For the first post of the year, I was hoping this particular post will share some light for many of us as parents.
Diarrhea is something very common in children, especially during the toddler's age group.
Diarrhea, most of the time is due to a viral infection, affecting the intestine. Many times, the treatment is very simple, that is just hydration. In the clinic or hospital, we would always give salt water.
Most of the children with diarrhea will start off with vomiting. Most of the time, parents will bring their children to see us at this 'vomiting' stage. The treatment is also the same. After this vomiting stage, by the 2nd day, the diarrhea will set in.
There are however many myth and misconception on this simple childhood illness.
1) Concentrate feeds during diarrhea.
This is so not true. Some how, many parents told me this, that if they were to concentrate their feeds, there will be more nutrient to their babies as well as reduce the diarrhea (less water means less water coming out from the bottom!). Concentrating feeds will make the salt in the child's body go haywire and will definitely worsened the condition. So, feed like usual. On top of that, give rehydration salt (ORS).
2) Must change to soy based formula.
This is also not true. Many GP will tell parents to change milk for their children to soy based, because soy based will lessen the diarrhea. There is no need to change any milk powder during the first week of diarrhea. However, there are some diarrhea will persists to more than 2 weeks. This type of diarrhea is call 'post infection lactose intolerance'. It is only by this stage, then a lactose free formula is indicated. When we start to give a lactose free formula/soy based formula for a child that is having diarrhea, this must continue for at least one month, then we can reintroduce normal milk powder slowly. There are risk of recurrence of the diarrhea after restarting normal milk powder in some cases.
3) Need to take medication to stop diarrhea.
Anti-diarrhea medications are NOT used in children. In fact, we don't give at all! This medication causes the intestine to slow down it's function and cause the child's tummy to be distended. This will cause more discomfort for the child. Moreover, the toxins in the intestine will be absorbed into the blood stream and cause a child to be unwell. These medications also will cause lots of side effects. So the next time your GP give you medications to stop diarrhea, think twice!
