What should I do if my baby has diarrhea?

Many parents have encountered this problem: their babies often have stomachaches and then start to have diarrhea. This gives parents a headache and they worry about their children's health. Because diarrhea not only affects the baby's nutrient absorption, but also affects the baby's growth and development. So what if your baby has diarrhea? Especially for children as young as 4 months old, if they have stomachache and diarrhea, how should we solve it? Let’s take a look.

4-month-old babies are still mainly breastfed. Breastfed babies normally defecate one to two more times a day than babies fed with milk, and the stools are yellow-green and sticky. Diarrhea in babies refers to the increase of water content in the stool and the deterioration of the stool components.

How to deal with diarrhea in 4-month-old babies: Find the cause of diarrhea in babies

4-month-old babies are still mainly breastfed, but sometimes mothers will add complementary foods to their 4-month-old babies. Therefore, when a 4-month-old baby has diarrhea, parents should find out the cause of the baby's diarrhea in time. The possible causes of diarrhea in 4-month-old babies include:

1. Breast milk diarrhea: Breastfeeding causes diarrhea, which may be due to the high content of prostaglandins in breast milk. This substance promotes the movement of small intestinal smooth muscles, increases the secretion of water and electrolytes, and produces loose stools. Breast milk diarrhea may also be caused by lactose intolerance in children and lack of lactase in the body. Do not stop breastfeeding when breast milk diarrhea occurs. The baby's body will gradually adapt to the prostaglandins in breast milk, and the lactase will gradually mature and the enzyme activity will increase, so it can break down, digest and absorb lactose, and the condition will gradually improve with the addition of complementary foods. 2. Improper feeding: Feeding children with porridge and paste too early and too much, too much carbohydrates can cause fermentation and produce digestive disorders. Failure to add complementary foods on time, suddenly increasing food or changing the food composition before weaning can cause digestive disorders and diarrhea due to the baby's inability to adapt. Stop adding complementary foods temporarily when diarrhea occurs, and then gradually add complementary foods after the diarrhea improves.

3. Cold abdomen: Some babies kick off the quilt when they sleep, or expose their abdomen when they play during the day, which can easily cause the abdomen to catch a cold. Once the abdomen catches a cold, the intestinal smooth muscles will be stimulated, contraction will intensify, intestinal peristalsis will also speed up, and the food being digested and absorbed will pass through the intestine faster. This not only affects the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the body, but also causes an increase in the frequency of bowel movements, and the stool is often loose and rotten, resulting in diarrhea.

4. Bacterial infection: Parents should also consider whether the diarrhea of ​​their 4-month-old baby is caused by bacterial infection. The symptoms of bacterial infection diarrhea are that the baby will have abdominal pain and a fever of 39°C or even higher, increased frequency of bowel movements, and bloody stools. There is often paroxysmal abdominal pain before diarrhea, and increased "gurgling" sounds in the stomach.

Knowing these four reasons that may easily cause diarrhea in children, parents must pay close attention to these four reasons. In daily life, we must keep children warm so that they will no longer suffer from diarrhea and have a good body.