Navigating Health

Children frequently suffer from bouts of diarrhea and vomiting and may also suffer from constipation. Most cases are straightforward and clear up in a matter of days. However, children suffering from vomiting or diarrhea are at risk of dehydration because it is difficult for them to replace lost fluids quickly enough. It is therefore important that you encourage a child to drink during an illness. You should take your child to visit a doctor if the symptoms are particularly severe or last longer than a few days. In general terms, the number and consistency of bowel motions passed by children is variable, especially during infancy.

Breastfed babies often pass yellow, very loose stools several times a day while bottle fed babies usually pass firmer stools less frequently. Many older children continue to have three or four bowel motions a day. This is not usually a cause for concern, unless a child is also failing to gain weight normally. Children of any age may also be prone to occasional episodes of constipation. Bouts of diarrhea may have a simple cause such as the introduction of a new food into a baby’s diet, or excitement or anxiety in a child. However, they can also be due to conditions such as infection of the gastrointestinal tract by a virus or less commonly a bacterium.

This condition, known as gastroenteritis, is the most common cause of diarrhea in children and infants. It can also cause bouts of vomiting. Difficulty in absorbing certain foods is another condition. This can be due to coeliac disease, in which there is sensitivity to gluten in wheat and other foods. An allergy to cow’s milk which occurs in 1 to 25 babies which is caused by sensitivity to proteins in cow’s milk or ordinary formula milks.

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