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Diarrhoea
This is when you have watery/
semi-liquid bowel movements occurring
three or more times per day. There may
be crampy abdominal pains that ease each
time diarrhoea is passed. Vomiting and
fever may also occur. This can be caused
by viral infections via person to person
contact (gastroenteritis) or
occasionally by eating food that has
gone off (food poisoning). Most are
self-limiting and will resolve.
How to help yourself
The symptoms should clear over several
days but in the meantime here are some
steps you can take:
• Adults and
children over 10yrs should drink
around 200ml of clear fluid i.e.
dilute squashes or apple juice after
each bout of diarrhoea as well as
their usual fluid intake.
• In babies under 1 yr and the very
elderly, it is important to replace
lost salts by using Oral
Rehydration Solution (ORS). Ask
the pharmacist for this as there are
different brand names. They can be
mixed into fruit juices to make them
more palatable for children.
• It is better not to starve, so if
you feel hungry, try vegetable soup
mixed with soggy rice which can help
to make the stool more solid, or
other foods high in carbohydrate
i.e. bread, pasta or potatoes.
• Anti-diarrhoeal medications
i.e. Loperamide are best avoided as
it can cause abdominal cramps and
constipation. If you absolutely need
to reduce your frequency to the
toilet, i.e. to go outdoors, then it
can be used temporarily. However, do
not give to children under 12 yrs’
old, if you have a fever or are
passing blood with diarrhoea.
• Some research has shown that
taking probiotics i.e.Yakult
can reduce the duration of diarrhoea
by around 1 day. These cannot be
prescribed on the NHS but can be
purchased from supermarkets or
health food stores. They work by
replenishing the bowel with good
bacteria to fight off the infection
caused by harmful organisms.
• Reduce the risk of spreading
infection amongst your other family
members by washing hands thoroughly
especially after changing nappies.
Babies
Breastfed babies – continue to
breastfeed. Increase the number of feeds
and give your baby extra water based
fluids after each soiled nappy. You may
use a teaspoon if the baby does not
accept the bottle.
Bottle-feeding – continue with
normal feeds.
Children – Fluid intake
To prevent dehydration,
the child should be drinking their usual
daily intake. In addition, as a guide,
give the following after each loose
stool (each time they pass some
diarrhoea) to replace the fluid lost by
the diarrhoea:
• Children under
two: 50-100 ml (a quarter to half a
large cup) of fluid.
• Children aged 2-10 years: 100-200
ml (a half to one large cup) of
fluid.
Contact your doctor:
• If you have a high temperature
with diarrhoea
• If you caught an infection from
abroad
• If the diarrhoea has been going on
for more than 1 week and you have
followed the above advice.
• In children under 1 yr, if
symptoms persist longer than 2 days.
Contact your doctor immediately:
• If there is persistent vomiting
for more than 2 days
• If there is blood in the diarrhoea
• If your baby is drowsy or confused
• If your baby’s nappy has not been
wet for 12 hours
• If your baby is vomiting all the
time
• If your baby has a fever.
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