown in color and has a consistency similar to sour cream. If the stool is loose and soaks into the diaper, leaving only yellow-brown stains, you may have diarrhea.

Young mothers always need to pay attention to the contents of the diaper

The first task of parents is not to stop feeding the baby milk or formula. Nutrition will partially replenish fluid loss. Additional soldering with purified water will not hurt. It is better to offer water between feedings, keeping a break of 30 minutes to an hour.

In addition, small children (from 1 month) are given Smecta. 1 sachet should be diluted boiled water and divide the suspension into 5-6 parts. Give each dose after meals, evenly distributing the number of treatments per day by hour. If diarrhea persists for more than 2 days, you should definitely consult a doctor.

If one year old child the number of bowel movements per day exceeds 4-5 times, he needs to be given water. You can drip 5 ml of liquid into your mouth using a pipette or syringe with the needle removed.

Diarrhea in children over 1 year old

With diarrhea in children after a year, the replenishment of fluid in the body comes to the fore (we recommend reading:). The child needs to be given water in small portions so that it has time to be absorbed by the walls of the stomach and does not cause vomiting. An excellent solution would be to use rehydration solutions, which are sold in pharmacies.

It is necessary to feed a child older than a year only at his request - this is the main difference between therapy and how infants are treated. If your baby doesn't want to eat, you shouldn't force him. However, a strict diet for a day or more is a reason to consult a doctor.

It is important to prevent dehydration with diarrhea, so it is essential to replenish lost fluids.

Medicines to treat diarrhea

if diarrhea is caused by a virus, antiviral and antipyretic drugs are used;
for the treatment of bacterial diseases - antibiotics;
for the treatment of any type of disease, rehydration solutions, as well as sorbents, should be used.

Rehydration solutions

Doctors believe that during illness, when fluid loss occurs, regular drinking is not enough. Rehydration therapy can be intravenous or oral. Pharmacies sell drugs to restore water and electrolyte balance. It can be ready solutions, capsules that are washed down with water, or powders in sachets for self-preparation.

These medications are necessary because during diarrhea the child loses not only fluid, but also salts. You cannot replenish water losses by ignoring the lack of electrolytes.

Scientists have calculated what the balance of salts should be and created a formula according to which manufacturers make powders. Some rehydration products contain not only salts, but also glucose, as well as plant or cereal extracts.

It is important to adhere to the dosage indicated on the bag according to the child’s age. Available for sale following powders to prepare the solution:

Gastrolit;
Regidron (more details in the article:);
Normohydron;
Humana Electrolyte et al.

However, a similar solution can be prepared at home. You will need to mix 3 g (1/3 tsp) salt and 18 g (2 tsp) sugar in a liter of boiled water.

Sorbents

Enterosorbents are special substances that have the ability to absorb toxins and remove them from the body. Sorbents work great in the intestines and can even remove poisons, which puts them on par with antidotes. Enterosorbents may have natural composition, or may be substances created in laboratory conditions.

Let's consider popular drugs from this series:

Activated carbon is a natural absorbent in the form of tablets, familiar to our mothers and grandmothers.
Smecta is an effective drug in its niche that can be used from birth. Smecta perfectly binds and removes toxins, instantly stops diarrhea (we recommend reading:). It is not recommended to take this sorbent together with other medications, since Smecta significantly reduces their effectiveness.
Enterosgel - binds and removes decay products, allergens and even viruses (we recommend reading:). This drug also promotes the regeneration of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, does not disrupt beneficial microflora, and does not remove necessary microelements.
Lignin is an absorbent of natural origin. Its basis is specially prepared coniferous wood.

Enzymes

Enzymes for diarrhea are not often prescribed. However, if it is known that diarrhea is caused by inflammation of the pancreas - chronic or acute, taking enzymes as replacement therapy is indicated.

You can determine the lack of enzymes if you do a coprogram and test your stool for elastase. For diarrhea, tablets are prescribed for short term, people with chronic enzyme deficiency have to take such drugs for life. The most popular such enzyme preparations, How:

Mezim;
Penzital;
Pancreatin;
Pangrol;
Freon;
Festal.

