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Symptoms of gastroenteritis that should alert you
Gastroenteritis, inflammation of the intestine and stomach, is most of the time caused by a virus, the rotavirus, but can sometimes be due to a bacterium (salmonella, escherichia coli, etc.).
In the first case, gastroenteritis occurs following contact with another patient (postilions, saliva, hands and stool) or, in the second case, after consumption of a drink or contaminated food. This inflammation of the stomach and intestines is usually not serious, and symptoms resolve within three to five days.
Each year, more than 500 000 children are affected by gastroenteritis. The disease, very contagious, causes each year in France 18 hospitalizations in children under 000 years old. The main reason for these visits to the hospital? Dehydration due to acute diarrhea and vomiting.
Other signs of gastroenteritis : abdominal pain, fever, headache, dizziness, stiffness …
Gastroenteritis in young children: give them water!
Make Pitchoune drink often, in small quantities. Water loss is indeed the main danger of gastroenteritis, in toddlers in particular. Take his temperature. Gastroenteritis often causes fever and therefore additional water loss when the child sweats. Give him paracetamol if it is over 38,5 ° C.
Weigh it. If he loses more than 10% of its weight, take him to the emergency room; the doctors will give him an IV to feed him. A child who looks flabby, no longer looking at you or – and has gray circles under their eyes should also be checked right away.
How to treat gastro in children?
- Opt for Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS). They compensate for the loss of water and especially mineral salts. It is THE treatment for dehydration due to gastroenteritis. These solutions are marketed in pharmacies under different names: Adiaril®, Alhydrate®, Fanolyte®, Hydrigoz®, GES 45®, Blédilait RO®, etc. They are diluted in 200 ml of weakly mineralized water, the same as for preparing baby bottles. Then give it this solution in small amounts (with a spoon, if necessary) and every fifteen minutes or so. When he is no longer vomiting, put the bottle within reach and let him drink at will, for at least four to six hours.
- Antispasmodics. The doctor may prescribe some for your child to fight against abdominal pain and protect the intestinal barrier; antiemetics will limit nausea and vomiting and paracetamol will lower fever, if necessary.
- Antibiotics. Gastroenteritis is not caused by a virus, but by bacteria hidden in poorly washed fruits or vegetables, for example. In this case, the child is put on an antibiotic. But no question of playing self-medication, it is up to a doctor to prescribe them, after diagnosis.
- Rest. The little patient needs it to get back on his feet before setting out again to meet new germs.
Gastroenteritis: what diet for my child?
On medical advice, you may need to remove milk (there are diet milks to make the transition from the usual milk). Also, you can exclude fruits (in juice or raw except bananas, applesauce, quince) as well as green vegetables.
If you see that your child is making faces in front of a food or complains about the belly, do not insist. Try again a little later.
Gastroenteritis: vaccines available
There are two vaccines against complicated forms of gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus, the Rotarix® et le Rotateq®. Talk to your doctor and more information on: https://vaccination-info-service.fr
Gastro in children: what prevention?
If there is only one advice to remember to avoid any contamination of gastroenteritis, it is this one: wash your hands with soap and water, lathering for at least 15 seconds. And this, as often as possible: before preparing your baby’s bottle, before and after changing his diaper, after each trip to the toilet … The objective of these hygiene measures: to prevent the transmission of germs by faecal route. oral
Kissing is the most common form of contagion. At the slightest sign of gastro around you, refuse any direct contact. Finally, avoid communities, closed places, places “at risk” such as doctors’ offices, hospitals … Of course, when possible!
To prevent gastro caused by food poisoning, think about cook meat and eggs, thoroughly rinse the fruits and vegetables. Also, regularly clean your refrigerator, the temperature of which must be below 4 ° C.
It may be useful to have a probiotic cure to children who go through gastro at the beginning of winter. Studies show that certain probiotics, especially ultra-yeast, have a preventive, even curative, effect on gastroenteritis. By improving the intestinal flora, they would be effective in reducing the duration and intensity of diarrhea and vomiting. But as with any recurrent illness, you have to find out if there are no other causes. A iron deficiency, essential for the proper functioning of the immune system, for example, can weaken it and make it more sensitive to viruses.