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Toddler Diarrhoea Treatment

This photo is licensed under cc by sa 2.0 by platinumblondelife

Diarrhoea in toddlers can be treated at home with simple temporary changes to your toddler's diet.

Even though having diarrhoea may cause great distress for your toddler (and for you), most toddlers with diarrhoea are not in danger of serious illness.

The most common causes of diarrhoea in toddlers are gastroenteritis and toddler diarrhoea. Other possible causes relate to food or medication, food allergies and intolerance, or an underlying medical problem.

When your toddler has diarrhoea and vomiting together, this often means she has gastroenteritis or "gastro", an infection of the gut. Vomiting and diarrhoea often go hand in hand, and treatments for both often involve the same measures.

Diarrhoea and vomiting can lead to dehydration if left unchecked.

Toddler diarrhoea treatment involves giving her clear fluids frequently in small amounts, so that she does not get dehydrated.

How Clear is Clear?

Do not give your toddler milk, soup, or solids (even pureed) as a fluid replacement when she has diarrhoea.

The ideal fluid to give is an oral rehydration solution (ORS) containing essential electrolytes (water and salt) that are lost through diarrhoea. One brand-name is Gastrolyte and you can pick this up from your local pharmacy.

These are available in either powder form in small sachets that you mix with water, or as ice-blocks.

When my girls suffered from diarrhoea, on several occasions I've tried to give them Gastrolyte in powder form, without success. They seem to dislike the taste of it (both the orange and blackcurrant flavours!).

However the ice-block type, even though there was hardly any difference in taste to the sachet type, was gobbled up by my munchkins with no fuss at all. I guess it's to do with the fact that they were getting an ice-block, which they probably considered to be more of a treat rather than a treatment.

Not all toddlers will appreciate the taste of electrolyte solutions, or, you may not even be able to get to a pharmacy.

What do you do then?

In either case, this oral rehydrating solution will work too:

Measure the ingredients carefully, as too much sugar or salt will only cause more problems.

When giving your toddler fluids, you will need to give it in small amounts. This means only 30 ml to 75 ml at a time. The reason for this is that if you give too much fluids at once, it can result in vomiting - and more fluids lost.

Give the fluids every fifteen minutes to half-hour, for twenty-four hours. Allow your toddler to sleep through the night as she will need her rest. There is no need to wake her up every half-hour to give her fluids unless your doctor has instructed you to.

After twenty-four hours of clear fluids, you may start your toddler back on a normal diet. However give food in frequent, small amounts - the same way you gave the fluids.

Give your toddler bland foods that are easily digestible. Examples are rice, rice cereal, pasta, cooked beans or carrots, mashed potato, breads, stewed apples, and bananas.

Grandma's Famous Chicken Broth Will Not Make Her Feel Better...

There is no medication that is recommended to prevent or stop the diarrhoea from occurring. The best thing you can do is to replace the essential electrolytes that have been flushed out of your toddler's body through diarrhoea.

Medications which adults sometimes take to stop diarrhoea are dangerous for toddlers and in no way should you ever give it to them. Remember that Gastrolyte is not a medication. It is a fluid replacement.

Toddler diarrhoea treatment begins with replacing lost fluids immediately. You should not wait until you see developing signs of dehydration such as:

** Important note: If you are worried or think your toddler may be seriously dehydrated, the safest option is to take her to the emergency department of your local hospital immediately. She may need to receive liquids intravenously (through a "drip") until she's rehydrated.

Further Diarrhoea Troubleshooting Tips

Toddler Troubleshooting Tips
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