Antipyretics and painkillers

If diarrhea is caused by a virus, it may be accompanied by a high fever (see also:). In this case, the use of antipyretics is indicated. Children are allowed drugs based on paracetamol and ibuprofen. You should not use suppositories; it is better to give your child the medicine in the form of a syrup or suspension.

Painkillers for diarrhea are not usually used. IN as a last resort You can drink No-shpa to relieve intestinal spasms.

Pro- and prebiotics

Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that enter the intestines and help them work more efficiently. According to experts, probiotics not only promote the proliferation of beneficial microflora, but also inhibit pathogenic microflora. These include:

Bifiform;
Linux;
Enterol;
Biosportn;
Gastrofarm.

In addition to probiotics, it is useful to take prebiotics to normalize microflora - organic matter, which serve as "food" for beneficial microflora. The task of prebiotics is to create favorable conditions for the growth of the desired microorganisms. These compounds are found in corn, garlic, beans, peas, bread and cereals. You can often see the inscription “enriched with prebiotics” on the packaging of porridge.

Antiviral agents

Antiviral medications for diarrhea make sense if the problem is a viral infection. We have already mentioned that with the viral nature of the disease, it is most often noted heat, general weakness, aching joints.

However, for therapy similar condition there are not many specific antiviral agents. Kipferon suppositories are suitable for children, which combine immunomodulatory, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. Viferon candles also have similar properties.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are not often used to treat diarrhea. As a rule, they are prescribed in the case of so-called invasive diarrhea - when blood is found in the stool. This situation indicates damage to the large intestine and requires specialist intervention.

In this regard, antibiotics should only be prescribed by a doctor. The following medications are used to treat diarrhea caused by bacteria:

Amoxicillin tablets (children under 10 years of age are prescribed as a suspension);
Metronidazole (from birth);
Levomycetin (not used in patients under 3 years of age);
Ciprofloxacin etc.

home remedies

Almost any type of diarrhea can be treated at home. In addition to the medicines that we wrote about above, there are traditional methods diarrhea treatment. In addition, it is important to ensure that the child follows a special diet. Let's consider the main recommendations of experts, as well as what not to do if you have diarrhea.

Folk recipes

Alternative medicine offers its own ways to deal with diarrhea. Let's consider the main traditional methods of treating indigestion without the use of medications:

Pear leaves. Dried leaves are poured with boiling water and infused for an hour. The infusion is filtered, and the child is allowed to drink 1 tbsp. 5-6 times a day.
Dried pomegranate peel. The peel must be cut off fresh fruit, trying not to touch the white layer, then dry well. You can store the peels in a clean, dry jar. To prepare pomegranate infusion, you need to take 10 g of peel and pour a glass of boiling water, leave for 40 minutes to an hour. The child is recommended to drink 1/3 of a glass of infusion immediately, and after 3-4 hours - another third.
Potato starch. This tool does not have medicinal properties however, it may help to make the stool firmer. It will take 1 tsp. potato starch, which should be mixed well with ½ glass of cool water and given to the child to drink. Jelly also has a good effect.
Black tea. This drink has astringent properties and helps strengthen the intestinal walls. Do not give your baby too-strongly brewed tea before bed.

Strong black teas are very effective for gastrointestinal disorders

Diet

A diet for diarrhea involves gentle nutrition. On the first day of illness, it is worth reducing the portions that the child is used to eating in order to reduce the load on the pancreas and liver. As the patient's condition improves, the amount of food must be increased.

Diarrhea in a child can accompany a wide variety of diseases. However, this symptom is dangerous in itself, especially if we're talking about about small children. The famous doctor and author of books and articles on children's health, Evgeny Komarovsky, tells us what the danger of diarrhea is and what parents should do if such a “trouble” happens to their child.

