Stool disorder, too frequent urge to go to the toilet and loose stool consistency or, in other words, diarrhea is a very unpleasant phenomenon, but, alas, extremely common.
Kids also often suffer from diarrhea, as well as from viral diseases, and many factors can provoke this problem. Next, we will consider the main varieties of the problem, we will understand the causes of its occurrence and make a list of recommendations for the treatment of diarrhea in a child.
Diarrhea in a child without fever: is it really a threat?
It would seem, why worry if diarrhea in a child is not accompanied by fever? The kid does not complain about feeling unwell, does not vomit and can go to the toilet with liquid stool only once. Is there any reason to worry? The seeming frivolity of this problem is actually deceptive, moreover, diarrhea without any accompanying symptoms can be caused by a number of factors. The main causes of the problem include:
1. Stressful situations. The problem with emptying may be the result of some kind of nervous shock that your child has experienced. This may not necessarily be something, in your opinion, serious or dangerous. The baby may suffer from diarrhea before the upcoming trip to school, kindergarten or to the doctor. In this case, the urge to the toilet is accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the stomach, the child twists around the navel, and the problem disappears immediately after emptying.
2. Eating New Products. Most often, the problem is relevant for very young children who receive new complementary foods. Have you noticed diarrhea in a child after a new product appears in his diet? Everything is very simple: stop giving it and the problem will disappear.
3. Bacteria effect. Another problem, dangerous mainly for infants. The body of babies at this age is sensitive to certain microorganisms, which already at 2 years of age do not cause any pathological reaction.
4. The reaction to certain fruits or berrieseating excessive amounts of sweets. The child’s body can react with diarrhea to overeating any foods, most often sweets that children love so much.
In most cases, the cause of diarrhea without accompanying symptoms is the effect of single irritants - stress, new foods, and so on. As a rule, such diarrhea does not pose a particular threat to the baby’s health and does not require any special treatment. The main thing is to identify the cause of diarrhea in time and stop its effect on the body.
And if you want to play it safe, give your baby any absorbent drug. The main thing is that the tool is suitable for the age category of your child.
Diarrhea with temperature in a child
If diarrhea is accompanied by an increase in temperature, most likely, this indicates an infectious lesion of the child's body. It is, first of all, about rotavirus infection, which elementarily enters the body by the oral route, multiplies extremely rapidly in the intestines and makes itself felt by diarrhea and high fever.
Note: often the symptoms of such an infection are confused with signs of acute respiratory infections and tonsillitis, regarding diarrhea as an adverse reaction of the body. Indeed, the first symptoms of the diseases are similar - the child experiences severe pain in the abdomen, complains of a high fever, has a headache and overall poor health. It is impossible to self-medicate in this case, since only a specialist will be able to distinguish which disease has overtaken your baby, and therefore, to prescribe adequate treatment.
Other common causes of fever with diarrhea include:
• Food poisoning
• Helminth infections
• Sometimes - teething
• Other diseases, and more precisely, drugs that treat them
In any case, the baby with these symptoms should be shown to the doctor. The only measure that you should take on your own is to take any enterosorbent and, if necessary, if the temperature has risen above 38.5 degrees, an antipyretic. The exact cause of the problem will be determined by the doctor, he will also prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Diarrhea, high fever and vomiting in a child are sure signs of poisoning
If along with diarrhea and high fever, the baby has nausea and bouts of vomiting, most likely you are dealing with poisoning. Poisoning can cause:
• Poor, expired or just dirty food
• Medications
• Chemicals and more
High temperature in itself indicates the presence of an inflammatory process in the body. If such a symptom is accompanied by diarrhea and vomiting, it is easy to assume that the inflammation is localized precisely in the digestive tract. And most often it is caused by poisoning.
In addition, such symptoms are characteristic of the already mentioned intestinal infection, which in a more severe form is accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and for a number of other infectious ailments, for example, pharyngitis or otitis media.
If the baby suffers from such a problem, also do not hesitate to call a doctor. Do not think that poisoning is not so dangerous for the child, and you can cope with its consequences yourself. Indeed, in most cases, when it comes to banal food poisoning, its consequences pass the very next day, and the child’s body is fully restored. But if we are talking about more serious poisoning, as well as about infection that has penetrated the body, you can deal with this only with the help of an experienced doctor.
