The loose, watery, frequent stool, known as diarrhea, may result from viral infection, food poisoning, medication, bowel disorders or food allergies. According to the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, diarrhea can be dangerous for infants and small children under the age of three as it may quickly lead to dehydration if left untreated. Nevertheless, before giving your children adult medication, consider feeding them basic foods and liquids that can improve symptoms of diarrhea.
Clear Liquids
To treat your child's diarrhea symptoms, the American Cancer Society (ACS) prescribes a clear, liquid diet. This includes water, clear broth, gelatin without fruit and popsicles. Although the ACS suggests consuming apple juice as well, the Mayo Clinic warns that apple juice and pear juice could potentially aggravate symptoms of diarrhea. Also, children should stay away from caffeine, acidic drinks, such as orange juice, lemon juice or tomato juice, and most sodas and carbonated beverages. For prolonged periods of diarrhea, the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia suggests offering the child drinks containing electrolytes, such as sports drinks, to counteract the effects of dehydration.
Probiotics
Within your digestive tract, you contain many helper microorganisms called probiotics that assist the breakdown of food matter and remove excess liquids. The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) advises the ingestion of yogurts, chocolates and granola bars containing active bacterial cultures to reduce the symptoms of diarrhea.
The AGA says probiotic foods will not harm your body, although people with impaired immune systems due to a disease or disorder should consult a doctor first. In most cases, the active ingredients will improve your child's immune system, prevent harmful bacteria from growing in the gut, strengthen the mucous lining of the intestines and help relieve bloating, irritation and inflammation due to bowel disorders and food allergies. To determine if a food includes a probiotic, look for a noticeable remark about probiotics on the label. Usually, most major supermarket brands of yogurts contain a probiotic.
Semisolid Foods
Initially, you will want to wean children away from desserts, nuts, fatty foods, high-fiber foods, non-yogurt dairy products and highly seasoned foods as each of these can irritate the digestive tract, and thus, further promote the conditions of diarrhea. Instead, the Mayo Clinic suggests starting with a clear liquid diet and then moving onto more semisolid, low-fiber foods, such as crackers, toast, rice, chicken and eggs. Also, the ACS recommends the ingestion of bananas to reduce symptoms of diarrhea and counteract the effects of dehydration with the fruit's natural electrolyte, potassium.
