WHEN YOUR CHILD'S NOT FEELING WELL
WHEN YOUR CHILD'S NOT FEELING WELL
When your child isn't feeling well, getting him or her back to better health is likely your top concern. Sometimes digestive discomforts like diarrhea may accompany the viruses and infections your child catches. Other times, they may be stand-alone challenges like constipation. Talking to your doctor, understanding the causes and knowing what you can do to help your child during this time will help him or her get through it with as little discomfort as possible. Plus, it will put your mind more at ease as well.
HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD WITH:
How Can I Help My Child with Constipation?
If your child has infrequent, hard and painful stools, often accompanied by stomach aches, he or she may be experiencing constipation.
While healthy children generally have at least one soft bowel movement every other day, it's not uncommon for children to go infrequently. Making sure your child's stools aren't hard or off schedule will help you know if he or she has constipation.
Your child's constipation can be a result of a variety of causes. Knowing what may cause this discomfort can help you and your child avoid it later.
- Lactose intolerance—Your child may be sensitive to dairy products, causing digestive discomfort.
- Not enough fluids—Without drinking plenty of fluids, your child's digestive cycle may become irregular.
- Previous pain—Sometimes remembering the discomfort of a painful bowel movement may prevent your child from wanting to go to the bathroom.
- Medication—Certain types of medication, like iron supplements or antacids containing aluminum, may upset your child's digestive system.
- Not enough fiber—Your child's food preferences may keep him or her from eating fibrous foods that help with digestion.
How Can I Help My Child with Diarrhea?
Not only can diarrhea make your child feel uncomfortable, it can lead to some serious health challenges. The younger your child is, the greater the concern if he or she has diarrhea. If your child is very young, he or she can be particularly at risk for dehydration because of a smaller body size. Talking to your doctor will help you determine if your child's diarrhea is a cause for concern.
If your child experiences diarrhea, it may be the result of one or more different causes.
- Food allergies Your child's body may try to expel the food as part of an allergic reaction.
- Medication While they help to treat specific ailments, some medicines, like antibiotics, may not sit well in your child's stomach.
- Food choices Eating foods that are hard to digest, like too many sweets or meat that isn't cooked enough, may give your child an unpleasant stomach reaction.
- Illnesses Your child's body will try to flush out a stomach virus, bacteria or parasite.
If your child has blood in his or her stools, a high temperature or symptoms of dehydration accompanying diarrhea, call your doctor.
How Can I Help My Child with Dehydration?
When your child isn't feeling well, keeping him or her well hydrated is a main concern. His or her body needs fluids to help flush out toxins and replace what is lost from vomiting, diarrhea or perspiring during a fever. One of the first signs of dehydration is fatigue, not thirst, so monitoring your child's fluid intake is always a smart idea. Other signs of dehydration include:
- Your child is urinating less often, and the urine is a darker color than normal.
- The inside of your child's mouth is dry or sticky.
- Even after drinking a few glasses of water, your child is extremely thirsty.
- Your child has fewer or no tears when crying, and his or her eyes may look sunken in.
- Your child feels drowsy, irritable or restless.
It's easy for children to become dehydrated, so it's important to make sure your child gets the fluids he or she needs from the start. Drinks like RESOURCE® BREEZE Nutritional Energy Drink and BOOST® KID ESSENTIALS Nutritionally Complete Drink can help your children stay hydrated and take in good nutrition while they aren't feeling well.
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