About the problem

Diarrhea is a manifestation of the body’s ability to get rid of bacteria and viruses, of which there are a great many around the child. Neither the water that the baby drinks, nor the food, nor the air is sterile. What can we say about playing in the sandbox, crawling on the grass, on the floor, etc. Humans have several such protective “systems”: saliva is designed to destroy microbes at the stage of entering the mouth, bronchial and nasal mucus protect the respiratory organs from getting into them bacteria and viruses, gastric juice effectively destroys those microorganisms that managed to penetrate the body through the mouth and reach the digestive organs unharmed. Bacteria, which are the indigenous inhabitants, await “uninvited guests” in the intestines. Their task is to prevent malicious agents from taking root.

Diarrhea in a child can be caused by an intestinal infection, which enters the mouth through unwashed hands, poorly washed vegetables and fruits, through water, and with food. Often these are bacteria.

Some viruses also cause diarrhea, such as rotavirus. The intestinal mucosa is excellent culture medium for their reproduction, and therefore digestion is disrupted, the intestinal mucous membranes are irritated and diarrhea occurs.

Danger of diarrhea

The most serious danger diarrhea lies in the likelihood of dehydration. The younger the child, the higher this risk. Potassium, calcium, and sodium salts, which are extremely important for life, are released with feces. Fluid is rapidly lost. Therefore, it is not as scary if a 3-year-old child goes to the toilet five times a day and does not show signs of dehydration as if five times diarrhea happened to a 6-month-old baby. After all, the baby’s reserves of water and mineral salts are much more meager, and he loses them at a faster rate.

Severe dehydration may cause serious violations work of the nervous system, and also become fatal for the baby.

Treatment

If diarrhea is caused by a viral infection, and in addition to frequent trips to the toilet, there are all the signs of a viral illness, you should not feed the child antiviral drugs, they do not help and their effectiveness has not been clinically proven. Antibiotics are also inappropriate because they have no effect on viruses. No special treatment is required; it is enough to provide the child with the right help and prevent dehydration. If diarrhea is the result of food poisoning or intestinal infection, the treatment approach should be the same.

First of all, you should make sure that the baby is not dehydrated.

If a child does not pee for 6 hours, if he cries with dry eyes, without tears, if he has blue circles under the eyes, facial features have sharpened, he has dry lips, tongue, dry mucous membranes - this is very alarming symptoms. Required immediate assistance doctors, you need to call an ambulance.

To prevent such a dangerous condition, parents’ actions in case of diarrhea must be coordinated and clear:

The child definitely needs to drink. And drink a lot. All drinks should be warm, about 20 degrees, so that the liquid is absorbed and absorbed by the body as quickly as possible. If a child refuses to drink from a cup, he should be fed with a spoon, little by little but often. If he does not drink from a spoon, as children under 7-9 months often do, then you need to draw the liquid into a disposable syringe without a needle and drink from it drip-wise. If the baby resists this method, you should not wait and persuade, you should immediately call an ambulance so that you can administer liquid to the child by drip.
The child needs to restore the balance of salts. To do this, Komarovsky advises using ready-made pharmaceutical sachets with oral rehydration products. "Smecta" will do, you can buy "Regidron" or "Humana-Electrolyte". These drugs are in mandatory must be in home medicine cabinet every family. If diarrhea has already occurred and there are no such drugs, you can use a prescription that has received full approval World Organization Health: add a teaspoon of salt and the same amount of soda to a liter of water. You can also give your child this solution.
Need control over secretions. What you drink should stand out. As long as the baby, who has not yet reached the age of one, wears diapers, the mother has nothing to worry about. At any time, she can measure the amount the child drinks, and after 3 hours weigh his used diaper on an electronic kitchen scale to understand whether the water is being excreted normally. If the child is already using the potty, control will also not be difficult. But a 2-year-old child, who has most likely already mastered the toilet, will have to follow on his heels.
The child does not need food. You should not try to feed him at any cost. Diarrhea much it will pass faster if the baby is hungry. You should give food only when he asks for it. If you have diarrhea, you should not eat fatty foods, sweets, drink carbonated drinks and milk. It is better to give porridge, mashed potatoes, crackers from yeast-free bread, vegetable soup with lean broth.
Activated carbon - in the correct dosage. Another useful drug that should be in your home medicine cabinet. Parents should remember that activated carbon is dosed at 1 tablet for every 10 kilograms of body weight at a time. Thus, a child weighing 10 kilograms is given 1 tablet, and a baby whose weight is 15 kilograms is given 1.5 tablets. Modern medicine recommends modern enterosorbents, which are easier to take. If the family’s financial capabilities allow, you can buy and keep Enterosgel in the first aid kit for such a case.

