Every mother cares about the well-being of her child. Health status can be judged by many factors, one of which is stool. The regularity of bowel cleansing and the quality of feces, of course, depend on nutrition, overall development, physical activity. But other things can affect the digestion process, for example, certain diseases. Today you will learn what to do if a child (2.5 years old) has loose stools. The actions taken depend on what caused this condition.
Liquid stool in a child 2 years old
Repeating more than three times a day, stool can be called diarrhea. This condition is familiar to every person. The causes of diarrhea can be very different:
- infectious and inflammatory processes in the intestine;
- the intake of certain foods that cause fermentation and thin the feces;
- use of medicines;
- psychological reasons and so on.
Diarrhea usually provokes one of two factors:
- most often, diarrhea is caused by increased intestinal motility, as a result of which the food you eat quickly evacuates outward;
- less often, stools become more frequent due to the large amount of water entering the large intestine.
Liquid stool in a 2-year-old child often has additional symptoms. According to them, you can establish the cause of the malaise, and then adjust it. Remember that diarrhea for a baby can be quite dangerous. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to show the small patient to the doctor. It is permissible to give some kind of medicine only as prescribed by the doctor. Let us consider in more detail what liquid stool can be caused in a child of 2 years.
Infectious diseases: rotavirus or intestinal flu
Viral liquid stool in a 2-year-old child begins suddenly. Often it is accompanied by vomiting (single or frequent). The temperature may remain within normal values or rise, but usually the level of the thermometer does not exceed the mark of 39 degrees. Rotavirus infection, also called intestinal flu, is highly contagious. Therefore, outbreaks of the disease go through small epidemics. Usually within a few weeks everyone who surrounds the infected child is ill. In adults, the symptoms of pathology can be blurry and almost imperceptible. With diarrhea of a viral nature, a large amount of salts is lost along with water. Protein is practically not lost. Diarrhea lasts from 3 days to a week, after which recovery occurs.
Viral diarrhea can occur in diseases such as swine and bird flu. These infections are already more dangerous for the baby. Additional symptoms will include: abdominal pain, migraine, photophobia, and skin irritation.
Poisoning
If the child is 2 years old, loose stools without fever began some time after eating, then this may be a sign of poisoning. Pay attention to what the baby ate shortly before his health worsened. In case of poisoning, you can often find pieces of undigested food in feces. Vomiting may or may not be present. The child in this situation complains of abdominal pain. You can hear the fermentation, gurgling. A distinctive feature is the fetid odor of feces.
In case of poisoning, severe intoxication occurs. The condition of the child may become severe due to dehydration. If you see that the baby is getting worse, immediately call an ambulance. Often the use of incompatible products proceeds as a light poisoning.
Taking antibiotics
If the child is 2 years old, loose stool with mucus may be the result of drug treatment. This condition is often provoked by antibacterial drugs. Remember, if you didn’t give such a baby the day before. It often happens that a child has a disease, for example, bronchitis or tonsillitis. The doctor prescribes an antibiotic, within a few days after which diarrhea begins. This is a perfectly normal reaction. The fact is that drugs with a wide spectrum of action not only destroy the pathogenic flora, they kill beneficial microorganisms. Because of this, a digestive failure occurs, accompanied by fermentation, bloating and loose stools.
With a high probability, it can be argued that the doctor will not cancel antibiotic therapy, but you should still tell the doctor about a similar reaction to treatment.
Individual characteristics
Yellow loose stools in a 2-year-old child may appear due to psychoemotional stress. Little kids are very susceptible to stressful situations. They can react in such a way to a strong fear, excitement, prolonged fear. Increased urge to defecate in this case is not accompanied by additional symptoms, seizures occur periodically.
Digestive upset in children is often due to lactase deficiency. If this diagnosis is made to the child, then it is necessary to refrain from consuming dairy products that cause bloating and diarrhea. Correcting this condition is also possible with medications containing the missing enzyme.
Alimentary diarrhea in children appears due to prolonged malnutrition, an imbalance in the level of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, with insufficient functioning of the liver, stomach or pancreas. In this case, there is a green loose stool in a child (2 years).
The goal of treatment is to normalize electrolyte balance
Whatever the cause of indigestion, the main task is to fill the lack of fluid. For this, the child is shown a plentiful drink. If there is no vomiting, and diarrhea has a non-infectious origin, then you can do with clean water. In case of loss of salts and other important elements, it is necessary to use special solutions: “Regidron”, “Glucosan”, “Citroglu-Kosan” and others.
Give the baby a sip every 2-5 minutes. Do not overdo it so as not to provoke vomiting. It is preferable to use solutions of the same temperature as the baby's body. In this case, the substances are absorbed most quickly.
Adjust power
For digestive disorders of a different nature, it is recommended to exclude all dairy products. Such an environment is most favorable for the propagation of pathogenic microorganisms. Giving milk and kefir to a child with diarrhea, you only worsen his health.
Transfer a small patient to a specific diet. Give crumbs rice broth, jelly-like soups, light porridge on the water. Completely exclude raw fruits and vegetables, sodas and sweets. As soon as the child is better, gradually introduce boiled lean meat, eggs. For each of these diseases, an individual diet is prescribed. Be sure to discuss it with your doctor.
The child is 2 years old, loose stool: how to treat?
Many parents ask this question, because a small patient wants to help. Such drugs as Imodium and Loperamide stop diarrhea very well, but they should not be given to children under 6 years old. Remember this important rule. You can help the baby with the following medicines:
- enterosorbents "Smecta", "Enterosgel", "Polysorrb" will remove toxins, allergens, poisons and toxic substances from the child's body (can be given without a doctor);
- calcium gluconate will have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects (it is permissible to use it yourself in the absence of contraindications);
- antispasmodics "Drotaverin", "No-Shpa", "Papaverin" will relieve abdominal pain (only after diagnosis);
- carminatives "Espumisan", "Bobotik" will reduce gas formation and relieve discomfort (can be used without purpose);
- antipyretics "Ibuprofen", "Panadol" will eliminate fever and malaise (only at high temperature or after diagnosis).
Sometimes doctors prescribe additional enzymes that normalize digestion ("Lactazar", "Creon"), and also prescribe probiotics ("Linex", "Maxilak"), which will restore the natural intestinal microflora.
Summarize
If your baby begins to have diarrhea, and after that the temperature rises or there are additional symptoms of the disease, then do not guess on the coffee grounds. See your doctor as soon as possible. Prolonged diarrhea, accompanied by vomiting, can lead to dehydration. In children, this condition occurs especially often. It is dangerous because the kidneys, the cardiovascular system suffer, acetone appears in the urine, and severe intoxication occurs. With timely diagnosis and proper treatment, the body recovers within two weeks. Talk to your pediatrician about possible causes of loose stools and be alert.