What should I do if my baby has diarrhea

Release time : 06/11/2025 09:30:01

The bodies of infants and young children are growing rapidly all the time, so their needs for nutrition are higher than those of adults.

However, due to the delicate nature of a baby's gastrointestinal system, both their diet and environmental conditions can be highly sensitive, leading to diarrhea in a single moment. This poses significant risks to their health.

When a baby is experiencing diarrhea, parents are naturally concerned. What should be done about it? Understanding the causes of diarrhea in babies is crucial for their well-being. In the process of raising children, understanding these aspects is essential.

What should we do if our baby is constipated? It's a matter of great concern for parents when their baby has diarrhea.

In daily life, when babies exhibit diarrhea, many parents are at a loss on how to handle it.

What should we do? Let's explore together.

First, when babies have diarrhea, they should adjust their diet.

If you are a child who has already started eating complementary foods, you need to reduce the amount and frequency of complementary foods, or suspend complementary foods.

Greasy food and food with high fat content should be avoided.

Breastfed babies still insist on eating breast milk. If formula is fed separately, consideration should be given to whether the baby is allergic to the ingredients.

If your baby's diarrhea is accompanied by nausea and vomiting, you should eat easily digestible food, eat fewer meals and feed it slowly.

When a baby has diarrhea, the duration of fasting should not exceed 24 hours. Parents must not allow their babies to be fasted for an extended period; prolonged fasting may actually harm the baby's body.

Furthermore, without the guidance of a doctor, do not administer antibiotics to children at will. Improper use of antibiotics can lead to a decrease in beneficial bacteria in the child's intestinal tract, making diarrhea more difficult to heal.

Under the guidance of a physician, some medications can be administered to enhance digestion and boost appetite in infants.

Diarrhea in infants is highly prone to dehydration, so hydrating the baby is paramount.

During acute diarrhea in infants, the basic absorptive and digestive capabilities of the small intestine are still present. Therefore, during the early stages, it is appropriate to provide the child with easily digestible foods such as porridge, which can alleviate the condition of diarrhea.

The causes of diarrhea in infants are numerous. In some cases, diarrhea may persist for an extended period without improvement. Under these circumstances, malnutrition can easily occur in the child, leading to a decline in immunity and subsequent complications.

Many problems in life are the causes of baby diarrhea.

1. Some babies have poor resistance, and the amount of immunoglobulin in their blood and gastrointestinal tract is low. When bacteria enter the stomach, they do not have the ability to completely eliminate them, which can easily lead to diarrhea.

2. Rotavirus Infection.

During the autumn season, it is a peak period for rotavirus infections.

Babies under the age of 3 are most likely to develop infections due to their fragile gastrointestinal tract.

3. Digestive system problems.

The baby's stomach is still developing and has poor tolerance to many foods. It is unable to adapt to new foods for a while and may easily cause diarrhea in the baby.

4. Infants who ingest unclean or spoiled food can easily suffer from diarrhea.

Dysentery caused by improper diet is known as "indigestion."

5. Gut Microbiota Issues.

The establishment of the baby's intestinal bacteria flora has not yet been completed. If antibiotics are used on babies, it can lead to a disturbance in the baby's intestinal bacteria flora, which can cause diarrhea in babies.

6. Parents are not following the ratio to dissolve formula powder for their baby.

Symptoms of baby diarrhea are common in infants, including cold and fever, as well as diarrhea.

The most critical aspect of a child's healthy growth is whether the parents provide adequate daily care.

Parents should put more effort into caring for the baby to effectively reduce the frequency of illnesses.

The causes of baby diarrhea are complex, and the severity of the condition varies, resulting in different symptoms.

1. Mild diarrhea: In infants with mild diarrhea, the number of bowel movements per day is generally between 5 to 8 times. Symptoms may also include low fever and vomiting.

The baby's stool is mostly yellowish-green with a mucous coating, resembling egg curd.

The baby may have mild abdominal distension and audible peristalsis.

