DHAKA: Diarrhea is one of the most common gastro-intestinal infections that are easily transmitted through contaminated food or water.

Dr Maiya PP, Consultant Paediatrician, Agadi Hospital, Bangalore says, ‘In about 88% of cases, the children who die due to diarrhea, contract this infection due to sub-standard living, poor sanitary conditions and consumption of unsafe drinking water.’ 

Considering how grave this condition can be, here are 5 tips that will help you to manage diarrhea in your children, reports thehealthsite.com.

Maintain proper hygiene and sanitation

It is very important for parents and care-takers to maintain high levels of hygiene and sanitation in the house. Always wash your hands with soap or sanitizer before feeding the child, after touching any unwashed or unclean objects and after visiting washroom. Read more about the right way to wash your hands.

Ensure your kids drink pure water

It is also essential that you take the proper precautions when it comes to purifying drinking water. Make sure the drinking water is properly boiled, filtered and stored in a hygienic place. You can also add chlorine tablets to make the water fit for consumption. Read more about tips to ensure pure drinking water.

Always keep your child hydrated

Dehydration caused due to watery stools or vomiting is common in children suffering from diarrhea. It flushes out essential minerals and nutrients from the body disturbing the body’s electrolyte balance. Severe dehydration may cause serious health complications like brain damage, organ failure and seizures. Hence, it is important to prevent the kid’s body from dehydration by replenishing his/her body with sufficient electrolytes and water. Read more about how to stay hydrated.

Provide electrolyte supplementation

Re-hydrating your child’s body with only water is not sufficient as diarrhea often tends sap your baby’s body of nutrients. Hence, it is recommended that you give your child sufficient electrolytes for the proper functioning of his/her body. This includes oral re-hydration therapy (mix the contents of pre-packaged ORS packets in water and give it to your child) and supplementation of zinc, folate and vitamin A along with continued feeding.

Put children on a light and easy-to-digest diet

In case of infants, breastfeed your child more often to replenish the lost fluid and nutrients. For children eating solid foods, put then on non-spicy and easily digestible foods like idli, rice kanji, moong dal khichri or rice kheer.

BDST: 2051 HRS, OCT 18, 2014