What should we pay attention to when preventing and treating diarrhea in children? What kind of food should children avoid when they have diarrhea?

Children's diarrhea is caused by rotavirus infection (named after its wheel-like appearance under a microscope), which is a type of viral enteritis. It accounts for about 70-80% of children's diarrhea in autumn and winter, so people often call it autumn diarrhea or rotavirus enteritis. Let's take a look at the five major dietary taboos for children with diarrhea.

Five dietary taboos for children with diarrhea

1. Avoid milk and yogurt

Experts say that yogurt and milk are gas-producing foods, which can cause intestinal bloating, increase intestinal motility and worsen diarrhea, so they should not be eaten. If babies aged six months to one year who have not been weaned want to drink milk, they can buy special diarrhea-preventing milk powder. Babies who have been weaned for more than one year can eat some rice soup or porridge to help restore the function of the digestive system.

2. Avoid meat soups such as eggs and chicken soup

Experts say that you should be careful when eating high-protein foods such as eggs, meat, fish, and shrimp, because babies with diarrhea have strong intestinal putrefaction, and high-protein intake will aggravate diarrhea.

3. Avoid sugar

Experts point out that sugar entering the intestines often causes fermentation and aggravates flatulence, so babies should not eat sugar or eat less sugar during diarrhea.

4. Avoid eating fruits and vegetables containing crude fiber

Fruits and vegetables containing crude fiber, such as bananas, pineapples, watermelons, green vegetables, cabbage, bamboo shoots, peppers, leeks, sweet potatoes, etc. Because cellulose can promote intestinal peristalsis, thus aggravating baby's diarrhea.

5. Avoid bean foods and bean products

Bean products such as green beans, broad beans, soybeans, mung beans, bean sprouts, tofu, vermicelli. These foods are rich in rough fiber and protein, which can increase the baby's intestinal peristalsis and cause flatulence, and aggravate diarrhea.

What should we pay attention to in preventing and treating diarrhea in children?

Pediatric diarrhea refers to changes in stool characteristics or an increase in frequency in children, which can be caused by different causes and may be accompanied by symptoms such as vomiting and fever. With prolonged diarrhea, the body loses a large amount of water and nutrients, as well as electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium, leading to electrolyte disorders and even acid-base imbalance. This article summarizes the following 4 points to note to help parents prevent and treat pediatric diarrhea.

Feed properly and do not fast blindly. Children with diarrhea and dehydration should continue to eat, except for those with severe vomiting who should temporarily fast for 4 to 6 hours, to relieve the condition, shorten the course of the disease, and promote recovery. During diarrhea, a large amount of water and inorganic salts will be lost. Fasting or excessive diet control will affect the health of children. Therefore, if the child is breastfed, exclusive breastfeeding should continue, but pay attention to small and frequent meals. If the child is bottle-fed, lactose-free milk powder can be switched. Children who are adding complementary foods can appropriately reduce the amount of complementary foods, or they can stop complementary foods. Adjust the diet appropriately, mainly light.

It is not advisable to use antidiarrheal drugs in the early stages of diarrhea. Diarrhea is a reaction of the body that helps to excrete toxins and undigested food. Therefore, when children have diarrhea, there is no need to rush to stop diarrhea immediately, especially in the early stages of diarrhea, drugs that inhibit intestinal motility should not be used. Instead, dehydration and malnutrition caused by diarrhea should be treated.

Do not abuse antibiotics. Most cases of diarrhea in children are caused by viral infection and improper feeding, so antibiotics are ineffective. Because there are many bacteria growing in the human intestines, they maintain a relatively balanced state in the body in a certain proportion. If antibiotics are used, the beneficial bacteria in the human body will be killed, and those staphylococci, conditional pathogens, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, etc. that are not sensitive to antibiotics will lose control and multiply in large numbers, leading to dysbacteriosis. It is recommended that medication should be used under the guidance of a pediatrician in a regular hospital.

Take preventive measures. Pay attention to food hygiene and keep food fresh. Tableware and milk utensils should be boiled and disinfected regularly. Children should wash their hands before and after meals and cut their nails frequently. Pay attention to strengthening physical fitness, strengthening outdoor activities, paying attention to children's physical exercise, improving the body's immunity, and avoiding infection with various diseases and adverse stimulation. Wash the buttocks of infants and young children with warm water and dry them after each bowel movement. If the local skin is red, apply 5% tannic acid ointment and massage for a while to promote local blood circulation. Pay attention to the hygiene of the perineum to prevent ascending urinary tract infection, especially for baby girls. Wash hands before and after caring for sick children, and disinfect the feces of children with diarrhea and contaminated clothes and blankets to prevent cross infection.