What to do if the baby has diarrhea

Diarrhea in babies is a very common phenomenon. During the period when the baby has diarrhea, you should pay attention to the baby's diet. If the baby is mainly fed with breast milk, the mother needs to pay attention to a light diet, remember not to eat spicy foods, and appropriately reduce the amount of breast milk for the baby. If the baby is not breastfed, you need to control the amount of milk and reduce complementary foods. Parents should also pay attention to the frequency of diarrhea, color and smell of the stool, which are the main diagnoses for subsequent medical treatment. Below are several treatment methods for treating diarrhea in babies, which parents can refer to.

If the baby is under 6 months old and is breastfed, breastfeeding needs to continue; if the baby is not breastfed, the baby can continue to be fed with milk or dairy products that the baby consumes daily. Babies with mild symptoms can appropriately reduce the amount of milk they drink. If your baby is over 6 months old or has started eating solid food, you can give him some light liquid food such as rice porridge, with some vegetables or minced meat.

(1) You can give some fresh fruit juice or mashed banana to supplement potassium.

(2) Feed freshly prepared foods that are well cooked, ground, or mashed.

(3) Encourage your baby to eat small and frequent meals.

(4) After the diarrhea stops, continue to feed the baby the above foods, and add meals at least once a day within two weeks after the diarrhea stops until the baby's weight returns to normal.

However, if the baby has severe diarrhea, he or she should fast for 8-24 hours and receive intravenous fluids.

2. Fluid therapy:

(1) Oral method: Suitable for babies with mild dehydration or mild vomiting. The amount of fluid replacement is calculated as 100 ml/day per kg of body weight and taken in several doses.

(2) Intravenous rehydration: used for children with moderate to severe dehydration.

If a child's diarrhea does not improve after 3 days or if the following symptoms occur, you should take the child to see a doctor immediately:

(1) Frequent watery bowel movements.

(2) Frequent vomiting.

(3) Obvious thirst.

(4) Unable to eat normally.

(5) Fever.

(6) Blood in the stool.

5. Treatment remedies:

Carrot puree: Take an appropriate amount of fresh carrots, wash and chop them, add water and boil them until they are soft, then take out the carrots and mash them into a paste (keep the water from boiling the carrots for later use). When eating, add 5-10 grams (about one teaspoon) of carrot puree to every 100 ml of water used to boil carrots. The amount of food intake mainly depends on the baby's appetite, and can be fed according to the usual amount. Generally speaking, after feeding carrot puree for 2 to 3 days, the stool will be formed.

6. Protect delicate skin: Diapers must be changed frequently, and the buttocks must be washed with clean water and dried with a clean cloth.

7. Add or remove clothes appropriately: Infants and young children’s clothes should be added or reduced as the temperature rises or falls to avoid overheating, and the abdomen should be prevented from getting cold when sleeping at night. In summer, you should feed more water and avoid overeating or eating foods high in fat. Take frequent warm baths.