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Diarrhea
This condition can be caused by many different entities. Diarrhea is defined as watery or very loose stool, sometimes associated with foul odor, sometimes not. Usually diarrhea requires control in the infant period so that the baby doesn't lose too much body fluid and become dehydrated. This is a serious result of diarrhea and should be guarded against from the onset by replacing your child's losses with a balanced electrolyte solution - usually flavored with some purple juice or other. If your child also has vomiting and fever she probably has a stomach "flu" and again, hydration upkeep is the key. Older children, toddlers and up, can be given small doses of binding medicines to prevent the bowel from losing too much fluid while the virus passes. This may take several days or even up to a week. Keep an eye on your child's mood and sleep patterns and if ever you see blood in the stool or your child is in a lot of pain plan on a trip to the pediatrician that day. Some diarrhea responds to dietary changes alone - eliminating milk products and fiber can help to firm up the stool while time passes and the infection, if there is one, heals. There are occasions when a child does become dehydrated enough to need fluid replacement by intravenous routes (this is done in the doctor's office or at the emergency room and can take several hours but usually makes all the difference when a child is really sick with fluid loss). Signs of dehydration to look for are deceased urine production together with listlessness, decreased tearing and dry mouth, in infants you may find a sunken soft spot at the top of the head (the fontanelle), and irritability in an infant who hasn't urinated in a long time and has a lot of diarrhea. See your doctor if your child has these findings.There are other times when your child can have temporary diarrhea that really doesn't require you to do anything except avoid milk and wait. Sometimes in the summer when young children are very active and drink an enormous amount of liquid and very little solid food, they can develop diarrhea purely on the basis of what is going into their mouths and this will fix itself when the solid to liquid ratio improves. Offer more starch and less liquid (especially avoiding juices which often are the cause of loose foul poops and stomach aches) and your child will gradually return to normal - this can take weeks but if she isn't sick (ie no fever or vomiting, or irritability) you can be patient and just be sure to watch for diaper rash since loose stool often leads to this - use a protective balm around the anus often. Good binding foods are pasta, breads, rice, potato and banana.
On rare occasion a child may have diarrhea because of a non-infectious bowel condition such as colitis or ileitis and usually there will be gradual weight loss as well, as compared with temporary dietary diarrhea which does not lead to weight loss in most instances. This needs to be defined by the pediatrician especially if there is a family history of bowel illnesses. This is very uncommon but should be considered if diarrhea lasts a very long time, weeks to months.
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