Vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea
Vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea are quite common phenomena that not only spoil the rest, but can also pose a serious threat to health. The situation is often aggravated by the fact that people are away from home, where there are no doctors they know and there is no one to turn to, except to call an ambulance. However, knowing the most common causes of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at a seaside resort, you can try to help the baby on your own. After all, vomiting and diarrhea do not always indicate formidable diseases.
Content:
- Causes of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea
- Treatment of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea
Causes of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea
The main causes of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea can be as follows:
Intestinal infection
Intestinal infection in children at sea occurs quite often. It can be caused by many pathogenic organisms, including viruses and bacteria. Most often, at resorts, children become infected with gram-negative enterobacteria (Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia, Yersinia, Campylobacter) and viruses that infect the intestines (enteroviruses, adenoviruses, rotaviruses, etc.).
The main route of transmission at sea is waterborne. Sometimes it is enough for a child to accidentally swallow sea water or water from a pool to catch an infection, since the susceptibility of children to it is 3 times higher than that of an adult. Nevertheless, fecal-oral infection through dirty hands and the alimentary route of infection (through food inseminated with viruses or bacteria) is not excluded. Of particular importance is the quality of the food that the child consumes, so eating in questionable establishments is not worth it, even if you are on vacation. Often, in such kitchens, workers do not have the necessary documents and can spread a wide variety of infections. The quality of products, methods and terms of their storage are of great importance.
Symptoms of intestinal infection in children depend on the type of pathogen, but there will almost always be signs such as:
- Vomiting not relieving;
- Recurrent diarrhea with liquid, profuse, marsh-colored feces;
- Feces may contain foam, mucus, and blood streaks;
- Stomach ache;
- The rise in body temperature to high levels;
- Lack of appetite;
- Weakness and great malaise.
Treatment of intestinal infections in children is within the competence of specialists.
Food poisoning
Food poisoning at sea is a common cause of vomiting and diarrhea in children. It is characterized by infectious and toxic damage to the body and develops due to the ingestion of low-quality products.
The pathogenic microbes and toxins contained in them provoke acute poisoning in a child, the symptoms of which are:
- Acute onset with repeated vomiting, which develops after 2-6 hours after eating (sometimes this period is reduced to half an hour).
- There is a watery diarrhea with admixtures of greenery, streaked with blood in the stool. Stool can happen up to 10 times a day.
- Pains in the abdomen develop with their predominant localization in the stomach area.
- Body temperature usually does not exceed 38 ° C, although fever may sometimes develop.
- The child refuses to eat, becomes lethargic and drowsy, headaches join.
The symptoms of dehydration are very dangerous: dry and pale skin, pointed facial features, cramps, etc.
Doctors have compiled the top 5 most dangerous seafood products that provoke food poisoning:
- Boiled shrimp and other seafood sold on the beaches. Their shelf life after cooking is about 30 minutes, and they are sold in the heat for hours.
- Cottage cheese purchased from the market. In just a couple of hours this product is on the counter, pathogenic bacteria can multiply in it. Therefore, homemade cottage cheese is not the best food for a child at a resort.
- Fish (both smoked and salted). It can retain halophilic bacteria that live in seawater. In humans, they cause indigestion.
- Any "fast food" - pies, samsa, pasties. All these products spoil very quickly in the heat. Also, do not buy boiled corn for children on the beach.
- Every child's favorite delicacy is cakes. Sweets with whipped cream and butter cream are especially dangerous.
Eating in proven establishments or preparing food for at least a child on your own, as well as thorough hand washing, will minimize the risks of food poisoning at sea.
Acclimatizing a child to the sea
The acclimatization process is often difficult even for adults.
In childhood, a sharp change in the climatic zone can lead to the following symptoms:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Unstable stools, in which diarrhea changes to constipation.
- Increased body temperature.
- Poor sleep, headaches.
The picture of acclimatization is complemented by a weakened immune system, new food and excitement. Children under the age of three are especially prone to acclimatization. You can notice the first symptoms already on the second day after arriving at sea.
Parents should remember that acclimatization is not a disease, and if you correctly help the child to adapt to the new environment around him, then the unpleasant symptoms will quickly pass.
Heat or sunstroke
Often, parents look for the causes of vomiting and stool disorders in a child in food poisoning or infection, forgetting that it is very easy for a child to get heat or sunstroke at sea.
Exposure to the sun for too long without a hat, or high temperatures combined with insufficient fluid intake, can cause the following symptoms:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- General weakness, dizziness.
- Drowsiness, sometimes loss of consciousness.
- Abdominal pain, stool thinning.
- Pallor of the skin.
- Intense thirst.
- Increased body temperature.
It should be remembered that it is dangerous for a long time in the water under the scorching rays of the sun. In addition, you should not dress the child too warmly, since his adaptive mechanisms are not yet perfect, therefore it is much easier to provoke overheating in children than in adults. It is important to give your child a drink, as in hot weather the liquid evaporates very actively along with sweat. Another tip is to avoid walking or being in direct sunlight during the period of its maximum activity (most often this time is from 11 am to 4 pm).
Treatment of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea
Treatment of vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea will directly depend on what caused them.