Nutrition after diarrhea

When the diarrhea is safely over, there is no need to immediately cook all those cutlets for your son or daughter and carry all the cookies that the child did not eat while he was ill. You should stick to a gentle diet for a few more days. The diet of a child from 1.5 years old can include porridge, tea, vegetable soups without meat. For a child over 2 years old, you can add one small curd to tea without additives, pieces of fruit or food coloring.

Then the diet should be increased gradually, adding new products to the toddler’s menu every day, starting with boiled meat, steamed cutlets and ending (in last turn) a piece of chocolate or his favorite candy.

Safe ways Treatment of diarrhea at home - fasting and drinking. Everything else, including the use of antidiarrheal drugs in children, must be agreed with the doctor.

If diarrhea occurs in a baby under one year old, you should definitely consult a doctor. For children under one and a half years old, the rule is exactly the same, provided that the baby does not feel better within 24 hours. Urgent hospitalization is required by the presence of bloody impurities in the stool.

When visiting a doctor, be sure to remember what the child ate over the last 24 hours and what changes there were in his behavior. It would be great if the doctor could personally assess the appearance feces on the diaper: their color, smell, consistency.

In case of an intestinal infection, the sick little one should immediately be given separate dishes, towels and bed linen. It can be extremely contagious, and therefore it is worth protecting other family members, especially children, from possible infection.

Folk remedies, which “experts” recommend on the Internet to treat diarrhea, especially garlic or onion enemas, can be extremely dangerous for the baby. If in sufficiently drink water and replenish the lack of mineral salts, then diarrhea will recede without complications quite quickly (1-2 days). If diarrhea continues, remedies alternative medicine will not help, but going to a completely traditional doctor will help.

How to treat diarrhea in a child, see the program of Dr. Komaorovsky.

Published: November 27, 2015 at 03:45 pm

Diarrhea is the most common disease in children. The peak of its occurrence occurs in early preschool age. Diarrhea in a child aged 3 years is usually caused by pathogenic microorganisms infectious nature, which enter the body of a three-year-old baby from the outside, through inappropriate and poor quality food, unwashed vegetables or fruits that a curious little one tries to consume directly from the garden, as well as through dirty hands. If a child develops loose stools at 3 years old, you should not immediately panic, but you should never hope that everything will go away on its own.

In order to determine how serious diarrhea that suddenly appears is, parents of children who are 3 years old or slightly younger need to be able to determine whether it is just frequent loose stools or is beginning to develop. dangerous form diarrhea. This will help you take emergency measures. In the case where watery stools do not carry pathological danger, it is enough to simply stop them with special pharmaceutical preparations or a home remedy such as rice water.

But if diarrhea that occurs in a child at the age of 3 is accompanied by additional severe symptoms, and there are inclusions of blood, mucus or foreign impurities in the stool, there can be no talk of any independent stopping of loose stools. Such diarrhea at 3 years of age can only be treated by a specialist after appropriate diagnosis. Before the doctor arrives, parents should replenish what is lost by the body with watery stools fluid to prevent the baby from becoming dehydrated.

Possible causes of diarrhea at 3 years old

Diarrhea in children aged 3 years can be neurogenic, nutritional, dyspeptic, infectious or toxic in nature. It is easily caused by potent medications, which were used to treat another disease. Among the factors that can provoke diarrhea in a three-year-old child, the following are usually distinguished:

Watery stools with increased frequency of bowel movements may be a sign of enteritis - a disease of the small intestine, or colitis - a pathology of the large intestine;
Normal-looking loose stools in a three-year-old child sometimes represent a disease such as functional diarrhea. Physical development a child with this disease does not stop, so the pathology that provoked diarrhea at 3 years is revealed only by laboratory tests;
The most common reasons diarrhea in a 3-year-old child is caused by viruses or infections entering the body, so parents need to monitor the hygiene and nutrition of their baby as closely as possible;
Diarrhea in young children may be one of the first signs of dysentery. In this case, it is necessary to consult a doctor in a timely manner to identify the pathology and begin appropriate treatment.

