Children with diarrhea, should they be given antibiotics?

Infants and toddlers often experience diarrhea. But that doesn't mean you can underestimate this digestive tract disease. Diarrhea can lead to more dangerous health problems if not treated properly. Diarrhea in children is usually caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or parasites. So, can I give antibiotics to treat children's diarrhea?

Overview of diarrhea in Indonesian children

Diarrhea is characterized by the frequency of bowel movements (BAB) more than three times a day with a runny stool texture.

Research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that the height of children who get diarrhea at the age of 6 months-2 years is 2.5 cm shorter than other children their healthy age. This reduction in height can become a permanent problem if diarrhea is not treated properly.

Moreover, according to the Ministry of Health's Riskesdas 2007 data, diarrhea is the number one cause of death in infants (31.4%) and toddlers (25.26%) in Indonesia. Diarrhea also ranks second as a cause of death in children worldwide.

When can parents give antibiotics for children with diarrhea?

As mentioned above, diarrhea is generally caused by bacterial, viral or parasitic infections that attack the digestive tract. But before giving children antibiotics for diarrhea medicine, you must first pay attention to what the symptoms of diarrhea are.

Diarrhea caused by bacteria or parasites usually shows symptoms of bloody stool due to inflammation of the intestine. Meanwhile, diarrhea caused by a virus also results in a liquid stool, but does not bleed because there is no inflammation.

However, it is actually quite difficult to determine what causes diarrhea just by looking at the visible symptoms. For a more definite diagnosis, take the child to the doctor to be examined and sampled. Laboratory tests can accurately determine what is causing a child's diarrhea.

When examined at a doctor, a stool sample of a child with diarrhea caused by bacteria or parasites can reveal the presence of leukocytes (white blood cells). Conversely, diarrhea caused by viruses does not show leukocytes in the stool sample.

When the doctor finds out that the cause of diarrhea in children is a bacterial infection, then the doctor will prescribe antibiotics to cure the disease. Because antibiotics are anti-bacterial, viral infections cannot be treated by antibiotics. Some parasites that cause diarrhea can be treated with children's antibiotics, especially if they are caused by the parasite Giardia intestinalis. If your child's diarrhea is caused by another type of parasitic infection, the doctor will prescribe another drug.

Therefore, first consult with your doctor about your child's condition.

Tips for caring for children with diarrhea

Diarrhea often causes dehydration, especially in infants and toddlers. Dehydration is even more prone to occur if the child also has a high fever during diarrhea. Dehydration is characterized by sunken eyes or skin that is not elastic when pinched.

In addition to providing diarrhea medicine for children according to doctor's instructions, parents must ensure that children still receive adequate fluid intake to avoid dehydration. Give water or an electrolyte drink, but don't give soda or fruit juice.

If the child with diarrhea is already dehydrated, it must be treated immediately within 4-6 hours. Your little one can be given to drink ORS or intravenously at the doctor.