Disorder of a stomach was at each person at least once in a life. Rarely does anyone attach great importance to this. But it happens that loose stools do not stop for a week or longer. What to do in such a situation and what complications to expect? Is it possible to recover by folk methods or is it time to call an ambulance? But what if the diarrhea is contagious? You will find the answers to all these questions below.
Causes of loose stool in children
If your child complains of abdominal pain, and later on diarrhea, then first you need to determine the cause. The further treatment strategy will depend on this. If a child has eaten an expired product, then it will be enough to take a course of bifidobacteria to establish the work of the gastrointestinal tract. And if diarrhea is of an infectious nature, then you can not do without the help of a qualified doctor.
The most common causes of diarrhea in children are:
- the development of infectious or inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract;
- eating food that can provoke liquefaction of feces and bloating;
- the use of certain antibacterial drugs;
- severe stress.
How to determine the nature of the disease
The exact cause of diarrhea will help establish the color of liquid stool in a child:
- black and green shades are possible when overeating stale grapes, dairy products, iron preparations and activated carbon;
- light shades of feces are characteristic of infants, who have recently been transferred to artificial feeding;
- brown shade of the stool - most often a violation in the intestines due to frequent intake of liquid food and drinks, an excess of carbohydrates (for example, the baby ate sweets on the eve);
- a yellow shade (especially if loose stool with mucus) indicates a danger: dangerous processes occur in the child's body. This can be a rotavirus infection, a violation of the outflow of bile, problems with the pancreas, hepatitis of various origins.
When is the time to ask for help
Fluid stools without fever usually do not cause anxiety in parents. Just think - well, the child ate something wrong. Most often it happens.
But if the temperature rises in the evening, abdominal cramps indicate pain, loose stools like water by consistency - do not hesitate. Call an ambulance. If the doctor suspects the infectious nature of the disease, the child will be hospitalized. At home, treating such ailments is fraught with serious complications.
If there are pronounced fractions in the feces (mucus, blood, undigested food residues) - this is also an occasion to visit a pediatrician and gastroenterologist. Such symptoms indicate problems with the pancreas. Subsequently, the development of pancreatitis is possible.
Folk remedies for diarrhea in children
If there is no temperature, pain and other alarming symptoms, then you can successfully treat loose stools in a child at home:
- Rice broth. Throw a handful of plain white unboiled rice into boiling water. Boil for ten minutes. Decant water and give the patient 30-40 ml every two hours. It has a bonding effect.
- Children from four years old can be given a pomegranate decoction. To prepare it, you need to pour a few pomegranate crusts with boiling water and let it brew for 15-20 minutes. After the infusion has cooled, give the patient half a glass once an hour.
- Regular potato starch has a bonding effect. It is necessary to mix a tablespoon of starch and 30 ml of pure boiled water. Give the resulting slurry to the child a teaspoon every two hours.
- Infusion of cherry berries. Boil a handful for ten minutes, the resulting liquid can be drunk as a compote.
- An infusion of oak bark has an astringent effect. The effectiveness of the removal of toxins can compete with pharmacy activated carbon. It is undesirable to drink more than 0.5 liters of infusion from oak bark per day - an allergic reaction can occur.
- Strong black tea can help with uncomplicated childhood diarrhea. Brew natural Ceylon or Indian tea as strong as possible and give the child to drink in small sips throughout the day. Sugar can be added in minimal quantities - a teaspoon of 300 ml.
- For diarrhea, chamomile is doctor No. 1. Chamomile tea can be given to a child at any time (adding sugar is undesirable, but if you cannot do without it, then a teaspoon in a glass of liquid). It also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Virtually no side effects.
Pharmacy medicines for childhood diarrhea
It can be grouped according to the principle of action on the body:
- Sorbents are taken primarily to relieve intoxication. Indispensable for diarrhea caused by infectious diseases and food poisoning. "Activated carbon", "Enteros gel" - are sold in any pharmacy without a prescription.
- Probiotics and prebiotics. Emulsions or powders that add beneficial microflora to the intestines. Normalize the stool in a child for three to four days. The most popular drugs with this principle of action are Hilak Forte, Acipol, Bifidumbacterin.
- Enzymes are used if the causes of loose stool are pancreatitis, impaired outflow of bile, and liver disease. The most popular drugs of this class are Pancreatin, Creon. Read the instructions carefully before allowing your child to take these drugs.
- Medicines to restore the water-salt balance. Children are most often advised by Rehydron.
During the treatment of diarrhea, exclude sweets, beans, fatty meat, fast food, carbonated drinks from the child’s diet. Prefer boiled and stewed food.
Infectious diarrhea in children
Diarrhea associated with the presence of an infection in the body can be divided into two types: with bloody and watery stools.
The most common cause of blood diarrhea is dysentery and salmonella. In this case, high temperature often rises. Do not hesitate: call an ambulance. The treatment is carried out with antibacterial drugs with constant monitoring of the condition of the child using blood and urine tests.
Watery diarrhea provokes bacteria of a different type. It can also be food poisoning. In this case, antibiotics are useless. It is necessary to remove toxins from the body, bring down the temperature. For several days, follow a therapeutic diet like Table No. 5 (nothing fatty and fried, exclude yeast bread, grapes, chocolate). Rehydration solutions must be given to the child until the gastrointestinal tract is fully functioning.
