What should I do if my baby has a fever due to gastroenteritis?

Gastrointestinal inflammation has a great impact on the baby's body, often causing great pain to the baby and making the baby cry incessantly. The most serious harm is the impact on the baby's growth and development, causing the baby to have developmental delays, etc. Gastrointestinal inflammation can easily lead to other associated symptoms. For example, fever is also a disease that is often associated with gastrointestinal inflammation. Let's take a look at what to do if your baby has a fever due to gastrointestinal inflammation.

You can learn about the symptoms of these two types of gastroenteritis.

1. Bacterial gastroenteritis

Common bacteria that cause bacterial gastroenteritis include Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Especially in the hot summer, food can easily breed Staphylococcus aureus. If you are not careful and eat unclean food, you may start to experience severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever after infection, and in severe cases, dehydration may occur, causing the baby to be in poor spirits.

2. Viral gastroenteritis

Viral gastroenteritis is common in seasons with alternating cold and hot weather. The most common viruses are rotavirus and norovirus. Although viral gastroenteritis can also cause symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea, it usually improves slowly within 1-2 days. Moreover, if the baby has been infected before, it will also produce an immune effect and alleviate the symptoms.

Dietary tips:

For babies aged 0-6 months, in addition to taking small meals frequently, if they are formula-fed, it is recommended to dilute the brewing ratio or switch to lactose-free formula; if they are breastfed, continue to breastfeed as usual.

For babies over 6 months old who start to try complementary foods, if they are eating formula milk, the concentration of the formula milk should be adjusted according to the diarrhea situation, or lactose-free formula milk can be switched. If the diarrhea is severe, stop feeding complementary foods or reduce the amount to 1-2 types.

As for the weaning period of 1-2 years old, the baby should eat small meals frequently and avoid giving milk, dairy products, sweets or greasy foods to prevent lactose intolerance from worsening and causing chronic diarrhea. Unless fasting is required due to persistent severe vomiting, liquid food should be given and appropriate water should be supplemented to reduce complications such as dehydration.