What should I do if my baby has diarrhea?

Babies often have increased frequency of bowel movements without any other symptoms. They usually have a good appetite, and their growth and development are not seriously affected. So what is the cause of this situation? Is it a disease? After the baby starts to eat complementary foods, his bowel movements will gradually return to normal. However, there are also serious illnesses that will not improve. What should I do if my baby has diarrhea?

Infant diarrhea, also known as infantile diarrhoea, is a clinical syndrome caused by different causes. It mainly occurs in infants under 2 years old and can be divided into two acute types. Mild diarrhea: several to more than ten times a day, with egg drop soup-like stool, occasional galactorrhea and vomiting, mild abdominal distension, etc. Severe diarrhea: more than ten times a day, up to dozens of times, watery stool, vomiting, fever, gray complexion, irritability, and even coma, convulsions, and symptoms such as dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

Causes of diarrhea in babies

Gastroenteritis: Gastroenteritis (also called stomach flu) is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines that can cause diarrhea in infants, children, and adults. Gastroenteritis is very common and can be caused by many different viruses. The most common pathogen is rotavirus. Half of the children hospitalized for diarrhea are infected with this virus, which occurs most frequently in late autumn and early winter.

Bacterial infection: severe diarrhea (sometimes accompanied by vomiting), accompanied by abdominal pain, bloody stools, and fever, is often caused by viruses or bacteria (E. coli, Salmonella, etc.). Some of these infections are self-healing, but some can be very serious, such as those caused by E. coli in undercooked meat.

Parasites: Parasitic infections may also cause diarrhea. For example, giardiasis (also called giardiasis) is caused by a microscopic parasite that lives in the intestines.

Generally speaking, if the baby has physiological diarrhea, he does not need to be treated with medicine. He can choose to eat some milk or other dairy products. If you do not want to wean your baby, you can shorten the time of each feeding and let the baby choose to eat some milk with high protein content and low fat content to improve the situation.