Parents often ask the following question: “Diarrhea for 3 years, how to determine the cause”? Here, first of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the frequency of stool, since for various diseases that served as a prerequisite for the development of diarrhea, it can be different. Also, liquid stools may have a pasty or watery consistency. So, with amoebiasis, the feces contain glassy mucus and bloody inclusions, so the stool becomes like raspberry jelly, and with dysentery, the feces first have a dense consistency, and then soften and come out in smaller quantities. They also contain mucous and bloody elements. These pathologies may be accompanied by bloating, rumbling and painful sensations in him.

A 3-year-old child has diarrhea, what should I do?

If at the most early years the baby began to defecate more than three times a day and his stool acquired a watery consistency, but the doctor who arrived did not reveal any serious pathology, young mothers are always interested in what can be done in this case to save the baby from discomfort? In case of mild diarrhea at 3 years of age, it is necessary to observe an increased drinking regime, which will not allow the baby to develop dehydration. Children can be given both Regidron from the pharmacy and regular boiled water. You should drink in small portions throughout the day, and the volume of water is taken at the rate of 10 ml per kilogram of weight.

Also, if a child develops this type of diarrhea at the age of 3, the diet should be adjusted. At the age of three, it differs from that recommended for infants. In the very first days of intestinal dysfunction, older children are recommended to eat only bananas, apples, rice cooked in water, and crackers. When the acute form of the disease passes, it will be possible to replenish the menu with fermented milk and flour products, boiled vegetables and low-fat boiled meat. To restore microflora, it is also useful to give to children natural yoghurts with bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.

Before taking measures to eliminate diarrhea, you need to identify the cause of the disease. Diarrhea is caused by various factors. The consumption of foods and liquids unfamiliar to the body can provoke loose stools. In the latter case, you will need to adjust your diet, the symptoms will disappear.

Sometimes the reasons for frequent loose stools can be serious illnesses. Salmonellosis, dysentery, and viral infection are accompanied by diarrhea. Doctors often diagnose viral diarrhea, which is caused by rotavirus.

Causes of loose stools:

Reaction to medications;
Lactose intolerance in a newborn;
Food poisoning;
Such a reaction of the body develops from emotional overstrain.

Children under two years of age experience discomfort during teething. When taking antibiotics adverse reaction severe diarrhea occurs.

In the first years of a baby’s life, it is difficult to determine the onset of diarrhea from ordinary, liquid stool. If the baby is breastfed, the stool will have a porridge-like consistency, which is normal.

Young parents begin to sound the alarm due to their inexperience. It is important to know and be able to distinguish the normal state of affairs from pathology.

Pediatricians have several options when the stool is normal, don’t worry:

In the first weeks of life, the baby will defecate up to eight times a day. The discharge is yellow and has a sour, milky odor. If your baby has white lumps in his stool, do not worry, so digestive system trying to normalize his work, get used to new living conditions;
From the age of two months, bowel movements occur much less frequently - up to five times a day. The discharge itself becomes harder and acquires a dark color.

As new foods are introduced into the child’s diet, the stool changes, becomes thicker, and changes color. Pediatricians identify several main causes of diarrhea in a baby without fever and vomiting.

Diet disorder

Loose stools or diarrhea: how to distinguish

Parents should distinguish between loose stools and diarrhea in a child without fever.

It would seem that there is absolutely no difference in these two concepts. Since ancient times, we have been accustomed to calling liquid feces diarrhea.

But, in official medicine, still separate these two concepts. So what is their difference? Loose stools, like diarrhea, are watery in nature and can last up to several weeks.

