Apple juice can tame upset tums the Daily Correspondence
I wasn't really sure how to manage it - or what I could give her to eat. Claire Bayley, by e-mail The first thing representing children with diarrhoea - or any vomiting bug such as norovirus - is to give them just fluids for a duo of days until it subsides.
My daughter Maya has condign had a akin bug, and although I felt cruel, I knew this was the best circumstance for her. The more food you put into their tummy, the more it will cause diarrhoea.
The lousy thing is that even with diarrhoea, a child can still feel starved and ask championing food. Scroll down for more. But you have to be strong - they should be fine for a couple of days without eating anything, as long as they're getting enough fluid.
This is crucial, as they lose more fluid when they corner loose stools and a high temperature, and you need to restock these losses. A well-nourished child testament coerce on this fluid-only regimen - particularly if resting in bed or curled up on the sofa.
Keeping them home also means you don't spread the infection around, which is important.) As to the quantity of fluid, toddlers and children your daughter's age should have a good 1,500ml a day.
This is about 50 per cent deeper than they would have normally, on the contrary bethink they're losing fluid. An older child should keep up to two litres.
Whether she was eating normally this would be water, nevertheless when a child has diarrhoea you entail to think instead approximately diluted juice or weak warm for energy.
This will also help correct electrolyte losses - these are imperative salts and minerals the body produces to dominion functions such as blood pressure, heart and brain activity. Diarrhea and sweating can cause children's bodies to lose a lot of potassium and sodium in particular.
You can replace these with rehydration table salt (available from pharmacies) or with diluted apple juice (given straight, it can be very hard on the gut, so blend it 50:50 with water). The advantage of apple juice is that it contains pectin, which can help to settle an upset gut - more about this later.
Other juices, such as fresh orange or grapefruit, can be too acidic. Other selection are a lowsugar blackcurrant cordial or some no-added-sugar squash. Avoid milk until her gut has recovered, because although it's nourishing, an upset gut can become intolerant to the lactose in it.
Only thing I definitely recommend is a probiotic supplement - the evidence about using these to get over diarrhoea is very convincing. However, not all probiotic preparations - such as those you asset in the chilled section of the supermarket - are efficient in this case.
Push for either a lactobacillus supplement, or a probiotic supplement containing a mixture of L. L. bulgaricus and S. With lactobacillus bacteria, I usually recommend a dose of 10 billion per day until the person has fully recovered. When the diarrhoea has stopped and your child begins to taction better, start her on very plain, binding foods.
Try things such as rice cakes, rice, mashed potato (without butter or oil, as the fat can upset them), pasta, roast chicken, bleached fish, toast - all things being equal dry, although a thin scraping of butter or jam can be OK.
Rice pudding or porridge trumped-up with decent a little water, or a sincere biscuit, are other options. Avoid giving her fruits, as they tend to get a purgative effect.
Papaya and banana are OK, though - and maybe apple purée - as these can levy a bad tummy.