Children diarrhea medicine that is safe and proven to make a quick recovery

Diarrhea can affect anyone, including young children. Just like adults, children who have diarrhea will often go back and forth with loose or runny stools. In order not to get worse, diarrhea in children certainly needs to be treated. However, is there any medicine for diarrhea (diarrhea) that is safe for children? Check out the explanation below!

Choice of medicine for diarrhea (diarrhea) that is safe for children

Diarrhea is one type of digestive disorder in children. If it continues, it will be dangerous for children because they are at risk of becoming dehydrated.

Things that need to be considered when children experience diarrhea is to try to restore hydration to the body.

In fact, there are many drug options for treating diarrhea available in pharmacies. An example is loperamide, bismuth subsalicylate, or attapulgite.

However, the Indonesian Ministry of Health does not recommend giving these generic diarrhea or diarrhea drugs to children because they are proven to be of no use.

Launching the Hospital Care for Children page, giving generic diarrhea or diarrhea medication for children actually risks causing dangerous side effects.

Generic diarrhea medication has reportedly been unable to prevent dehydration during diarrhea and has not improved children's nutrition.

We recommend that you consult with your doctor before giving drugs carelessly.

In general, doctors only allow certain types of drugs as a way to treat diarrhea or diarrhea in children, such as:

1. ORS fluid

ORS is the drug most often used as a first aid to prevent and treat dehydration in children.

Including when the child is experiencing a diarrhea condition. This is because ORS contains sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (CaCl2), anhydrous glucose, and sodium bicarbonate.

The combination of a number of these minerals can restore electrolyte levels and body fluids lost due to diarrhea in children 8-12 hours after drinking.

ORS is available in pharmacies in the form of a powder medicine dissolved in boiled water, although there are also ready-to-drink liquid variants.

The dosage of ORS solution recommended for children is:

• Age <2 years: 15 ml per kg body weight or once a day to prevent dehydration
• Age 2-10 years: 50 ml per kg body weight in the first 4-6 hours or 120-240 ml after a bowel movement.

Then 100 ml per kg body weight at 18-24 hours thereafter, to prevent dehydration

• For babies, give 60-120 mL of ORS after defecating while continuing to provide breast milk or formula milk.

Do not give ORS as the only diarrhea medication for children within the first 6 hours.

Along with mineral water and other foods that contain calories to meet children's energy.

2. Zinc supplements

Instead of generic drugs, the Indonesian Ministry of Health recommends parents to provide zinc supplements for the recovery of children with diarrhea.

Zinc supplements can help relieve diarrhea symptoms and help children recover faster. That statement is reinforced by a study in the journal Indian Journal of Pharmacology in 2011.

Research shows drug administration in the form of supplements zinc coupled with ORS solution can reduce the length of time a child has diarrhea.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommend that parents give children 20 mg of zinc supplements daily for 10-14 days to treat acute diarrhea.

If the child is under 6 months of age, give 10 mg of the supplement zinc per day during diarrhea.

Not only that, giving supplements zinc can also prevent children from experiencing diarrhea again in the next two to three months.

3. Probiotic supplements

Probiotics can restore the number of good bacteria in the intestines that may have been defeated by the bad bacteria that cause diarrhea.

The addition of these good bacteria can help the immune system to eradicate bad bacteria in the intestines that cause infection.

In addition, giving probiotic supplements is also believed to be able to increase the immune system of children who are suffering from diarrhea.

You can get additional probiotic intake for children from supplements in various types. Starting from capsules, syrups, to powder.

However, each supplement product may contain different amounts of probiotics. You should first consult a doctor before giving probiotic supplements to children.

Well, apart from medicinal supplements, you can also meet your child's probiotic intake from fermented foods and drinks.

One of the probiotic drinks or foods that children can consume is yogurt.

For children over 1 year of age, give 2-6 ounces (60-180 ml) of yogurt twice a day.

It is not known whether or not it is safe to give yogurt as a diarrhea medicine for children less than 1 year old.

Just like supplements, you should first consult your pediatrician for further explanation.

4. Medication to reduce heat

When experiencing diarrhea, the first symptom the child experiences and feels is abdominal pain and cramps.

Then, another symptom that may occur when diarrhea is fever.

Quoted from St. Louis Children's Hospital, you can give fever-reducing drugs for diarrhea or diarrhea in children.

Medicines that can be given such as paracetamol or ibuprofen if the fever reaches a temperature of 39 degrees.

When you have a fever, you also need to pay attention to the fluid intake in the body to stay hydrated.

Home care for children taking diarrhea medicine

The drug choices above are generally quite effective for treating diarrhea or diarrhea in children.

However, if you want to take care of your child's health during diarrhea, it's not enough just to take medication.

Not only taking certain medications, you can also do home remedies to speed up the recovery period, such as:

1. Eat high in carbohydrates

Choose foods that are high in carbohydrates and calories, but low in fiber for your little one.

This type of food is easier to digest, making it easier for children to digest because of diarrhea.

Foods high in carbohydrates and calories also help increase the energy of the child's body which is depleted due to fighting infections and inflammation caused by diarrhea.

Some examples of food during diarrhea for children while they are still taking medication are:

• White rice, team rice, or porridge
• Apple mashed; The pectin content in apples helps solidify feces.
• Banana; The pectin content in bananas makes the stool texture denser.

2. Drink lots of fluids

While giving diarrhea medicine for children, don't forget to keep your body hydrated from water.

Because while still having diarrhea, children will be prone to losing a lot of body fluids due to back and forth defecation.

The fluids that you can provide can be in the form of mineral water and fortified foods.

You can offer non-spicy and non-greasy foods such as chicken soup, tomato soup, or spinach vegetables.

If the child is 0-6 months of age, continue to breastfeed more frequently and for longer than usual.

For children aged 6 months and over, also continue to provide ASI while accompanied by mashed solids.

Then, between meals, alternate occasionally to feed her the ORS solution using a spoon.

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