What is dehydration in babies? The metabolism of infants is very fast, several times faster than that of adults, which means that babies lose water easily. Nowadays, the heating conditions are good and the indoor temperature is too high, while some parents are afraid of freezing their children and put them in thick cotton clothes. In this case, it is very easy to make the child dehydrated. Generally, we can determine whether a child is dehydrated and estimate the degree of dehydration based on clinical signs such as fontanelle, eye sockets, skin elasticity, circulation and urine volume. 1, within a week of the baby’s general fontanelle has not yet closed, so as long as the hand gently touch the baby’s fontanelle, if it feels deeper into the concave, it means that the child is dehydrated; 2, parents wash their fingers, but do not use soap, and then put the index finger into the baby’s mouth, if you feel the baby’s saliva dry and sticky, it means that the baby is dehydrated, at this time should be timely to add water to the baby; 3, if the child often has crying at night, irritability and so on, when excluding other reasons, should consider whether the child is dehydrated; 4, dehydrated children due to water in the body. A baby’s dehydration indicates that he does not have enough water in his body. Compared with adults, babies are more prone to dehydration. Dehydration occurs when a baby loses a lot of water during vomiting, diarrhea, fever or sweating, and the intake of water is not enough to replace it. Depending on the severity of your baby’s dehydration, it can be classified as mild dehydration that is easily relieved, moderate dehydration and severe dehydration that is life-threatening. Symptoms of dehydration in babies If your baby shows any of the following signs, he is dehydrated, or at least mildly dehydrated: 1. no urine for more than 6 hours; 2. dark yellow urine with a strong smell; 3. sleepiness and lethargy; 4. dry mouth and chapped lips; 5. no tears when crying. Signs that your baby may be seriously dehydrated include: 1) sunken eyes; 2) cold hands and feet that look blotchy; 3) confusion, dizziness, or unusual excitement; 4) excessive drowsiness or restlessness. What to do if your baby is dehydrated If you notice any of these signs of mild dehydration, you must act quickly to prevent your baby from becoming further dehydrated. If you think your baby is seriously dehydrated, take him or her to the emergency room right away, where fluids may be needed to treat the condition. If you are concerned about your baby’s dehydration but do not think it is serious, it is also best to take him to the hospital. The doctor may want to examine your baby to make sure he is okay. If the doctor thinks your baby’s dehydration is mild, he will instruct you to give him a special liquid called oral rehydration salts to replace the water and salt (also known as electrolytes) he has lost. Special oral rehydration salts (ORS) are available in hospitals for home treatment and can be mixed with water or put into liquid foods such as rice soup to help rehydrate and rehydrate your baby. If your baby is severely dehydrated, treatment should be tailored to the nature of the dehydration in the hospital. Do not use sports drinks instead of rehydration salt solution. While sports drinks do contain electrolytes, they also contain more sugar than rehydration salts. You should continue to breastfeed your baby while treating your baby for dehydration. How to prevent dehydration in babies The important thing to prevent dehydration in babies is to make sure your baby gets enough fluids, especially in hot weather or when your baby is sick. You should insist on feeding your baby breast milk or formula. If your baby is 4 months old, you can also give him some water, about 110 ml per day before starting complementary foods; if you start eating complementary foods, the amount of water has to be increased. If you give your baby juice, do not add water by increasing the amount of juice, but you can dilute the juice into plain water. That is, if your baby drinks about 85-110 ml of juice a day, then you can dilute that juice with plain water to 170-220 ml. Do not give your baby carbonated drinks as these are not good for baby’s teeth. Also keep in mind that once your baby starts to become dehydrated, there will be a deficiency of electrolytes in his body, which should be replenished by giving him a special oral rehydration salt solution to change his dehydration. The following situations tend to cause dehydration in babies, so you should pay special attention to prevent dehydration in babies when these situations occur: 1. Fever. Whenever your baby has a fever, give him plenty of fluids. It can be milk, breast milk, plain water, and diluted fruit juice for babies who have added complementary foods, with the principle of small amounts and many times. If your baby has difficulty swallowing, you need to ask your doctor about the possible causes and see if there is anything he or she can do to help ease your baby’s discomfort. 2. Overheating. Doing too much activity in hot weather, or just staying in a poorly ventilated, stuffy room, can make your baby sweat and cause water loss. When the weather is hot, give your baby more fluids than usual, which can prevent dehydration. A way to observe whether your baby is adequately hydrated is to see if his urine is clear. 3. Diarrhea. If the baby suffers from intestinal diseases, especially acute gastroenteritis, the water in his body will be lost in diarrhea and vomiting. In this case, do not give the baby juice, which may aggravate his condition. Do not give your baby over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication either, unless your doctor recommends it. If you think your baby may have started to get dehydrated, ask your doctor if you need to give him oral rehydration salt solution. 4. Vomiting. Both viruses and intestinal infections can cause vomiting. If your baby can’t swallow liquids, he is prone to dehydration. You can try feeding him milk or water in small amounts, starting with two small spoonfuls every 5 minutes. If he doesn’t vomit for an hour, you can give him 4 small spoonfuls every 15 minutes. If your baby’s dehydration is caused by vomiting, a rehydration salt solution will do a good job of rehydrating him. 5. Refusing to drink water. A sore throat or other illness, such as hand, foot and mouth disease can make your baby feel sore and stop drinking (or feeding) because of it. Ask your doctor if you can give your baby acetaminophen (also called paracetamol) or ibuprofen to relieve the pain or discomfort, and then give your baby breast milk, formula or water in small amounts, thus preventing dehydration.