Types of diarrhea in a child

The most common is a lack of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose into simple sugars. Congenital deficiency makes it impossible to consume mother's milk and dairy products. Therefore, the child is transferred to an artificial formula without lactose. Symptoms: loose stools with foam, bloating, intestinal colic, intestinal gas with a sour odor.

Doctors say that diarrhea in children is provoked by infectious and non-infectious factors.

Diarrhea is divided into functional and organic. Functional disorder is characterized by the absence of structural impairment digestive organs. With organic diarrhea, changes occur in the structure of the digestive organs.

Depending on the severity of the course, diarrhea is classified into acute and chronic types.

Acute

Most often acute diarrhea occurs in children whose age is too young, due to the lack of basic sanitary and hygienic skills in the baby, due to weak defense mechanisms. Often, a child acquires symptoms of the disease through dirty hands, contact with contaminated toys, or pets.

If a little one is one and a half years old, it is impossible to explain the rules of personal hygiene to him. But three year old child Basic hygiene skills should be instilled, including washing hands before eating and after using the toilet.

Acute form The disease is accompanied by fever and abdominal pain. This diarrhea goes away after 3 days with adequate treatment.

Chronic

Why does it happen in babies?

Acute

Chronic

A baby's stool - the amount, consistency, color and smell of stool - is significantly different from the stool of a child after a year or an adult. What may be considered a pathology for an adult is normal for a newborn.

The baby's feces are loose and unformed. Food crumbs, mother's milk or an adapted mixture, has a liquid consistency, so his feces cannot be thick - they are liquid (with insufficient enzyme activity - with grains of curdled milk) or mushy.

Emergency measures for children older than 1 month, they include giving the child a solution of electrolytes and chamomile decoction. The liquid is given regularly, in small portions.

After 6 months, a baby can be given dried fruit compote. Children on natural feeding breasts are often offered. You need to give your baby water in any case, even if you have to force yourself to do it.

Diarrhea without fever in breastfed babies under 6 months is often associated with the mother's diet. In this case, diarrhea can be stopped by adjusting the woman’s diet. Laxative foods are excluded from the menu: beets, kefir. The cause of diarrhea in a baby may be fatty, fried foods with a lot of preservatives, which the mother ate.

The main remedy for treating diarrhea not complicated by infection is saline solution. It is impossible to stop diarrhea at this age; you can only prevent its consequences. Sometimes treatment is carried out with absorbent agents:

Smecta;
Polysorb;
Novosmectin.

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Diarrhea in children is a common reason for young parents to visit a pediatrician. Diarrhea is characterized by liquid, frequent stools. Indigestion in itself is not a disease, diarrhea is characteristic symptom diseases gastrointestinal tract or other diseases.

Diarrhea is a common pathology in young children due to the imperfection of their digestive and immune nervous systems. Any change in diet, taking certain medications, even stress can cause diarrhea. It is important to immediately identify the provoking factor and eliminate it immediately. Do not self-medicate, contact your pediatrician.

In addition to all the remedies described above, a good method is to follow a diet. If all conditions and rules are observed, the baby will quickly come to his senses and recover from the illness.

In addition to the treatment and diet used, it is necessary to ensure maximum comfort for the child. Often during diarrhea in babies, the anus area becomes irritated.

The kids start crying and complaining about pain. Use wet wipes instead of toilet paper for your child during this period.

Periodically wash your child and lubricate the anal area with fatty substances. This could be Vaseline, Bepanten cream, Panthenol ointment, and so on.

All of them have a softening, regenerating and relieving effect.

Provide your child bed rest. Of course, two-year-old babies will not be able to sit still for long, even during illness.

However, the more their body rests from physical activity, the faster the recovery will come. Be patient and don't get annoyed.

It’s much harder for your baby now than it is for you. Hold your child in your arms more often and talk about how much you love him.

Such care will help you recover from the disease faster.

Avoid any walks during diarrhea. Wash your baby's hands often. Use antibacterial compounds for this. If your baby has intestinal flu, protect your child from contact with other family members. If there are other children in the house, then it is worth spending preventive actions for them. Most often, a course of immunomodulators is prescribed.