What does diarrhea with mucus in a child mean?
To understand what exactly happened to your baby, pay attention to the bowel movements themselves. Their consistency will tell a lot about the cause of the problem. In particular, we are talking about mucus, which may be present in the feces of a child in the following cases:
1. In acute intestinal infection. Feces in this case have a watery consistency, they are almost entirely composed of mucus with salts. Thus, the small intestine gets rid of pathogenic contents.
In the warm season, the infection most often has a bacterial etiology, and winter is characterized by a virus infection. The main danger of such diarrhea is the strong dehydration of the body, so you need to make every effort to stop the abnormal discharge of bowel movements and fluids.
This is best done with the same absorbents, as well as special solutions that will help the body with dehydration, replenish its fluid balance.
2. For non-infectious lesions. In such cases, mucous diarrhea is a symptom of gastroenteritis or enterocolitis, and it can also provoke intolerance to certain foods or banal overeating. Such diarrhea is less dangerous for the child’s body, the tissues of the small intestine are damaged less and, as a result, the general condition of the body also does not tolerate significant changes. Your task remains the same - to provide the body with enough fluid to prevent dehydration, and remove pathogens from the intestines with absorbents.
And, of course, do not forget about the need to see a doctor. With such diarrhea, the possibility of dehydration of the body joins the danger that diarrhea itself is fraught with.
What does green diarrhea mean in a child
We have already mentioned above that special attention should be paid to the color of the stool of the child and their consistency. Very often, parental anxiety is caused by green diarrhea. It is perceived as more dangerous and caused by other reasons.
Is it really? Experienced doctors claim that the causes of green diarrhea in a child are exactly the same. If this unpleasant phenomenon is not accompanied by temperature, it may be the body's reaction to stress or overeating. When nausea and vomiting turn out to be a companion of green diarrhea, most likely, we are talking about poisoning, infection, or another reason described above.
Is it worth it to panic if you see a green diarrhea in a child? Definitely not, it should not be considered more dangerous than ordinary diarrhea. The rules for treating the baby in this case are still the same: the main thing is to quickly determine the cause of the problem and begin to eliminate it. Of course, you should not engage in self-medication, only an experienced specialist can determine exactly what caused the diarrhea in green.
Diarrhea in a child: the opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
Many parents have watched Dr. Komarovsky’s programs several times. Each issue of the program is dedicated to one or another aspect of the baby’s health, the doctor conveys the information as clearly and accessiblely as possible, which is why he won the great love of thousands of young parents.
Of course, such a topic as baby diarrhea, Dr. Komarovsky simply could not ignore. The specialist divides diarrhea into two varieties - acute and chronic, which lasts more than 2 weeks.
Dr. Komarovsky recommends treating acute diarrhea in the following ways:
1. To prevent the body from losing fluid by using special solutions containing water and electrolytes.
2. To transfer the child at first to the easiest diet - rice, chicken breast and other products that are quickly absorbed and will not further irritate the already weakened digestive tract.
3. If necessary, fight infectious agents with the help of special drugs. The number of infectious ailments that may be accompanied by diarrhea is very large, therefore Dr. Komarovsky strongly does not recommend self-medication and emphasizes the need for timely medical attention.
The main reason for the occurrence of chronic diarrhea, the specialist considers the so-called irritable bowel syndrome, the etiology of which is still not fully understood. The main way to treat such a problem, Dr. Komarovsky calls competent correction of the child’s diet, which is carried out in parallel with urgent measures - stopping the loss of fluid by the body, removing pathogenic microorganisms and toxins with absorbents.
If such measures are ineffective, do not bring results after a few days, and the baby continues to suffer from constant diarrhea, Komarovsky insists on the need for his hospitalization. After such a radical measure, diarrhea often stops without any obvious prerequisites, that is, even before the start of appropriate treatment or after a very short time after taking the drugs. In this case, according to the doctor, we are talking about the psychological causes of chronic diarrhea.