The most common causes of loose stool in adults
There are five main reasons, some of which require urgent medical intervention:
- Irritable bowel syndrome. It is most often characterized by stitching pains in the lower abdomen and green loose stools. Calls to the toilet are very frequent, sometimes even uncontrollable. Bloating, even after proper nutrition, is also a symptom of IBS. The causes of the disease are most often psycho-emotional: frequent stress, nervous exhaustion, mental disorders.
- Improper nutrition, selection of expired products, eating stale salads, soups, vegetables and fruits.
- Chronic nonspecific ulcerative colitis is an ulcerative inflammation of the large intestine mucosa. This disease is characterized not only by diarrhea, but also by pulling pains in the left abdomen. A visit to a gastroenterologist is indispensable; advanced ulcerative colitis can lead to internal bleeding.
- Dysbacteriosis usually affects people with obesity, pancreatitis, and liver diseases. He also often persecutes chronic alcoholics. May occur after a course of antibacterial drugs. Dysbacteriosis is a violation of the beneficial intestinal microflora, as a result of which chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, constant weakness and poor health begin.
- Infectious diseases (salmonellosis, dysentery, shigellosis) cause prolonged diarrhea, which does not pass from the usual "Loperamide". They are also accompanied by fever, chills, headache. For treatment, control of blood tests and a course of antibiotics are necessary in parallel with prebiotics.
Adult Secretory Diarrhea
Profuse (more than one liter per toilet visit) watery green loose stools. The frequency can reach 15 times a day. The temperature, as a rule, does not rise. If left untreated, then loose stools with blood may appear.
For secretory diarrhea, it is characteristic that water secretion prevails over absorption. severe dehydration develops. This condition causes enterotoxin, which appears in the intestines of humans by infection, or as a result of eating stale foods. In some cases, salmonellosis manifests itself in this way.
After elimination of enterotoxin, the activity of the gastrointestinal tract improves. Diarrhea stops completely. At home, it is not recommended to treat secretory diarrhea due to severe dehydration. It is better to go to the hospital if there is such an opportunity.
Osmotic diarrhea in adults
Imbalance in electrolytes leads to the accumulation of water in the large intestine, bloating and diarrhea.
The following factors most often provoke osmotic diarrhea:
- products containing sorbitol or xylitol;
- vitamin-mineral complexes with a high content of iron and magnesium;
- disorders in the pancreas (most often it is chronic pancreatitis);
- chronic alcoholism (poisoning by decay products of ethanol)
- dysbiosis due to prolonged use of antibiotics;
- rotaviruses;
- celiac disease.
If you do not go to a gastroenterologist and continue trying to treat loose stool with osmotic diarrhea at home, you can wait until pancreatic necrosis or severe dehydration. Based on the tests, only a doctor will be able to establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment appropriate to the patient's condition.
Invasive (purulent) diarrhea
It is characterized by the presence of pus and mucus in the stool. Liquid stool with blood is also characteristic of this type of disease. In this case, the patient suffers from pulling, painful and exhausting pains in the abdomen.
Most often, this type of diarrhea is caused by parasitic infestations. It is less common that household items that are not intended to be ingested in one way or another get into the intestines of the patient.
To establish the exact cause of loose stool with mucus and pus, a complete examination is necessary: an x-ray of the gastrointestinal tract, blood biochemistry and a number of other tests.
Pharmacy diarrhea treatment
How to alleviate the suffering of the patient for at least a couple of hours? Here is a list of the most effective pharmacy products, based on the varieties of stool problems:
- With secretory diarrhea, "Smecta", "Bifidumbacterin", "Loperamide" most often and effectively helps.
- In case of osmotic diarrhea - "Imodium", "Regidron" (allows you to quickly restore the water-salt balance), "Biseptol" (a mild antibacterial agent).
- With motor diarrhea, astringent sorbents are most often prescribed.
- Treatment for invasive diarrhea is most often treated with antiparasitic drugs. The name of the drug can only be reported by the doctor after detecting the presence of parasites or their absence.
Whatever type of diarrhea is, it is very important to exclude dehydration (rehydration) of the body. Drink as much clean water as possible. If possible, purchase Regidron, dilute according to the instructions in a liter of water and drink every hour.
Potato starch
One of the most effective folk recipes for diarrhea. Suitable for both adults and children. It has no side effects.
Dilute a tablespoon of starch in 30-40 ml (half a glass) of ordinary water. mix thoroughly until smooth without lumps. Eat a teaspoon every hour. Such a recipe will help literally get rid of loose stools in a day. It is also advisable to drink a course of probiotics to normalize the microflora in the intestine.
Chamomile to normalize the stool
In any pharmacy you can buy dried leaves of this wonderful plant. Chamomile has a positive effect not only on the gastrointestinal tract, but also on the pancreas. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Liquid stool in an adult will help stop for a day.
It is very simple to prepare the infusion: pour the dry chopped chamomile leaves with boiling water and allow to cool. The resulting broth is used as tea leaves. You can drink up to two liters of such tea per day. You can take any medications at the same time, chamomile is not an antagonist of pharmacological agents.