Symptoms of diarrhea

The main symptom is increased frequency and loosening of the baby’s stools. In addition to the obvious symptom, diarrhea is accompanied by:

bloating;
False urge to defecate;
Lack of appetite;
General weakness;
Nausea, vomiting;
The infant is tearful, restless, and refuses to eat.

Symptoms are partially present or absent altogether.

Without fever, diarrhea occurs due to poor nutrition or allergies.

If your child's stool seems liquid to you, but the baby feels good - he eats enough, sleeps peacefully, gains weight and develops in accordance with his age - then there is no need to worry.

May be cause for concern accompanying symptoms:

frequent, uncontrollable stools, liquid (like water), splashing;
the process of defecation is accompanied by flatulence and cramping pain;
stool changes color - becomes green, with blood streaks or blood;
flakes, mucus or foam appear in it;
the smell of feces changes - it can be putrid, fetid;
the child’s body temperature rises and there may be vomiting;
the baby cries, refuses to eat, sleeps poorly, and suddenly loses weight.

If you observe such symptoms in your child, urgently take him to the pediatrician or call an ambulance.

These signs indicate a digestive disorder, medically called diarrhea, and popularly called diarrhea. A condition that is especially dangerous for infants, since the liquefaction and frequency of stools leads to rapid loss of fluid and nutrients. Which very soon entails asthenia and dehydration.

Diarrhea in an infant is determined by the following signs:

watery, slightly colored consistency;
change in the smell of stool;
the volume of feces has increased;
frequency more than 10 times a day (in children from 3 months);
restless behavior, crying;
lethargy.

A child of 6-7 months begins to cut his first teeth. This process is often accompanied frequent bowel movements, excessive flow of saliva, reddening of the gums. Stool disorder is explained by the fact that during teething, babies pull various objects into their mouths.

In addition to diarrhea, parents may also notice an increase in body temperature, the child becomes irritable and capricious, he may have a stomach ache, colic, or gas accumulation.

Usually, along with changes in stool, parents notice other symptoms in the child.

Temperature

Diarrhea is rarely the only symptom, and the presence of other changes helps determine the cause of loose stool.

How to treat?

Diarrhea in children - dangerous symptom, since the body loses a lot of fluid and salt necessary for proper functioning. First of all, the parent must restore the water and electrolyte balance through rehydration.

You can then try to stop the diarrhea. Do not forget that only a doctor can prescribe adequate treatment.

The doctor will tell you what to do to cure little patient.

Medication

If you have diarrhea, you need to give the patient something to drink saline solution. It is acceptable to use a drug purchased at a pharmacy: Regidron, Oralit, Enterodes.

If diarrhea is accompanied by fever, it is necessary to take antipyretic drugs containing paracetamol. I have a fever one year old baby– better to use rectal suppositories. Older children take suspensions. You can take children's paracetamol. The patient is allowed to take Nurofen as an antipyretic per year.

You can treat diarrhea by taking sorbents that help remove toxins from the body. For example, activated carbon, Smecta, Polysorb, Neosmectin. Smecta is recommended for children from birth; one diluted packet is enough for 3 doses. A two-year-old child is offered 1 sachet twice a day.

Dysbacteriosis will be the reason for the prescription of bacteriophages and probiotics: Acipol, Linex, Enterol, Bifidumbacterin.

At intestinal infections The doctor prescribes a course of antibiotics: Meronem, Kanamycin, Ciprofloxacin. Parents should not make an independent decision to give their baby an antibiotic. This appointment is made by the doctor.

When breastfeeding, it is acceptable to give the baby an infant electrolyte solution to replenish fluid reserves.

How to treat diarrhea without fever if it appears in a 9-month-old child or older children, a specialist will tell you.

