How to Care for a Child With Diarrhea

Diarrhea is a very uncomfortable and embarrassing condition for children. While diarrhea has many causes, treatment is still the same. While caring for a child with diarrhea, your goals are to keep her comfortable and prevent dehydration. Follow these steps to care for a child with diarrhea.

Things You'll Need

• Place for your child to rest
• Electrolyte solution
• Bland food
• Sanitizers and antimicrobial soap

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Instructions

• 1

  Know that in most cases, you can care for your child at home. However, you need to know when it's best to take him to the doctor. If your baby or child has diarrhea and is vomiting repeatedly, is less than 6 months old, has a fever higher than 102 degrees F, has abdominal pain, has blood in the diarrhea or if the diarrhea is severe or prolonged, you need to take him to the doctor. In addition, take your child to the doctor if he shows signs of dehydration, such as listlessness, lack of urine or tears, sunken eyes, lethargy or dizziness.

• 2

  Make your child lie down on a comfortable bed or on the couch. You may choose to protect the mattress or couch cushions in case of accidents. Have a few quiet toys available to keep her occupied, such as books and puzzles.

• 3

  Have plenty of clean clothes ready in case your child has accidents. If he does have accidents, make sure that he doesn't feel ashamed. Assure him that you know it wasn't his fault, clean him up, comfort him and put him back to bed.

• 4

  Give your child plenty of fluids to keep her hydrated. Electrolyte solutions are best, but water and sports drinks are good, too. Many doctors don't recommend sports drinks, but if your child doesn't like the flavor of the electrolyte solution, you can mix the two to make the drink more palatable. Usually doctors don't recommend giving juices because of the high acid and sugar content.

• 5

  Remember that you shouldn't give cow milk to a child with diarrhea or vomiting, unless she can tolerate a normal diet. However, for nursing babies and toddlers, breastmilk is fine, and you should try to breastfeed more often than usual.

• 6

  Feed your child bland foods. The best choices are rice, bananas, dry toast and applesauce with no added sugar. These foods are easy on the stomach and will help to firm the stool a little.

• 7

  Understand that if your child cannot stay hydrated using oral fluids at home, she may need IV fluids from the hospital. They may also test your child's stool to check for a possible parasitic infection, which they can treat with an anti parasitic medication.