It's no secret that the body of a little man from birth begins to gradually adapt to the outside world, so a newborn baby can have serious problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Diarrhea in infants is far from harmless, it can be caused by a variety of reasons.
Can diarrhea in a newborn be the norm?
Young mothers who did not deal with small children before the birth of their first child can sound in vain when they notice that their baby goes to the toilet much more than it would seem. For a newborn baby, it is considered normal if the color of the feces is light brown or dark brown, but, most interesting, it can be liquid and more like porridge than plasticine.
The fact is that while the baby eats mother’s milk or special mixtures, the chair will not be hard. The number of calodefecations of the baby can reach 5 times - this is the norm.
What you need to know about diarrhea in a child?
Many young mothers who do not have sufficient experience in caring for a child should clearly know when diarrhea in infants begins, what to do in this case, and how to really recognize the danger. The fact is that it is not worth drawing conclusions that a child has diarrhea just because he often goes to the toilet. The most important thing is to carefully consider what color feces. If it has changed significantly, has turned green or yellow, then this means that the baby has problems with the tummy. And if the child also also had blood in the products of emptying, then you should immediately call a doctor. Green diarrhea in infants is considered the most dangerous especially if there is an admixture of blood or mucus. In addition, parents are advised to pay attention to other symptoms that accompany diarrhea, as a rule, these are the following:
- Elevated body temperature.
- The baby is less awake, and sleeps more.
- Vomiting may begin.
- A young child is prevented from sleeping and playing calmly with constant gas and abdominal pain. Because of this, the newborn can become troubled.
Even one of the above symptoms (along with diarrhea) can indicate a problem with the health of the child, so you should immediately call a doctor and not try to cure the baby yourself.
What is the essence of diarrhea in a newborn?
In the first days after the child sees the world, the baby's feces can have a dark green color, doctors call it meconium. Naturally, in this case, the child should not be treated, because this is considered normal. You should be careful if such a feces is absent. Further, up to a month, the baby already feces become yellowish or light brown in color.
Diarrhea in infants is not uncommon. A baby is born with organs that are not yet completely perfect, but during the year of his life the formation is completely completed. If the mother will not feed the baby correctly and do not adhere to the recommendations of the doctors, then she will immediately encounter such a problem as diarrhea. Sometimes doctors, even when discharging from the hospital, advise young mothers to use a special medicine, which is made on the basis of live bifidobacteria.
Causes of Diarrhea
The causes of diarrhea in infants can be different, so you should focus on the main ones:
- When the baby is not enough mother’s milk, they begin to feed him with special cereals. In addition, introducing different fruits and juices into the baby’s diet is very careful, since most of them have a laxative effect. If you stop giving the newborn all these complementary foods, then the stool immediately normalizes.
- When preparing mixtures, you should be careful to carefully monitor that everything complies with the instructions.
- The temperature and diarrhea in the baby can indicate an intestinal infection, which managed to penetrate the body of the child. The reason for this may lie in parents who did not care about sterility. The baby can feel acute pain in the intestines and stomach, and also vomiting begins, in the stool itself there will be streaks of blood. As a rule, the baby is urgently hospitalized in the hospital.
- Infectious diarrhea is considered dangerous for the child. Green diarrhea in infants means that a staph infection has started to develop in the body. In addition to mucus, foam may also appear in the stool.
- It is extremely rare, but it still happens that the baby is born with pathologies of the digestive tract, and in this case the doctor’s examination, diagnosis and possible surgical intervention will help to overcome diarrhea.
- When the baby gets older and his teeth begin to erupt, such changes in his body can also be accompanied by diarrhea. In this case, the stool becomes fluid and frequent.
- Diarrhea with mucus in infants can also be caused by dysbiosis. In this case, the stool also turns green, foams and you can see the streaks of blood.
In any case, from the above, it should be noted that self-medication can aggravate the situation and worsen the condition of the child, therefore, having noticed the first signs, you should immediately call a doctor.
What can diarrhea lead to?
As soon as the baby has started loose stools, parents should focus all their attention on this particular problem. The fact is that a small organism is very vulnerable, and if you do not stop diarrhea, then dehydration can occur. Then not only the intestines, but also the liver will suffer. With diarrhea that lasts already a day, the baby will be able to lose all the salts and fluids that he needs. Gradually, the situation may worsen, the child will vomit, the fever will rise, and in the stool it will be possible to see blood with the naked eye. With the onset of dehydration, you can notice the following changes in the body:
- The kid begins to lose a lot of weight.
- Urination becomes less frequent, and urine will have a dark color with a pungent odor.
- In newborns, the fontanel begins to sink.
- The skin becomes dry and rough.