Usually prescribed by him drug treatment includes:

sorbents (Smecta, Polyphepan, Enterodes);
gastric lavage weak solution potassium permanganate or just boiled water;
enzymes (Pancreatin, Mezim);
fluoroquinol antibiotics or cephalosporins (Cefotaxime, Ciprofloxacin, etc.) are prescribed if the child is unwell and the diarrhea continues for three days or more;
drinking plenty of fluids mineral water, Regidron, saline solutions.

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Treatment of diarrhea not accompanied by fever in children depends on what caused it. If we are talking about infectious diseases, enzyme deficiency, dysbacteriosis, then it, as a rule, consists of drug treatment.

What to do if a baby has diarrhea? There are several important principles in the treatment of diarrhea.

First aid for diarrhea in infants

Parents should know what measures they must take to alleviate the baby’s condition.

If diarrhea does not interfere general condition child, is not accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and other signs of illness, parents can independently take the following measures:

A gentle diet. The diet of a child with diarrhea should exclude the consumption of dairy and fermented milk products, fruit juices, fatty meats and fish, fried, smoked and spicy dishes, vegetables and fruits rich in fiber (cabbage, legumes, radishes, etc.), broths, baked goods and sweets. All dishes must consist of boiled and/or steamed foods. You can offer your child porridge cooked in water, lean varieties meat or poultry, baked apples, bananas, crackers, mashed potatoes on the water.
Drinking regime. In young children, diarrhea can lead to dehydration especially quickly. In this regard, parents of infants (as well as children of any age) should monitor the replenishment of fluid in the child’s body during diarrhea. In case of diarrhea, children can drink boiled water, unsweetened compote, a decoction of dried fruits and raisins. Also applicable pharmaceuticals containing the necessary salts: “Regidron”, “Glucosan”, etc.
Restoration of microflora digestive tract . There are many types of medicines for the treatment of dysbiosis, which include bifidobacteria necessary for normal operation Gastrointestinal tract of a child. These are drugs such as “Linex”, “Bifiform”, “Biogaia”, etc.
Taking enterosorbents. Drugs in this group help remove toxins from the child’s body, pathogenic microorganisms and products of their vital activity. These are medications such as: “Enterosgel”, activated carbon, “Lactofiltrum”, “Smecta”, “Enterodez”, etc.

If diarrhea does not stop within two days, or if other symptoms of the disease occur, parents should immediately seek medical help. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe correct treatment to kid.

Prevention of the disorder

To reduce the likelihood of diarrhea, just follow the recommendations:

Meals are regular and varied, without difficult-to-digest components.
Don’t forget to wash, cook and peel vegetables, meat and fruits.
Teach your child to observe basic rules of personal hygiene.
When buying products in a store, pay attention to the expiration date.
Maintain a calm psychological environment in the family.

The digestive system in children is sensitive to changes in diet. Therefore, new foods should be introduced into the diet in small portions. If a child vomits from food, then flushing the stomach and taking activated charcoal will help get rid of diarrhea and vomiting. Following a diet, clean hands and fresh food is a guarantee of a healthy gastrointestinal tract. You cannot treat a child on your own without consulting a specialist!

Among preventive measures, which will help parents protect their baby from developing diarrhea of any etiology, can be called the following:

compliance with hygiene rules by all family members;
proper nutrition for a nursing mother or, if the baby is bottle-fed, a properly selected high-quality formula, compliance with portion sizes and feeding regimens in accordance with the age of the baby;
preventing overfeeding and overheating of the child;
compliance with the rules for introducing complementary foods;
excluding contacts of the baby with any viruses infected, sick family members or acquaintances;
strengthening the baby's immunity.

Forecasts

Diarrhea in an infant and the resulting dehydration require a quick response. Only on condition accurate diagnosis and timely initiation of treatment, prognosis for intestinal disorders favorable in the neonatal period.

Rapid loss of fluid and leaching of salts during diarrhea very quickly lead to dehydration of the child’s body. In this case, the water-electrolyte balance is disturbed and the level of blood acidity increases - metabolic acidosis develops, which can cause shock and comatose state at the baby's.

Prolonged diarrhea in children under one year old or chronic can lead to demineralization and hypovitaminosis, anemia.