What to do when baby has diarrhoea

When my little one had diarrhoea I don’t know what I dreaded more, the thought of changing the soggy mess in the nappy or worrying about whether he would need to be rushed to the doctor. Of course, concern for baby was foremost on my mind, but there is nothing more horrifying than runny, stinky mess dripping everywhere… and the smell seems to linger for days… on everything. Shudder.

Seriously though, diarrhoea is very concerning because repeated episodes can have dire nutritional effects as it alters the balance of water and salts (electrolytes) in your baby. This can lead to dehydration which can happen very quickly in babies (within a day or two after it starts); that is why diarrhoea is dangerous in babies, especially newborns.

As a new parent, it can be daunting when to know if baby needs to be taken to the doctor. I remember in the beginning calling my paediatrician every other day until the receptionist politely recommended I find a GP. There is nothing worse than being viewed as an overly panicky mom, but to be honest with no real handbook it is difficult to know what to do.

I was given some really good advice by my GP about how to read whether baby was showing signs of dehydration:

• Pinching baby softly – I nearly gasped at this one but I learnt to do it very gently – if the skin springs back quickly baby is okay… by the way I even do this when hubby has diarrhoea!
• Fewer wet nappies
• If she was unusually drowsy
• If she cried but had no tears
• The soft spot on top of her head would appear sunken

It is sometimes hard to tell how serious diarrhoea is with a little one who is under six months but he said if my baby ever had these combined with runny tummy that I should call him immediately: a fever; bad tummy pain; vomiting; blood in stool; or if it was black, white or red or if baby was very lethargic.

Formula which helps with siarrhoea

I was speaking to another mom recently and she told me about a formula that helps with baby diarrhoea – Novalac AD which stands for Anti-Diarrhoea. So I did a bit of research to try find out more about formulas that could help. I was quite impressed that Novalac had done clinical studies; it’s always good to know that a product does what it is supposed to.

http://www.academianovalac.es/archivos/pdf/AD_Clinical Case GIRARDET JP.PDF

I called the consumer care line and was told that what Novalac AD does is help baby with the following:

• It is made to quickly rehydrate baby
• There are nutrients added in to give baby the energy she needs
• It also stimulates babies appetite so she drinks more which helps with dehydration
• Studies show that there is quick recovery of baby’s stools within 28 hours
• The product is lactose and sugar free and also has the added benefit of preventing allergies as it is soy protein free and gluten free

She did say however, that if weight loss of baby is higher than 5% she may need an oral rehydration solution for a few hours, according to medical advice.

I couldn’t find any other formula in SA on the shelves which treat diarrhoea, so it looks like Novalac AD is the one to try.

Let us know if you have tried it and what you have found…

Baby Yum Yum is an online community and resource for parents who need information and resources about formula feeding and nutrition, and touches on the challenges faced by most new parents.

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