Drugs for treating diarrhea in children

Pediatric diarrhea is a syndrome caused by multiple causes. The onset age is mostly within 2 years old, and the incidence is most common in summer and autumn. It is more likely to occur in children who are artificially fed or malnourished. This disease can be divided into two categories according to the different causes: one is directly caused by pathogenic microorganisms, which is called enteritis. The other is caused by extraintestinal infection, improper diet or other unknown reasons, which is called non-infectious diarrhea.

What medicine should children take for diarrhea?

Treatment should be based on the principles of adjusting diet, controlling infection, and correcting water and electrolyte disorders, and strengthening care to avoid complications. Fasting is not necessary for mild diarrhea, but the intake of fat and indigestible foods should be reduced. Breastfeeding can shorten the time of each feeding, and bottle-feeding can start with rice soup or diluted milk, and gradually increase the amount and concentration. Patients with severe vomiting should fast, generally not more than 8 hours, and gradually resume eating after the vomiting improves. Whether to use antibiotics should be decided based on the condition and the nature of the infection. Antibiotics are not required for viral enteritis and non-infectious diarrhea, while bacterial enteritis should be treated with appropriate amounts of antibiotics. When the child is dehydrated, oral rehydration salts should be taken. Severely dehydrated patients should be given intravenous rehydration, and trace elements such as potassium, sodium, and calcium should be supplemented to correct electrolyte disorders.

In terms of drug treatment for pediatric diarrhea, the main thing is to protect the intestinal mucosa of children. Oral intestinal mucosal protective agents, such as Smecta and Kentling, should be taken to protect the intestinal mucosa of children. And attention should be paid to supplementing electrolytes and oral rehydration salts to prevent electrolyte disorders in children. When diarrhea is extremely severe, some antidiarrheal drugs can be taken, such as berberine and gentamicin syrup. Since diarrhea excretes some toxic substances, antidiarrheal drugs should not be used unless absolutely necessary, or they should be used under the guidance of a doctor.

Choose drugs specifically for children: Drugs specifically for children can follow the physiological characteristics and medication rules of children, are developed in a targeted manner and undergo rigorous clinical trials, and have the advantages of reasonable ingredients, precise dosages, and higher drug safety levels. However, at present, since many drugs in my country do not have special children's dosage forms, parents often adopt the helpless move of "taking adult drugs in reduced doses as appropriate", which often has risks such as inaccurate dosages and increased chances of adverse drug reactions. Therefore, for the treatment of diarrhea in children, parents should choose professional children's medications. In addition, when choosing medicines, you can recognize children's special medicines marked with green OTC logos, which have the highest safety level in the drug classification and are safer to use.

Ordinary adult diarrhea medicines cannot be given to children casually: Although there are many drugs for treating diarrhea, each drug has its own disadvantages, and the side effects must be understood before taking it. For example, the side effects of norfloxacin are relatively large, which can easily affect kidney function and inhibit bone growth, so it is not recommended for children to take it; while Smecta can absorb bacteria and protect the intestines, but it is easy to cause constipation after taking too much, so the drug should be stopped in time after the condition improves.