All food and water that people consume, unfortunately, are very far from sterility. Every day and every hour, billions of different bacteria enter our bodies. Nothing terrible happens from this, because nature has come up with effective ways to neutralize microbes. “Good” bacteria, saliva with bactericidal properties, poisonous gastric juice do not allow strangers to take root in the body and destroy it.
But the child’s body is very tender and receptive, so miracles do not always happen to him. Unfortunately, Dr. Komarovsky argues, intestinal infections happen to children with almost the same frequency as SARS. What should parents do who have suspected an intestinal infection in their little one and are there any ways to prevent a dangerous infection? We will try to figure this out.
Cause of intestinal infection
There is not a single person who has never caught an intestinal infection. This is because there are many ways to neutralize a huge amount of the body's defenses: neutralizing an acidic gastric juice with an alkaline drink, destroying your own microbes with antibiotics, swallowing food, without chewing it, and many others.
Still, these pests quite often enter the body, says Dr. Komarovsky. Intestinal infections are really not necessary for either an adult or a child. Their main reason was, is and will be non-compliance with the simplest hygienic standards: unwashed hands, improper storage of food, flocks of flies flying between the toilet and the dining table. No matter how great defensive forces the human body in general and the baby in particular possess, there will always be microbes that cannot be neutralized.
Intestinal infection in any family member is a huge alarm for everyone else. The patient needs separate dishes, and others need to wash their hands more often, organize perfect cleanliness, all dishes should be boiled over without sparing disinfectants.
The main principle of helping to get an intestinal infection is to make up for the loss of salts and fluids as quickly as possible. Compote of dried fruits, green tea will go.
Infectious agents
Like many others, intestinal infections in babies can be viral and bacterial. By their name it is clear that the difference is in the nature of the pathogen. Among the huge number of viral intestinal infections, the most common among children is rotavirus.
In addition, there are still the most common infections in babies: dysentery, enterovirus and salmonellosis.
Every year (according to WHO statistics), about 2 million children under the age of 5 die from a disease called intestinal infection in children. Komarovsky believes that if all the necessary measures were taken, this figure would be much lower.
Self-medication or the experience of professionals?
But parents should not be scared and despair. Not the worst thing that can happen to their baby, this rotavirus intestinal infection. Komarovsky claims that over 90 percent of all cases of intestinal infections can be overcome without the use of special drugs. But the remaining 10% are the most insidious and scary. This is just the case when self-medication can not be used in any case! The most important thing in this situation is to bring the baby to the infectious disease specialists as soon as possible.
Indications for calling a doctor
Emergency doctor help is needed for the following symptoms in your child:
- in the vomit of the baby or his stool there are blood clots;
- it is impossible to give the child a drink - he either spits up water or cannot swallow it;
- there are clear signs of dehydration - a “dry” tongue, the baby does not piss for the last 5-6 hours, there is dry skin and mucous membranes, there is no sweat and tears;
- a rash appeared on the child’s body;
- the baby complains of a headache;
- sharply and greatly increases body temperature;
- with diarrhea or vomiting, parents can see that the baby’s skin is quite pale and shivering.
Signs and symptoms of intestinal infection in babies
All the above signs and symptoms describe a situation in which an intestinal infection in children (Komarovsky declares this with all responsibility) has already acquired a rather severe or even deadly form. Fortunately, such situations are not frequent.
Most cases of infection are usually expressed by several universal symptoms:
- baby refuses food;
- have vomiting or diarrhea;
- body temperature rises slightly;
- the baby is sleepy, lethargic and pale.
Who brings the infection to the body?
Far from all cases of intestinal infection in children is terrible and dangerous. Treatment (Komarovsky is convinced of this from the height of his professional experience) must be timely and accurate.
The causative agents of intestinal infections include bacteria (cholera vibrio, typhoid bacillus, staphylococcus aureus) and some viruses. They can perfectly multiply in the intestines and lead to a violation of the digestive process. They will contribute to the inflammation of all cells of the intestinal mucosa. A common and characteristic consequence of these processes is diarrhea as the main symptom in a situation where acute intestinal infection is observed . Komarovsky explains that initially the very concept of a disease obtained by infection differs. For a person who is not knowledgeable in medical terms, diarrhea is a guarantee of the presence of infection in the body. For the doctor, it is not the symptoms themselves that are important, but the routes of infection.