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Intestinal infection treatment. Intestinal infections can be treated both at home and in the hospital. The decision on hospitalization is influenced by the child's age and the severity of the disease.
In any case, the following guidelines must be followed:
- Stick to a diet. For infants, this is a frequent attachment to the breast, replenishment of lost fluid. For older children, this is a hunger pause throughout the day, followed by the introduction of light food and fermented milk drinks. It is important to get your child to drink as much as possible, not eat.
- Compliance with the drinking regime. Profuse diarrhea and vomiting very quickly remove water and salt from the body. To replenish them, children are offered saline solutions (Regidron, Oralit, Trisol, Glucosolan, etc.). They need to be drunk in small portions, the child should drink about 1.5 liters of such a solution per day. If it was not at hand, since vomiting and diarrhea happened at sea, then you can prepare such a solution yourself. Five teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt are added to a liter of water.
- The use of drugs that stop vomiting and diarrhea can only be recommended by a doctor. The fact is that with the help of these reactions, the body removes toxic substances and bacteria outside. If vomiting and diarrhea are stopped with a medication, then they will all remain inside and continue to poison the child. If they enter the bloodstream, the condition will become not only dangerous to health, but also to the patient's life.
- Treatment of intestinal infections of bacterial origin is carried out with the help of antibacterial drugs. In case of a viral infection, their intake is impractical; it is possible to prescribe intestinal antiseptics, including Furazolidone, Polymyxin, Gentamicin, Kanamycin, etc. It is also necessary to take enterosorbents that bind toxins and prevent their penetration into the blood. The most common enterosorbent that can be offered even to children under one year old is Smecta.
- When the acute stage of intestinal infection is completed, pathogenetic therapy is carried out with the intake of enzymes, antihistamines, probiotics.
- Symptomatic treatment is aimed at relieving pain and lowering body temperature. It should be remembered that it is possible to bring down fever in children only with Paracetamol or Ibuprofen preparations.
- Adequate therapy for an intestinal infection will allow the child to fully recover. But it should be remembered that if the vacation at sea is not over yet, then the risk of catching a new intestinal infection persists, since the immunity is not produced persistent.
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Treating food poisoning. If food poisoning does occur in a child, then you should start with gastric lavage. This is done using boiled water in which activated carbon is dissolved (a tablespoon of powdered coal per liter of water). It is necessary to force the child to drink up to 2 glasses of water at a time, and then induce his vomiting. Gastric lavage is done until the water comes out of it completely clean. A cleansing enema can be administered to eliminate toxins from the intestines. Then the child is given enterosorbents (Smecta, Activated carbon, Enterosgel) and put to bed.
Rehydration is essential to prevent dehydration. For this, the child is given special solutions (Regidron, Oralit, etc.) to drink, and he is also offered sweet tea, pure mineral water without gas, fruit drink.
You also need to give the child enzyme preparations - these are Mezim, Festal, Panozinorm, etc. As for taking antibiotics, they are prescribed only in severe cases and in a hospital.
The child should not be fed for at least 12 hours, after which he is transferred to a sparing diet. It includes crackers, slimy cereals and soups, kefir, compote, fruit drink, boiled lean meat.
The prognosis for food poisoning is most often favorable and ends with the patient's recovery. Severe food poisoning is treated exclusively in the hospital, as it threatens with serious consequences.
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Helping the child to acclimatize to the sea. You can only help your child during acclimatization to the sea by alleviating the unpleasant symptoms that this process provoked. Antiemetics should only be offered to a child with a doctor's approval. As a rule, during acclimatization, the child is not given any antiemetics, since vomiting occurs 1-2 times and is not harmful to health.
If the baby has loose stools, then you can give him probiotic preparations containing beneficial bacteria for 14 days. They allow the intestines to adapt to new food and make it work.
It is important to protect the child from eating new, and even more exotic, foods. Even if they are completely fresh, unfamiliar food can still provoke indigestion. Antihistamines will protect you from allergic reactions.
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Sunstroke treatment. Parents should not hesitate to call an ambulance if a sunstroke happened to a child under one year old, if the child fainted, if he developed convulsions or his body temperature rose above 38.5 ° C.
It is important to immediately carry the child into the shade, comfortably lay or seat him. Then you need to unbutton your clothes, or take them off altogether. If the child is conscious, then you need to give him clean water. You can put a damp towel on the back of your head.
Any cooling method is applicable: the child can be blown, wipe the places where the choroid plexuses are located (neck, armpits, groin area). But the water must be at least room temperature. If the child has received a mild sunstroke, then his condition should improve. When this does not happen, medical attention is required.
It should be remembered that vomiting and diarrhea in a child at sea is not a reason to panic. It is important to try to establish the causes of these symptoms as accurately as possible and correctly provide first aid. In any case, if the child's condition does not stabilize within 12 hours, or worsens sharply in a shorter time, then a medical consultation is necessary.
Author of the article: Alekseeva Maria Yurievna | Therapist
Education: From 2010 to 2016 Practitioner of the therapeutic hospital of the central medical-sanitary unit No. 21, city of elektrostal. Since 2016 she has been working in the diagnostic center No. 3.
