Water is vital for every living organism, with its lack, dehydration or dehydration can develop - a process that adversely affects the functioning of organs and systems. The most dangerous is dehydration for children, because there is an inverse relationship between the age of the child and the fluid content in his body: the smaller the carp, the more water. In addition, due to the imperfection of the water-electrolytic balance, dehydration in the child occurs more quickly. Especially great is its danger in diseases accompanied by fever, diarrhea, vomiting. In time to identify the symptoms of dehydration in a child and to eliminate this phenomenon is extremely important, since the effects of dehydration can lead to irreversible changes in the body.
Specify the causes of dehydration in a child:
- viral infections accompanied by fever, vomiting, diarrhea, with the latter losing much more liquid, and the electrolyte content in the blood increases. This can be caused by diseases caused by rotaviruses, adenoviruses, lamblias, salmonella;
- diseases accompanied by pain in the throat - sometimes with acute respiratory viral or angina the child is so painfully swallowed that he refuses to take a drink;
- also in ARVI there is an increased loss of moisture through the skin as a result of an increase in body temperature;
- diabetes mellitus - if the patient does not receive insulin, dehydration occurs due to uncontrolled urination;
- malabsorption syndrome and cystic fibrosis;
- profuse sweating with intense physical activity and in hot weather.
Symptoms of dehydration
In order to avoid complications, it is important to notice signs of dehydration in the child, which include:
- sunken eyes, lack of tears when crying;
- hollow fontanel in infants;
- 6-8 hours without urination. If it does occur, the urine has a darker color and a pungent odor;
- dry mouth mucosa;
- lethargy, drowsiness, restlessness;
- the child refuses to wake up.
If you notice the listed symptoms of dehydration in your child, you should immediately seek medical help. Treatment of dehydration is carried out taking into account the degree of dehydration and individual characteristics of a small patient.
There are three stages of dehydration:
I degree of dehydration occurs with 90% of intestinal infections. Its main sign is thirst. In this case, the mucous membranes of the mouth and eye are moderately moistened, the stool is not more often 3-4 times a day, vomiting is episodic. The loss of body weight is not more than 5%.
II degree of dehydration develops within a few days, it is preceded by severe vomiting and frequent diarrhea. Weight loss is approximately 6-9% of the original weight, the condition of the mucous membranes directly depends on it -
III degree of dehydration can occur as a result of severe diarrhea - more than 20 times a day and intense vomiting. The child loses more than 9% of the total body weight, his face looks like a mask, blood pressure drops, limbs become colder. This is very dangerous, since weight loss of more than 15% will lead to severe metabolic disorders.
Since all children in the process of growth inevitably suffer various diseases, including those leading to dehydration, parents should know what to do when dehydrating the body. At I and II degree, as a rule, soldering is carried out with an electrolytic solution of the reedron type. If the child refuses to take the solution, you should check with your doctor what else you can drink when you are dehydrated. As additional drink, salt-free liquids are used: water, weak teas, compotes. With a heavier grade III dehydration, it is possible to cope with it only in hospital settings under the supervision of specialists, since intravenous rehydration may be necessary.