DEHYDRATION IN CHILDREN
Dehydration is a serious loss of body fluids. It occurs when the body is losing more fluids than it is taking in. When an excessive amount of body fluid is lost, the body loses the water, minerals, and salts contained in the fluid. Proper amounts of water, minerals, and salts are essential to health and to life.
Several conditions may cause the body to lose an excessive amount of water, minerals, and salts. Diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive sweating are common causes of dehydration. Illnesses that cause excessive breathing (such as asthma) may cause the child to lose water vapor from the lungs. Illnesses that cause excessive urination (such as diabetes) may also cause dehydration.
The smaller the child, the more quickly dehydration can develop. In young infants, dehydration occurs as rapidly as 12 to 24 hours after the start of any cause of dehydration (such as diarrhea or vomiting). A child who is not losing extra fluids will rarely become dehydrated simply by taking in fewer liquids. Except in young infants and in children with diabetes, the kidneys can compensate for a smaller intake of liquids. However, a small intake of liquids in a child who is also losing fluids causes dehydration to occur even more rapidly.
Signs and symptoms
Except in a child with diabetes, a sign of dehydration is a smaller output of urine. A young child who goes six to eight hours without urinating, or an older child who does not urinate for ten to 12 hours, may be dehydrated. Other signs of dehydration include sunken eyes; drowsiness; rapid or slow breathing; and depression (sinking in) of the soft spot in an infant’s skull. The membranes inside the mouth may feel dry when touched by a finger. The skin may feel less flexible than usual when pinched between the thumb and forefinger.
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If a child shows any symptoms of dehydration, call your doctor. If the child is vomiting, stop the vomiting first. With any condition that causes fluid loss (including prolonged high fever), you should encourage your child to drink extra fluids. The best liquids to give a child with increased fluid loss are commercial fluids that contain proper salts and sugar. Other good liquids are gelatin desserts (liquid or gelled); weak tea with sugar; ginger ale, colas, and other carbonated drinks. Plain water is less helpful. Milk products should be avoided.
Precautions
• Do not give undiluted skim milk and boiled whole milk to a child who is losing fluids. Their salt and mineral content is too great for the child to tolerate.
• If symptoms of dehydration develop, contact your doctor. The younger the child, the more urgent the situation. Diarrhea in infants can be very serious.
• The amount of urine output cannot help detect dehydration in a diabetic child.
Medical treatment
Your doctor will diagnose and treat the condition that is causing dehydration. Your child may be admitted to a hospital to be given intravenous fluids and salts. The child may be tested for the amounts of salts and minerals in the body.
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