Part of the symptoms is not a disease yet
“Any disease in infants that is transmitted through the mouth (the so-called fecal-oral route of infection) and shows what an intestinal infection is in infants” (Komarovsky). The most obvious example is Botkin's disease. The virus enters the gastrointestinal tract, there is no diarrhea in most cases, and the liver is affected. That is why it is not necessary to focus only on diarrhea. After all, there are other signs of the disease - pain in the baby’s tummy, high body temperature, nausea and vomiting, no appetite, the child is weak. Such symptoms are quite common, but they do not always indicate that there is an intestinal infection in children. Symptoms, treatment (Komarovsky, as a representative of the clan of talented doctors, is convinced that the result will be much better than the parents went to the doctor before): the first should be well studied, and the second should be applied according to the doctor’s instructions.
Dehydration of the child's body
Only an insignificant part of the diseases called “intestinal infection”, treatment (Komarovsky as a doctor with many years of experience convinced of this) which does not require reflection, should be carried out using antibiotics. And the rest pass without such intervention, accompanied by the baby’s immune system. After a few days, she begins to develop the necessary protection against this disease. The main task of any baby is to hold out these few days. And the most dangerous risk for the child during this period is the most common dehydration, the doctor says. Komarovsky. Intestinal infections make it easier for diarrhea or vomiting to drain fluid. Therefore, it is so important to renew it.
If mom and dad know exactly how to protect their child’s body from dehydration, then their intestinal infection is not afraid of their peanut.
Features of treating intestinal infections in babies: high fever and antibiotics
Intestinal infection in children — symptoms, treatment (Komarovsky dwelled on this point in detail in his programs), if there is a situation — must first be identified in time, and then eliminated with the help of correctly prescribed drugs.
It is generally believed that if a baby has a body temperature of about 38 ° C, then it does not need to be knocked down (the body fights itself). But according to Dr. Komarovsky, intestinal infections - This is a dangerous thing, therefore it is not only possible to bring down the temperature, but also necessary. This follows from the fact that heat removes huge reserves of fluid from the body, and it is dehydration with intestinal infection that is especially dangerous for babies.
Peanut (if the body temperature has risen) should be given an antipyretic, so that there is no dehydration and intoxication. You should constantly give your baby a drink.
Parents, remember: the higher the baby’s body temperature during an intestinal infection, the more you need to drink it!
Earlier it was said that only a small percentage of intestinal infections require the use of antimicrobials to cure. And the use of any antibiotics in this case is strictly regulated by WHO.
According to Dr. Komarovsky, intestinal infection in children is a dangerous thing, but not fatal. It is only necessary to adhere to all the recommendations of a doctor and not engage in self-medication. Antibiotics can be used in cases of diarrhea that has been going on for several days, hemocolitis (when there is an admixture of blood in the stool or vomit) and in severe forms of cholera. Only in these cases is the use of antibiotics justified and quite effective for babies.
Treatment of intestinal infections in babies: sorbents
Indeed, there is a certain reason for the use of sorbents for intestinal infections of babies. They can absorb poisons, toxins and other harmful substances inside the gastrointestinal tract, save from an excess of gases. Practicing pediatricians are convinced that, to some extent, sorbents protect the child's body from dehydration and intoxication. So far, no one has been able to prove that the use of such funds is a threat to the child.
Baby food after getting rid of an intestinal infection
So what is the diet after an intestinal infection? Komarovsky recalls that during the illness, the baby has a temporary enzymatic deficiency. After the illness, it does not last long. This is important to consider when drawing up the baby's menu.
In the first days after the illness, the appetite of the recovering child must be restrained.
After all, it often happens that after the recovery phase begins, the baby's condition improves, and appetite comes. Here are the parents (especially grandmothers) and are happy to try - put on the table everything tasty - fatter and thicker. But purely physiologically, the child’s body is not ready for such excesses: it does not yet have enzymes that can digest all this delicious food.
You should not feed him "heavy" and fatty foods. It is better to prolong the therapeutic diet for longer, which includes vegetable soups, cereal cereals on the water, cookies, fruit puree. This is only 5-7 days until the activity of the enzymes is restored.
Be sure to follow the diet of the child after an intestinal infection. Komarovsky advises that it is possible to act differently: for some time to give special enzymes to the recovering baby. Although many pediatricians believe that an extended diet is better than “feeding” pharmacy enzymes to a child.
Health to you and your children!