The primary thing to do for treating diarrhoea is consult a doctor. There are different types of organisms which cause diarrhoea and it isn’t possible to destroy them by just drinking light coconut water or lemon tea. They have to be treated with proper medication. Otherwise they will grow rapidly in the stomach and lead to bigger problem which will require prolonged medication.

Here are some dos and don’ts which needs to be followed during diarrhoea:

Milk should be avoided as far as possible for at least 48 hours. If only milk needs to be fed to the child, make sure to dilute it with boiled water. Light tea may also be good. Best is to consume milk only in the form of curd or buttermilk for two days. For breakfast, toasted bread or idli dipped in curd can be given. Salt and sugar may be added to the curd.

The reason for avoiding milk is that it is an ideal medium for bacteria and other organisms to grow and the infection inside the body will increase instead of being controlled and destroyed. On the other hand, curd has bacteria which can fight the organisms causing the infection. Non-veg food should be avoided completely for atleast 48-72 hours. Non-veg food again is the ideal medium for organisms to grow.

Also other food stuffs like arrowroot, apple , tender coconut water, etc., cannot kill the viruses or bacteria. So they cannot be used as treatment. However, arrowroot porridge, arrowroot biscuits, apple and tender coconut water are soothing to the stomach and help in reducing the frequency of passing faeces. They also help to compensate the calories, minerals and vitamins, which are lost during diarrhoea.

Apart from breads, rice and curds, arrow root biscuits, rusks, apple, black tea with little lime juice and sugar, rice kanji with salt and curds and arrow root porridge and light coconut water are ideal to be consumed in the first 2-3 days. B complex and C vitamin supplement is very important during diarrhoea.

The biggest danger faced in a diarrhoea is dehydration and blood sugar levels dropping. During acute diarrhoea, the danger of dehydration is very high. So it is essential to start the treatment immediately to replace fluids and electrolytes. Small portions of Electrol (which is available in the pharmacy) can be poured into separate glasses and should be given to the child at frequent intervals. This will help in the treating dehydration.

One must be very careful while looking after and feeding patience of diarrhoea and ensure they eat their food properly. It can prove to be fatally dangerous as they may lose a lot of vitamins and minerals and become weak during this period. They may become too weak to the extent of requiring hospitalisation. The week body is also prone to picking many infections and catch cough , cold, and fever.

I hope this article has given you enough information on how to deal with diarrhoea. Comments and feedback are welcome

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