2. Mild diarrhea: In this stage, the child experiences ten or so diarrheal episodes per day, with stools being watery and foul-smelling. Many babies also exhibit symptoms of moderate fever.

3. Severe Diarrhea: In children with severe diarrhea, there may be more than 8-15 bowel movements per day, resulting in watery and explosive stools that are very abundant in volume and have an unpleasantly sour smell.

Infants may exhibit symptoms such as irritability, lethargy, and mental lethargy. Sometimes, they may have bloody stools containing mucus. In severe cases, it can result in coma or seizures. Observing the baby's fontanelle reveals a sunken appearance. The frequent diarrhea causes significant dehydration, making the baby's skin and lips extremely dry.

4. During diarrhea in some babies, significant dehydration and acidosis can occur, leading to disruptions in the electrolyte balance due to dehydration and hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia.

Can babies with diarrhea drink formula milk? Now it is the season of spring and summer, the temperature difference between morning and evening is great, and the weather is very unstable.

Some of the weak babies are very easy to happen diarrhea due to weather changes or eating improperly.

When a baby has diarrhea, parents may initially look for dietary causes. For babies who are currently consuming formula milk, parents often consider the issue of the formula itself, and some believe that the additives added to the formula can exacerbate diarrhea in infants.

Some parents will adopt a restrictive feeding approach, refusing to continue feeding the baby milk.

In fact, there is no need to do this. If the baby has been consuming milk powder continuously and the brand of the milk powder has not been changed during the period of the baby's diarrhea, then it is okay for the baby to have diarrhea and loose stools while eating milk powder.

During diarrhea, although the digestive function of the child may be reduced, it is not completely inactive; they can still absorb nutrients. Therefore, do not feed your baby completely. Just adjust the amount of formula slightly by increasing the water ratio when preparing the formula.

If you were previously breastfeeding and now want to switch to formula for your baby, it is not advisable.

When your baby has diarrhea, it is recommended to continue breastfeeding him or her until the diarrhea is completely healed. Then gradually switch from breastmilk to formula milk.

If your baby has diarrhea, you can give them a formula that is specially made for preventing diarrhea. The amount of the formula should be reduced by 1/3. If your baby is not satisfied, you can add rice soup or fruit juice to their diet.

How to Prevent Stools in Babies? Diarrhea is a common problem in infants. The most common cause of diarrhea in babies is dietary issues.

Diarrhea can lead to poor appetite in babies and even result in dehydration. In severe cases, it can pose a life-threatening risk.

With so many hazards, how can we prevent diarrhea in my baby? How about preventing the baby from getting hurt? Among babies with chronic and long-term diarrhea, an important reason is that the concentration of milk powder prepared by their parents is too high. Long-term consumption of such milk powder will cause chronic and long-term diarrhea.

Therefore, the best way to prevent this type of diarrhea is to breastfeed your baby from the beginning.

Breast milk is easy to digest. After the immune cells and antibodies in breast milk are absorbed by the baby, they can increase the baby's resistance. Therefore, babies who eat breast milk generally have less diarrhea, and if it is diarrhea, it will not cause long-term chronic diarrhea.

If there is really no way to eat formula milk powder, parents must also strictly control the mixing ratio on the packaging to make milk powder and must not be willful.

Also, your baby's diet should be clean.

Parents should clean their hands before feeding their babies, pay attention to disinfection of tableware and bottles, and should not drink milk powder if it has not been drunk for more than 2 hours. In hot weather, it should not exceed 30 minutes.

Adding complementary food to your baby should be a single item and a small amount.

Don't be greedy. Add several types of food to your baby at a time. Parents will have trouble telling which types of food will cause diarrhea and allergies in your baby.

In addition, it is to supplement the baby with appropriate probiotics to help the baby establish a balanced intestinal flora.

* The medical part covered in this article is for reading and reference only.

If you experience discomfort, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis and treatment should be based on a face-to-face consultation with a medical practitioner.