- The baby may cry, but at the same time he will not have tears come out.
With such symptoms, it is necessary to give the baby more to drink and, of course, immediately consult a specialist.
When do parents need to see a doctor?
Diarrhea in infants requires constant monitoring. If diarrhea begins in a child who is not yet six months old, then in any case, young parents can not do without a doctor. Only a specialist will be able to correctly assess the whole situation and carry out the following actions:
- First of all, the doctor will be able to establish the exact cause of diarrhea.
- If the baby begins to show signs of dehydration, an experienced pediatrician will see this immediately and immediately tell parents how to proceed.
- Be sure the specialist will say cancel all the bait and advise how to establish milk feeding.
- When the baby constantly drinks mother’s milk, then the mother will also have to go on a diet and not eat foods that are considered laxatives.
Do not expect that diarrhea will go away immediately, the intestines of a small child require a long recovery.
Actions of parents with diarrhea in a child
Every mother should clearly know what to do. Diarrhea in a baby is dangerous, so there must be a certain algorithm of action. Mom should call a doctor, first of all, take care to collect tests, so the contents of the feces of the child should be collected in a sterile jar. This is necessary so that the doctor can examine the feces, make a preliminary diagnosis. After each act of defecation, the mother should wash the baby well, do not use wet wipes in this case. Because of this, a child may have an allergy. Drug treatment of a child begins only after a doctor has been diagnosed.
First aid for diarrhea in a child
If diarrhea begins in infants without vomiting, then a young mother should try to apply the baby as often as possible to the breast. The fact is that in this way the baby will be able to get both drink and food. Doctors are allowed to give Smecta to babies when dehydrated, this drug is not harmful to a small organism. Naturally, the mixture should be given a little bit and every twenty minutes. Before a doctor arrives, if a young child has a high temperature, her mother can give an antipyretic.
It is not forbidden to give a child sorbents, for example, it may be Enterosgel. The doctor will prescribe everything else after he determines the cause of diarrhea in the newborn.
Treatment Algorithm
If the baby has diarrhea without fever, then it is possible that it is associated with the baby’s improper diet, therefore, in such cases, the mother and baby are not hospitalized, and treatment can be done on an outpatient basis. Every mother should know a certain algorithm of actions:
- It is necessary to give the baby more to drink, it is recommended to make a chamomile broth, it has an anti-inflammatory effect, or prepare a rice broth that has a fixing effect.
- Unbeknownst to a doctor, it is forbidden to give medicines to a baby.
- Be sure to measure the temperature of the child and monitor his skin, so that there is no dryness and rash.
- Carefully inspect the composition of feces so that blood streaks do not appear there.
Such simple actions will help the doctor quickly establish the cause and begin treatment.
Drug treatment
If diarrhea is observed in infants, treatment should be prescribed by a doctor, and for each child there will be individual appointments. Consider the options that a doctor can prescribe:
- First of all, if there is a temperature, then drugs are prescribed that are able to lower it.
- In a pharmacy, you can buy an electrolyte solution without a prescription, which will help to avoid dehydration.
- If it is established that the cause of the diarrhea is an infection or bacteria, then antibiotics will be prescribed.
- Bifidumbacterin is prescribed when it is necessary to establish the work of the intestines.
Parents should clearly understand the full responsibility for the life of their child, therefore, having noticed yellow diarrhea in infants or frequent discharge of any other color, they should immediately provide the small body with timely help. If you strictly follow all the recommendations, you can avoid serious complications.
Folk remedies for the treatment of diarrhea
If the child does not have severe diarrhea, then you can try to normalize the intestines with the help of folk remedies. If it is possible to buy lingonberry leaves, then they are poured with boiling water in the amount of a tablespoon into a glass of boiling water and insisted for five minutes, after which they give the child a drink. It will be enough for the child to drink only a teaspoon ten times a day, as the intestines can normalize. Still not a bad way to overcome diarrhea in infants is a decoction of dried pomegranate peel. The peel is poured with boiling water, after which it is boiled for about twenty minutes, it is allowed to brew for two hours, and one teaspoon is given until the mother will breastfeed it.
Prevention of diarrhea in newborns
It is important not to treat diarrhea in newborns, but to prevent, therefore, young mothers should be careful in relation to their child. If the baby has noticed changes in the stool, then, first of all, the nursing mother should reconsider her diet. It is important that the mother monitors the mood of the young child, his weight, as well as the external environment. Following the simplest rules, you can avoid many problems and not put your dearest little man at risk. It should also be noted that dispensing with qualified medical help is unlikely to succeed, since treating a child on his own with a medication can be very dangerous for his life. And even more so you should not rely on folk methods.