Moms Need to Know About Acute Diarrhea in Children!

In underdeveloped nations like Indonesia, acute diarrhea continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children. As per the 2017 Riskesdas report, diarrhea accounts for 42% of pediatric deaths, whereas pneumonia accounts for 24%. Acute gastrointestinal tract infections brought on by bacteria, viruses, or parasites account for the majority of cases. While diarrhea can resolve on its own, it can also lead to dehydration, which can be fatal.

Acute diarrhea occurs when a child urinates more than three times a day and has diarrhea that lasts less than a week, changing the stool's consistency to liquid with or without mucous and blood. Diarrhea is defined as an increase in the frequency of bowel movements or a liquid consistency that the mother deems abnormal in newborns who are solely breastfed.

Transmission Mode and Risk Elements
Either fecal or oral, that is, by food and drink tainted with enteropathogens, through direct hand contact with the patient or objects tainted by the patient's excrement, or indirectly through flies.
Enteropathogen transmission can be accelerated by risk factors such as non-exclusive breastfeeding, insufficient access to clean water, fecal pollution of water supplies, inadequate sanitation facilities, inadequate personal and environmental hygiene, and improper food preparation and storage.

Symptoms in Clinical Practice
Gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal discomfort are brought on by intestinal infections. Dehydration and problems with electrolyte balance can result from losing water and electrolytes. The most hazardous symptom is dehydration, because it might result in shock or even death.

A fever could be brought on by dehydration or inflammation. While vomiting can be brought on by germs or viruses that infect the upper gastrointestinal tract, nausea and vomiting are nonspecific symptoms.

Dehydration can be detected physically by symptoms including reduced consciousness, increased thirst, decreased skin turgor in the abdomen, sunken eyes, sunken head, lack of tears, dry lips, dry oral mucosa, and dry tongue. Breathing too quickly because of cold toes, acral pain, or electrolyte imbalances.

Handling
Although most intestinal infections resolve on their own, some individuals may benefit from non-specific therapy, and particular medications may reduce the length of the illness and eliminate the causing organism.

All that is needed to treat acute diarrhea is to keep giving food and administering oral fluid and electrolyte therapy. In order to prevent dehydration, diarrhea patients who are not dehydrated should be provided with home fluids right away, such as vegetable soup and starch water. Drinking 10 ml/kgBW of liquids is recommended for diarrheal episodes; for infants under 1 year, 100–200 ml, 1–5 years, 200–300 ml, and older children, 300–400 ml are recommended.

Fluids are provided with a spoon to youngsters under two years old; one spoonful is given every one to two minutes. Older kids can take regular sips of water straight from a glass or cup. If you throw up, take ten minutes to recover, then gradually resume.

Other than that, it is still necessary to provide breast milk and widely consumed foods. Food is provided frequently—six times a day—in little portions with little fiber. Fruit is distributed, particularly bananas. Put off introducing meals that are stimulating (spicy, sour, or fatty).

ORS should be administered to diarrhea patients who have mild to severe dehydration and should be treated at a medical facility. 75 cc/kgBB of ORS is administered throughout the first three hours. Treatment can continue at home if the disease gets better and the dehydration goes away. The patient is treated and given parenteral fluids (infusion) if things get worse and they become severely dehydrated.

The incidence of diarrhea can be decreased by providing zinc. It can be administered to children at a dose of 10 mg per day for less than 6 months or 20 mg per day for 10–14 days. It is believed that probiotics can prevent diarrhea, although more studies are required to confirm this.

Avoidance

The following actions can be taken to avoid diarrhea:

• Supply breast milk.
• Enhance the process of preparing and storing foods that complement breast milk.
• Make use of enough pure water.
• Make it a practice to wash your hands with soap both before and after you eat.
• Every member of the household should use clean toilets.
• How to properly dispose of baby waste
• Vaccination

So, Hermina Friends, let's protect our environment so that your little one is protected from dangerous diseases. Also, make it a habit to wash your hands with soap and clean running water before eating or after handling any object to avoid disease. Healthy greetings.

Source:

Bambang S, Nurtjahjo BS, Diare Akut, from: Buku Ajar Gastrohepatologi Anak Jilid 2. Badan Penerbit IDAI 2020

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7148607/ accessed in 2024, Acute Diarrhea

https://www.worldgastroenterology.org/UserFiles/file/guidelines/acute-diarrhea-english-2012.pdf accesed in 2024, Acute diarrhea in adults and children: a global perspective

https://www.patikab.go.id/v2/id/2013/01/25/pencegahan-dan-pengobatan-diare-pada-anak accesed in 2024, Prevention and Treatment of Diarrhea in Children