What is persistent diarrhea in children?

Speaking of diarrhea, I believe many people are familiar with it. In our daily life, if we eat unclean food or accidentally eat spoiled food, diarrhea will occur unless the condition is particularly serious. Generally, we just need to take some medicine. However, if a child has diarrhea, what parents worry most is that the child may become dehydrated or even life-threatening due to diarrhea. Clinically, the most serious disease is persistent diarrhea in children. So what is persistent diarrhea? Let’s find out together.

Persistent diarrhea in children is a gastrointestinal disease characterized by increased frequency of bowel movements and changes in stool shape. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as nutrient allergies, enzyme deficiencies, low immunity, drug effects, congenital malformations and infections. It is caused by acute diarrhea that is not treated promptly or thoroughly.

The high-risk group for persistent diarrhea in children is infants and young children who are artificially fed and malnourished. The reasons are:

1. Malnutrition in children can cause atrophy of the gastric mucosa and a decrease in gastric acid concentration. At this time, the bacteria and yeast in the stomach and intestines will multiply in large numbers, causing the mucosa of the duodenum and jejunum to become thinner, and the absorption capacity of disaccharidases to decrease, causing indigestion of nutrients and leading to diarrhea.

2. When children with severe malnutrition have diarrhea, the bacteria in the upper small intestine will increase. The excessive bacterial growth will cause excessive concentration of free bile acid to damage small intestinal cells.

3. Malnourished children have low immune function, which increases their susceptibility to food proteins and pathogen antigens. Therefore, malnutrition and persistent diarrhea will interact to cause immune deficiency and infection.

The causes of persistent diarrhea in children are as follows: 1. Children's intestinal immunity is low and their ability to eliminate intestinal infections is weak, so they cannot completely eliminate pathogenic microorganisms, leading to disaccharidase deficiency and causing osmotic diarrhea. 2. Some children are allergic to the gliadin in cereal-based foods, which leads to fat malabsorption and frequent diarrhea. Things will return to normal after stopping eating cereals and wheat. 3. If the baby is allergic to milk protein, the child will suddenly have abdominal pain, pale or red face, green and foamy stool, and may be accompanied by mucus and blood. Infants with persistent, difficult-to-treat diarrhea are most likely to have a cow's milk protein allergy. 4. The abuse of antibiotics in children has led to intestinal flora imbalance, causing acute diarrhea or persistent diarrhea. 5. Malnourished children have low immunity and cannot completely eliminate intestinal pathogens, resulting in persistent intestinal infection and damage.

Through the above analysis of some symptoms and causes of persistent diarrhea in children, we can understand that the cause of this disease is quite complicated. If the correct cause is not found, the treatment can only improve it. Therefore, once parents find that their children have persistent diarrhea, remember not to rush to seek medical treatment, but must go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment.