Intestinal Infection in Children

Intestinal infections in children are a group of diseases that rank second after various ARIs according to the incidence. Unpleasant symptoms of this scourge experienced on themselves, for sure, everyone, and everyone knows - unpleasant, but not fatal. However, in the case of children, everything becomes more complicated - for small organisms whose immunity is not yet sufficiently formed, intestinal infections can pose a real threat to health and sometimes life. Most often they are exposed to children under 7 years old, and they represent the greatest danger for children under the age of 3.

Intestinal infection in children, causes

By types of pathogens distinguish viral intestinal infection in children and bacterial. Their cause, as a rule, serve: staphylococcus, dysentery bacillus, vibrio cholera, typhoid fever, salmonella. They penetrate the digestive system, actively multiply and damage the mucous, causing the following types of acute intestinal infection in children: colitis, gastritis, gastroduodenitis, pancreatitis and so on.

The source of infection can be:

The best prevention of intestinal infections in children is, of course, careful observance of the child's personal hygiene, as well as careful attention to food - washing vegetables and fruits, the proper preparation of meat and fish. It is especially important to observe these principles in the warm season, when environmental conditions are most favorable for the development of pathogenic microorganisms.

Signs of intestinal infection in children

Diarrhea is a defining symptom, its main danger is dehydration. However, it is easily eliminated in a hospital environment, so the main task of parents is to deliver the child in a timely manner to a medical institution.

Intestinal infection - treatment in children

The main misconception of parents, whose children demonstrate symptoms of intestinal infection, is the desire to "pay off" these symptoms, in particular, vomiting and diarrhea. This is fundamentally wrong, since vomiting and defecation in the first few hours of the disease development is a saving cleansing - it removes harmful substances from the body, preventing the development of general intoxication.

With diarrhea and vomiting, as mentioned above, the main risk is dehydration. In order to avoid it, you should water your child with purified water without gas in small doses, but often - about 1 teaspoon in 10 minutes. To restore the salt and electrolyte balance in the body, a special solution is needed, for example, rehydron, a powder for the preparation of which can be purchased at the pharmacy. In addition, if the child is older than six months, you should give him and absorbent - enterosgel or polysorb. Do not engage in self-medication and give antibiotics in case of intestinal infection to the child.

If symptoms persist for hours, you should seek emergency medical attention.

Nutrition of a child with intestinal infection

One of the stages of treating intestinal infection in children is diet. In the acute period, it is undesirable to feed a child, even if he asks, except for infants who are breast-feeding.

After the relief comes, you can gradually start feeding the baby with light meals: rice soup, mashed potatoes on the water and without butter, oatmeal. Later you can enter a baked apple, pumpkin, banana. Eating a child after intestinal infection for several weeks should be sparing - avoid sharp, salty, fatty, sweet and rough fiber.