Milk for babies and children with diarrhea: what is safe?

Parents are certainly worried about having babies and children with diarrhea. So that the symptoms of diarrhea experienced by babies and children can recover quickly, the treatment at home must be appropriate. Apart from medication, parents really need to pay attention to how to properly replace the baby's lost body fluids. One way is by giving breast milk or formula milk for children and babies who have diarrhea.

The type of milk that is safe for babies and young children when they have diarrhea

Just not wasting water. Diarrhea also makes babies and children often experience heartburn and vomiting. If not treated immediately, diarrhea can cause the child's body to lack fluids, aka dehydration. Dehydration in infants and young children can be very dangerous if it continues and can be life threatening.

Therefore, replacing lost body fluids is one of the main steps in the treatment of diarrhea in general. In adults, replacement of body fluids can be through the consumption of plain water, ORS solution, and fortified foods.

In most babies and children under five, milk remains the best choice of fluids to meet body fluid needs during diarrhea. However, what kind of milk is good for them?

1. Breast milk

Infants under the age of 6 months are not allowed to drink water because the risk of poisoning due to water contamination is still high. This can certainly worsen their diarrhea.

You just need to continue breastfeeding your little one at home as usual, and if possible, more often. The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends this. Even if the baby has diarrhea, he should be exclusively breastfed for at least the first 6 months of life.

Referring to the Ministry of Health's RI Data and Information Center report, breast milk is a source of energy and fluids for children aged 6-23 months; meet half the energy needs of children aged 6-12 months and one third of the energy needs of children aged 12-24 months.

Breast milk (ASI) is also referred to as a source of nutrients and important antibodies to strengthen the body's immune system and accelerate healing from diseases.

2. Formula milk

Breast milk is the main milk choice for treating diarrhea symptoms in infants and young children. Unfortunately on the other hand, not all children can get it.

Therefore, formula feeding will be recommended for some babies who cannot drink breast milk. For example, a premature baby who is less than 32 weeks old and weighs less than 1.5 kg.

Launching from the About Kids Health site, formula milk still needs to be given to babies and young children with diarrhea at the usual dosage and schedule.

However, giving formula milk to infants and children should follow the doctor's advice to ensure optimal growth and development.

One thing is important to remember: don't overdo the water when brewing baby formula. Although the goal may be to increase fluid intake, additional water can actually reduce milk nutrition. As a result, milk does not even provide maximum benefits.

3. Alternative milk

Formula milk comes from cow's milk. Most babies can drink this milk when they have diarrhea, but not for children who have lactose intolerance or cow's milk allergy.

Lactose intolerance is a condition that makes babies unable to digest lactose because their bodies do not have special enzymes for this process. Lactose is a natural sugar found in cow's milk.

So to relieve diarrhea in babies because of this, give children lactose-free formula. If the child has started eating solid foods, also limit various processed foods that contain lactose, such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream.

Unlike lactose intolerance, milk allergy occurs because the immune system overreacts to cow's milk protein. If cow's milk is given to an allergic baby, the diarrhea will get worse.

According to the Pregnancy Birth and Baby website, the best formula milk choices for babies and children with diarrhea due to allergies include:

Soy protein formula
Amino acid based formula (AAF)
Extensively hydrolyzed milk (EHF)

Apart from cow's milk, babies who are allergic and experiencing diarrhea should not be given goat's milk, sheep's milk, lactose-free cow's milk, and products containing cow's milk.

Providing alternative milk may affect your child's daily calcium intake. So, consult a nutritionist or doctor so that your little one is not stunted due to a lack of calcium.

Do not give raw milk for babies and children with diarrhea

Raw milk is milk that is not pasteurized. This means that raw milk does not go through the food heating process which aims to kill bacteria.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (CDC) said that the immune system of babies and children is generally still quite weak, so it is very risky if given raw milk.

Diarrhea in children can actually get worse after drinking raw milk.

The reason is, raw milk derived from animals contains bacteria, such as Brucella , E. coli, Campylobacter , Cryptosporidium , Listeria , and Salmonella. Salmonella and E. coli are bacteria that cause diarrhea.

So, don't give raw milk to babies or children who have diarrhea.

Consult a doctor for more information

Many mothers are still confused about how to meet the needs of fluids for babies and children who have diarrhea through milk. If in doubt and confused, don't hesitate to consult a doctor or nutritionist regarding problems with feeding and diarrhea.

Infants and children can get fluid intake from ORS solution. However, the dosage of this diarrhea medicine must be adjusted to the condition and age of the child. Consult your doctor further to determine the correct dose of ORS.