Diarrhea in infants and young children

For a lay person:

Diarrhoea in babies and young children means passing loose or watery stools more often than usual, most often because of a viral or bacterial gut infection. It usually settles within a week, but young children can quickly lose too much fluid and become dehydrated. Keeping them drinking, and breastfeeding if breastfed, is the most important care.

For a trained medical person:

Acute gastroenteritis in infants is most commonly viral (rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus), with bacterial causes such as pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter; persistent diarrhoea may reflect post-infectious lactose intolerance, cow's milk protein allergy or other causes. Assessment centres on hydration status, with stool testing for bloody, persistent or outbreak cases. First-line management is oral rehydration solution and continued feeding, intravenous fluids for severe dehydration, zinc in low-resource settings, and avoidance of antidiarrhoeal drugs; rotavirus vaccination prevents much severe disease.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Fungal (Candida) Diarrhea Formula; Diarrhea Due to Pathogenic Colibacillus; Hypokalemia Formula. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get urgent medical care for a baby or young child with diarrhoea who has very few wet nappies, sunken eyes, is drowsy or floppy, has blood in the stool, persistent vomiting, or is under three months old with fever. Do not give herbal remedies or antidiarrhoeal medicines to infants without medical advice.