Childhood Diarrhea in the Summer
Summer, whose arrival that season all hope, not only brings well-deserved vacation, tanned bodies, longer nights and fun almost assured. Along with this good news, there are some fellow travelers linked to the summer that are not always well received. One of them is diarrhea, which tend to exploit especially with children.
Thus, this condition as summer takes on a significant importance for two reasons: dehydration that entails and how often affecting children. It is characterized by frequent evacuation of watery stools, which is associated with excessive loss of fluids and electrolytes, particularly sodium and potassium.
Infectious diarrhea, which may be parasitic, bacterial or viral, is always accompanied by dehydration, the severity depends on each particular case.
In developed countries, the virus is most prevalent, followed by the bacteria. Both have a significant degree of seasonality, being much more common in hot weather and especially in summer, affecting especially children who live with other children because of the ease of infection (day care centers, camps …).
To prevent them, is important to maintain scrupulous hygiene in food handling, and ensure rapid cooling, trying not to be too long at room temperature. If you have not been avoided, it is essential to replenish the lost substances, rehydrating the body and incorporating progressively astringent and soft diet.
The WHO (World Health Organization) further recommends that during the treatment of diarrhea, especially children, be replaced by another milk fermented with probiotic bacteria, which has the capacity to prevent and shorten the time of diarrhea, helps restore proper nutrition and better tolerated than milk.
If symptoms do not subside, appeared fevers, constant vomiting and if the child is under three years (for their greater risk of dehydration) is important to see a doctor to assess the case.