Introduction
When your child has diarrhea, the foods he or she eats are important. Choosing the right foods and drinks can help relieve your child's diarrhea. Making sure your child drinks plenty of fluids is also important. It is easy for a child with diarrhea to lose too much fluid and become dehydrated.
Work with your child's health care provider or a diet and nutrition specialist (dietitian) to determine what foods are best for your child.
What general guidelines should I follow?
If Your Child Is Younger Than 1 Year:
Continue to breastfeed or formula feed as usual.
If your child's health care provider approves, you may give your infant an oral rehydration solution (ORS). This is a drink that helps replace fluids and electrolytes (rehydrate). It can be found at pharmacies and retail stores.
Do not give your infant juices, sports drinks, or soda. These drinks can make diarrhea worse. Do not have your child drink only water by itself.
If your infant has been taking some table foods, you can continue to give her or him those foods if they do not make the diarrhea worse. Some recommended foods are rice, peas, potatoes, chicken, or eggs. Do not give your infant foods that are high in fat, fiber, or sugar.
If your infant does not keep table foods down, breastfeed and formula feed as usual. When your baby's stools become more solid, try giving table foods one at a time.
If Your Child Is 1 Year or Older:
Fluids
Give your child 1 cup (8 oz. or 237 mL) of fluid for each diarrhea
For some children, it is essential to monitor their diet and the food that they eat has to be prepared and planned very carefully as they may have allergies, intolerances or medical conditions, such as: disease or diabetes. You should take care to follow the parents instructions relating to their child allergies or intolerances, failure to do so could result in the child health being endangered, possibly even in death.
You must keep the light therapy on your child's skin and feed your child every 2 to 3 hours (10 to 12 times a day).
* Baby need sources of vitamins and minerals and sources of vitamin D including oil, fish, eggs, cereals.
Oils and Fats; For children under two years need a diet with more fat and less fibre then older children. Fat provides extra energy need at this stage of development, too much fibre will fill young children up and other more important nutrients may be left out. It's recommend not to give children processed foods as they contain high levels of saturated fats.
Children and young people’s health and development is closely linked to their dietary choice as they need the right amount of nutrients necessary to keep their energy and to maintain the body for growth, tissue repair, healthy skin, hair and teeth, red blood cells and strong immune system.
When working in a nursery you have to be aware that all the children’s nutritional requirements as well as making sure that these are being met. What this means is that we should always ensure that we are providing them with a balanced and diverse diet which meets the governments guidelines. We should provide children with a diet that is based around the Eat Well Plate this consists on Carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, rice etc. Dairy, like Cheese, Milk, Butter, Protein such as Chicken, Beef, Turkey, etc. Fruit and Vegetables and finally Fats the portion size for fat is much more smaller then all of the other areas on the plate as there not that good for our bodies and they don’t really of offer many nutritional benefits and they can sometimes
Toddlers will get more amounts of nutrients and energy if their diet is based on food from the five food groups. Giving a toddler 6-8 drinks a day increases their hydration. The best type of drink to give your child between meals is milk and water. Large quantities if juice can reduce your child 's appetite or cause loose stools. Some foods can cause harm to your child. Sugary, acidic drinks, and fruit juices can cause tooth decay if it is drunken frequently. Raw eggs or raw shellfish can cause food poisoning. Don 't give young children whole nuts because there is a risk that they might choke. “Toddlers who have parents, brothers or sisters who suffer from hay fever, asthma, eczema or food allergies should not have peanuts or peanut butter before they are three years old. Other nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashew nuts are fine if they are chopped or ground or as a nut butter.”
Being knowledgeable with infant nutrition is important, it just simply means that you’re on board with making sure your baby is getting enough nutrients during his first year of life. These nutrients are calories that are made up of protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Making sure your baby has good nutrition can help him stay healthy and protect him against risk of any diseases. Although, every infant is different, your baby may need more or less of the items in each food group as he continues to grow and develop. For instance, did you know that the only recommended nourishment an infant should be receiving at the age of 0-3 months old and until they are 4-6 months old is through breast milk or infant formula? This is important to know because anything other than breast milk or formula at this infant age can hinder their development and growth. Once an infant reaches 4-6 months old, rice infant cereal should be the only grain suggested and introduced, along with pureed fruit, at approximately 1/4-1/2 cup per serving. In addition, giving an infant extra water for hydrating purposes is not necessary during the ages 0-5 months; because most infants get the water they need from breast milk, formula, or juices. However, it is recommended that an infant at 6-9 months of age, and as he/she is more active and able to sit up on his/her own, should begin to decrease the amount in formula and
When being outside for a long period of time, where excess sweating will happen, drink lots of water. Avoid exercise on very hot days. Elderly and infants can easily get dehydrated without enough fluids. Alcohol increases water loss, especially when it is very warm. When dehydration caused by heat exposure, exercise, or not enough fluid intake is generally easy to manage. People who are dehydrated should drink fluids containing electrolytes, sports drinks are a good choice for this. Sipping small amounts of water, ice chips, popsicles made from juice or sports drinks are also a good source for fluids. Avoid drinking drinks that contain coffee, tea, sodas, milk. Milk is a food, not a drink, and its digestion by adults is frequently incomplete.
Your body can waste a lot of liquids and salts when you have diarrhea, making dehydration a significant concern. Numerous loose and watery stools can immediately lead to fluid loss. Here are some simple ways to remain hydrated:
Since ARDA is tolerating feedings well, introduce some solid foods, while maintaining the breast/bottle as his main source of food.
Vomiting and diarrhea are common food allergy symptoms. You should also look for swelling and rashes. If your baby is having difficulty breathing, you should call 911 immediately. If your baby has a mild reaction to a new food, you should switch back to foods that you know are safe. Your baby's bowel movements will change whenever you introduce any new foods. If the mild side effects last longer than one day, you should contact your baby's pediatrician.
The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends not exceed 125 to 250 ml of juice daily. Attach the limit to 125 ml for a child of six or less and 250 ml for older. Prefer pure juice, no added sugar.
Katz, M. A. (January 01, 2014). Hospitalizations and deaths caused by diarrhea in children five years old and younger at four hospitals in Haiti, 2010-2012. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 90, 2, 291-3.
You can say you have diarrhea if you pass stools of liquid consistency more than three times in one day. Diarrhea strikes all ages at one time or another. On average, adults can experience diarrhea as many as four times per year. Usually, when this condition presents it clears up on it's own after a day or two. This is considered acute or short-term diarrhea and usually will not last 3 weeks.