GEORGE NEWS - Summer is here and with it comes the heightened risk of your child contracting diarrhoea, warns the department of health.
They say that more than 430 children under the age of five have been treated for diarrhoea without dehydration at health facilities in the Garden Route from November until end December 2018.
Diarrhoea often leads to the more severe condition of dehydration. In the George sub-district, 122 children were treated for gastro, of which 30 required admission to hospital.
Nadia Ferreira, district principal communications officer, says their staff is on high alert for patients, especially children under the age of five, who show signs of dehydration. The director of the Garden Route and Central Karoo district, Dr Helise Schumann, says dehydration caused by gastro remains one of the main causes of illness and death in children under the age of five years.
"We have an oral hydration solution (ORS) corner in all our facilities, portable water bags have been distributed to crèches where access to water is limited, and we have integrated diarrhoeal health messaging at our well baby clinics, resulting in increased awareness. We also have fast lanes at facilities for babies and toddlers with diarrhoea," she says.
Causes and precautions
Schumann says diarrhoea is a highly infectious virus that thrives in hot weather, is transmitted by flies and preys on babies or kids. "Children who are malnourished, have not been immunised or perhaps have other illnesses, are far more likely to contract gastro and develop fatal complications."
Diarrhoea can be caused by dirty water, dirty toilets, unwashed hands, bottle feeding, uncontained waste (illegal dumping), contaminated food and flies. So, remember to wash your hands!
Watch out for signs like thirstiness, dry or sticky mouth; few or no tears when crying; lack of urine or only a very small amount of dark yellow urine; dry, cool skin; tiredness and irritability; dizziness; headache and stomach ache.
The department says parents should try the oral rehydration solution to replenish lost body fluids.
They recommend that parents take the solution along should they need to take their child to the clinic so that their child does not dehydrate on the way. Using a clean 1-litre bottle, mix 1 litre of cooled boiled water with ½ a teaspoon of salt and 8 teaspoons of sugar. Mix well.
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