What are the symptoms of diarrhea in children?

Written by Yao Li Qin
Pediatrics
Updated on October 29, 2024
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When children experience diarrhea, it is defined by an increased frequency of bowel movements and changes in the stool's consistency, which might appear as watery, mushy, or mucus-filled. The mucus may contain blood streaks. Additionally, children may exhibit systemic symptoms including persistent fever accompanied by nausea and vomiting, while the frequency of bowel movements noticeably increases, and the fever may present as persistent high temperature. Due to frequent episodes of diarrhea, the child might show signs of dehydration such as poor skin elasticity, sunken eye sockets, and if not yet closed, a sunken fontanelle. The skin can be particularly dry, and the child may have reduced urine production. In cases of severe diarrhea, the child may also appear lethargic or drowsy and show signs of circulatory collapse.

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Written by Feng Hai Tao
Pediatrics
1min 11sec home-news-image

Can children with diarrhea eat eggplants?

Children should not eat eggplants during diarrhea. First, because eggplants are cool in nature, consuming eggplants could lead to increased gastrointestinal burden on babies, facilitating diarrhea which further intensifies the gastrointestinal load and worsens the diarrhea. Second, eggplants can trigger allergies. Eating eggplants during such sensitive times can exacerbate gastrointestinal stress if an allergic reaction occurs, leading to more severe diarrhea. Third, eggplants are not easy to digest; eating them may hinder the recovery of gastrointestinal functions in babies and increase the burden, causing intensified diarrhea. Therefore, it is best for children with diarrhea to avoid eggplants and instead choose light, easily digestible foods. Avoid raw, cold, spicy, or allergy-triggering foods, keep children warm, and use appropriate treatments and rehydration measures to prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

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Written by Yao Li Qin
Pediatrics
1min 27sec home-news-image

There are several types of childhood diarrhea.

If there is a change in frequency and characteristics of a child’s stool compared to usual, it could indicate the occurrence of diarrhea. Diarrhea can be classified into: 1. Acute diarrhea, which lasts for up to two weeks. 2. Persistent diarrhea, lasting between two weeks and two months. 3. Chronic diarrhea, lasting for more than two months. Based on the severity, it can be divided into: 1. Mild, generally without dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, or acid-base imbalances. 2. Moderate, accompanied by mild to moderate dehydration, or mild electrolyte disturbance. More severe cases involve severe dehydration and obvious symptoms of acid-base imbalance. Symptoms in children include lethargy, irritability, drowsiness, pale complexion, no fever, and a significant increase in white blood cell count. Causes of diarrhea can be divided into: infectious diarrhea, caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc., and non-infectious diarrhea, including foodborne diarrhea, symptomatic diarrhea, allergic diarrhea, and other types of diarrhea.

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Written by Yan Xin Liang
Pediatrics
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How many days will it take for a child's diarrhea to get better?

Children's diarrhea can be divided into viral diarrhea and bacterial enteritis. Viral diarrhea, most commonly rotavirus enteritis, follows a specific disease course, where most cases gradually recover after 5-7 days with rehydration and symptomatic treatment. If it is bacterial enteritis, effective anti-infection treatment with sensitive antibiotics can also control the symptoms within 5-7 days. Additionally, some diarrheas caused by bacterial dysentery generally require 7-14 days of treatment, and fungal enteritis also typically needs one to two weeks of treatment.

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Written by Yan Xin Liang
Pediatrics
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What should children with diarrhea not eat?

Children's diarrhea can be classified into infectious and non-infectious types. Generally, if it is infectious diarrhea, it is crucial to provide a light and easily digestible diet. If the infant is breastfed, continue breastfeeding, but the mother's diet should also be light and easily digestible. If the child is formula-fed, you can feed them diarrhea-specific formula and gradually add some supplementary foods such as thin porridge, noodles, and fruit juice. However, greasy and hard-to-digest foods should be avoided as much as possible, and this applies to older children as well; they also should not consume fatty and spicy foods. Additionally, foods that are hard to digest should be avoided to aid in the recovery of the condition. If it is non-infectious diarrhea, for example, caused by allergies to milk or eggs, avoid consuming these allergenic foods. In cases of lactose intolerance causing diarrhea, avoid lactose-containing milk powder; switch to diarrhea-specific formula instead.

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Can children with diarrhea eat noodles?

Children experience diarrhea because various factors cause disturbances in their gastrointestinal function, leading to malabsorption of nutrients. This manifests as a significant increase in the frequency of defecation and a noticeable change in the nature of the stool, even resulting in watery stools. When children have diarrhea, it is recommended to eat easily digestible, bland foods; noodles and porridge are good dietary options.