Fall is here! Poopers with babies should be especially careful, as the annual peak of diarrhea is approaching. There will be waves and waves of children with diarrhea in the fall, especially children aged 6 months to 2 years with a higher incidence of diarrhea. Diarrhea is common, but never trivial
Diarrhea is one of the most common diseases among infants and young children in China, and almost every child has experienced diarrhea, so some parents may think, “Isn’t it just diarrhea? What child hasn’t had diarrhea before! But according to the World Health Organization, there are about 1.7 billion cases of diarrheal disease worldwide every year, and more than 10,000 people die from diarrhea every day. Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death among children under five years old, and about 760,000 children under five years old die from diarrheal disease every year, and diarrhea is the main cause of malnutrition among children under five years old.
Therefore, although diarrhea is common in children and most children can recover, parents should not take it lightly or take chances.
A. Why do children have diarrhea?
1, the digestive system is not strong in its own defense infancy, the digestive system is not mature, prone to gastrointestinal dysfunction, and the immune function of the body is lower during this period, the gastrointestinal tract defense function is poor.
2, foreign viruses bacterial invasion virus is the most common pathogen causing diarrhea in infants and young children. Especially in autumn, rotavirus is like a long-dormant ghost with the sluggish autumn breeze and awakened, arrogant and rampant attack on children. Enteritis caused by rotavirus is also known as autumn diarrhea because it occurs in autumn and winter, and the pediatric clinics of major hospitals are often overcrowded when the peak of autumn diarrhea comes.
In addition to rotavirus, norovirus, E. coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Aspergillus, fungi and many other pathogens can cause diarrhea in children.
3, various other factors In addition to pathogenic infections, a variety of non-infectious factors can also cause diarrhea. Improper feeding such as premature feeding of large amounts of starchy or fatty foods, sudden changes in food varieties, sudden changes in climate, protein allergies, lactose intolerance, etc. are all causes of diarrhea in infants and young children.
What is the manifestation of autumn diarrhea? As the name suggests, autumn diarrhea (rotavirus enteritis) occurs in autumn and winter and often causes epidemics among children. It is often accompanied by fever and other cold symptoms, such as a runny cough. The main manifestations are vomiting, diarrhea, stools like watery or egg-flake soup-like, sometimes with a little mucus, mucous membrane breakage or combined with bacterial infection may have mucous blood, ranging from a few to a dozen times a day. The usual duration of illness is 3-8 days, and some babies may have longer. Possible serious consequences in case of diarrhea. As we mentioned earlier, diarrhea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years of age.
Second, because diarrhea can cause other serious consequences in addition to digestive symptoms.
1. dehydration (a state of severe dehydration of the body)
2, electrolyte and acid-base balance disorders (the balance of various substances in the body is broken)
3, convulsions (commonly known as “cramps”)
4, myocarditis (virus and other invasion of the heart muscle)
5, intussusception (intestinal tangles and knots), etc.
Third, what to focus on when diarrhea observation
When a child has diarrhea, parents are anxious to rush to the hospital, but when the doctor asks about the medical history, some parents can’t give answers to other important questions except for the question “how many times a day do you have diarrhea”. So what should parents focus on when their child has diarrhea?
1. stool: number of times, nature (with or without blood, etc.)
2, vomiting: number of times, what to vomit
3, abdominal pain: whether there is severe abdominal pain, whether there is abdominal distension
4, urine volume: very important! Compared with the usual volume of urine has not decreased, how much reduction
5, mental activity eating state: very important!
6, dehydration performance: very important! Thirst, sunken eyes, lack of elasticity of the skin compared to usual, reduced urine volume, pale face, mental irritability or indifference, etc. When you need to seek medical attention as soon as possible
7.Severe diarrhea symptoms: more frequent stools, thin stools, large amounts, or stools with pus and blood
8.Frequent vomiting and reduced feeding*Vigorous, continuous crying that cannot be soothed
9, mental depression, irritability, drowsiness, etc.
10.Continued recurrent fever, fever in infants under 3 months
11.Significantly less urine than usual, sunken eye sockets, dry skin with poor elasticity, less tears than usual when crying
12.Significantly worse facial color, cold hands and feet that cannot be explained by other reasons, etc.
13.Convulsions: staring, twitching, crying and other manifestations *Any underlying disease such as heart disease, malnutrition, immune deficiency, etc. should be actively sought in a timely manner
14.Any other situation that cannot be determined.
Fourth, how to treat diarrhea?
Once a child has diarrhea, it usually takes some time to recover. There is no medicine that can immediately stop diarrhea in children, and strong antidiarrheal drugs are not recommended.
The principles of diarrhea treatment are: prevention of dehydration, correction of dehydration, continuation of diet, and rational use of medication.
Rehydration: Preventing dehydration or treating mild to moderate dehydration with oral rehydration salts (ORS) flushed with water can replenish the water and electrolytes lost with stool, drinking the supplement after each loose stool, and in general, drinking more than pooping ~~ intravenous fluids may be needed in severe cases.
Continue the diet: Continuing to provide nutrient-rich foods (including breast milk) during diarrhea can help break the vicious cycle of malnutrition and diarrhea.
Breastfeeders should suspend hard-to-digest complementary foods and increase the frequency of breastfeeding, nursing in small amounts. Artificially fed children who are lactose intolerant can be switched to de-lactose formula (commonly known as diarrhea formula). Older children should continue the usual diet to which they are accustomed. Do not introduce new foods during diarrhea.
Zinc supplementation: Zinc supplementation facilitates intestinal mucosal repair, reduces the duration of diarrhea by 25%, and reduces stool volume by about 30%.
Other: montelukast, abscisicadotril, and probiotics may be considered. Most children with diarrhea do not need antibiotics, but about 10-30% need antibiotics (those with names like “cephalosporin**” and “**cillin” are antibiotics). Some parents are so anxious for their children to recover as soon as possible that they transfer them to another hospital after taking the medicine for a day and still have diarrhea.
V. How to prevent diarrhea?
Ensure water safety and food hygiene, such as not drinking raw water and separating cookware from raw and cooked food; good hygiene habits, emphasizing the importance of hand washing and washing hands with soap before touching imported items; exclusive breastfeeding within six months of birth; vaccination against rotavirus, which is an oral preparation with a sweet taste. It is easy to administer, safe and effective, and has a protection rate of more than 90 percent. It is best to get vaccinated before the rotavirus epidemic season. Consult the vaccination site for details.