The last few months have been tough on everyone with the MCO and even the RMCO. It’s the first time that we could not leave the house for so long and parents have found themselves cooking at home more than ever.
The kids are at home with us all the time and it means that we can (almost) always monitor what they’re eating or drinking.
This is the new normal for the foreseeable future. Even as the kids return to school, we’re vigilant with what they eat and drink. After school activities are also reduced. But no doubt, the risks of them contracting diarrhoea might be higher as they start going out again.
As parents, we should be prepared to give them the necessary diarrhoea treatment at home should the need arise.
Diarrhoea is defined as three or more loose or liquid stools per day (or more frequent passage than normal), according to the World Health Organization. It is a very common problem that children under 5 experience.
However, the diarrhoea treatment for children of different ages and stages differ. So we’re here to share with you how you should treat the problem at different ages.
Diarrhoea Treatment At Home: Ages and Stages
Newborn stage: At this age, babies cannot communicate (besides crying), so parents rely on checking the diapers for frequency and consistency of bowel movements.
Since newborn poop tends to be watery and frequent, how do we identify if it is actually diarrhoea?
Diarrhoea in newborns is a serious issue as is any other medical condition at this age. It can lead to dehydration and weight loss1. Typically, signs of diarrhoea in newborns are if the stools are even more watery than usual and if the frequency is more than once every two hours (or after every feed).
Parents should take their newborn to see a doctor if they suspect the baby is experiencing diarrhoea.
Infant stage: Children at this age are still susceptible to diarrhoea though the effects are not quite as serious as the newborn stage.
Infants are also at a higher risk of getting diarrhoea because of a change in environment, like going to daycare or when solids are introduced to their system2.
If diarrhoea persists for more than three days at this age, it’s important to bring your child to see a doctor.
Toddler stage: When children start to explore the house on their own as they learn to crawl and walk, sometimes they might pick things up along the way and put it into their mouths, potentially causing some diarrhoea when the gut is affected.
Keeping the house clean is important, but keeping your child’s gut “healthy” is even more important.
A visit to the doctor is necessary if the diarrhoea continues for more than three days or the child is showing other symptoms like a fever or rash. It would be an indication of something more serious than just diarrhoea.
Young child stage: When children start to go to school, it’s also important to monitor their bowel movements.
At this age, many kids would have successfully completed potty training and can communicate about their bowel movements more effectively.
Diarrhoea at this age is more manageable and many parents might have already experienced their child having diarrhoea at least once by then.
What Happens To A Child’s Body When They Get Diarrhoea?
Usually, when a child gets diarrhoea, it is because a virus has entered their gut or it is antibiotic-induced.
What then happens is a condition called gut microbiota dysbiosis. This happens in the gastrointestinal tract when there is a bacterial or fungal overgrowth in the small intestine3.
Sounds serious? Yes. But it’s easily treatable.
In order to treat diarrhoea, many doctors recommend a dose of antibiotics. While this might stabilise the condition, the healing is assisted by introducing probiotics to your child.
Probiotics can reduce the duration and intensity of diarrhoea4.
But parents would know this — probiotics can be quite a troublesome thing. Most of them have to be kept in the refrigerator for maximum efficacy. Finding ways to feed it to the kids can also be a pain!
So what then?
Diarrhoea Treatment At Home
Enterogermina is a diarrhoea treatment that is effective and easy to feed to children. It is a clinically tested product with proven effectiveness for infants and children.
But you might be wondering, what is Enterogermina?
Enterogermina consists of a suspension of spores of non-pathogenic probiotic Bacillus clausii.
In layman terms, what this means is that it is made up of spores that can survive the effects of gastric acid, heat and antibiotic conditions in order to restore intestinal microbiota when children experience diarrhoea.
Very simply, it replenishes what is lost while relieving the symptoms of diarrhoea (which can include bloating) at the same time.
It is also very easy to feed to children as it comes in mini bottle form that does not need to be refrigerated. Parents can easily mix it into their child’s milk or water as it is tasteless, colourless and odourless.
To purchase Enterogermina to treat your child’s diarrhoea at home, visit your nearest pharmacy.
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1 Brennan. (2020). Baby Diarrhea: Causes, Treatment, and More. WebMD. Retrieved from: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/baby-diarrhea-causes-treatment
2 Thomson, S.C. (1994). Infectious diarrhoea in children: controlling transmission in the child care setting. Journal of paediatrics and child health. Retrieved from : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8074906/#:~:text=The%20major%20risk%20factors%20for,hygiene%20and%20child%20handling%20practices
3 Erdogan, A. Rao, S. (2015). Small intestinal fungal overgrowth. Current gastroenterology reports. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25786900/
4 Hempel, S. (2014). Probiotics for diarrhoea. Indian Journal of Medical Research. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4069727/
KKLIU: 1790/2020