Diarrhoea is dangerous for small children because they lose water and salts faster than adults. Most cases can be looked after at home with two cheap, free things: ORS and zinc.
How do you give ORS to a child with diarrhoea?
- Mix one packet of ORS in one litre of clean drinking water. Do not add sugar or salt.
- Give small sips from a cup or spoon after every loose motion: about half a cup for a child under two, and half to one cup for an older child.
- If the child vomits, wait ten minutes and start again, more slowly.
- Make a fresh batch every day and throw away what is left after 24 hours.
Why give zinc for 14 days?
Zinc makes the illness shorter and lowers the chance of another bout in the next months. Give one tablet (20 mg) a day to children older than six months, and half a tablet (10 mg) to babies under six months, dissolved in a little water or breast milk. Keep giving it for the full 14 days, even after the motions stop.
Should the child keep eating?
Keep breastfeeding, and keep giving normal food. A child who eats recovers faster.
When must the child see a doctor?
Go to a doctor now if the child:
- Is very sleepy or hard to wake.
- Cannot drink, or vomits everything.
- Has blood in the stool.
- Has sunken eyes or has not passed urine for many hours.
- Has a high fever, or is not better in two days.
ORS packets and zinc tablets are free from the ASHA, the anganwadi and government health centres. Hand washing with soap, clean drinking water and the rotavirus vaccine in the routine immunisation schedule prevent many cases.
The ORS and zinc advice follows the World Health Organization’s guidance on diarrhoea. This article is for awareness only and is not medical advice. See our Disclaimer. In an emergency, call 108 for an ambulance or 112.