Suggest Treatment For Loose Motion And Indigestion In A Child

Posted on Thu, 15 Jun 2017

Question: Hi Doctor, My son 2 years 5 months old is having digestion issue. His stool is greezy and looks like whatever he ate was not digested. When we are giving gripe water, he is going for normal loo once a day and if we are not giving gripe water, he is going for 3 or 4 times which look likes loose motion. Please suggest if we need to give any syrup to him for indigestion.

Answered by Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Looks like viral diarrhea - I need some information

Detailed Answer:
Hi...Thank you for consulting in Health Care magic.
It seems your kid is having viral diarrhoea. Once it starts it will take 5-7 days to completely get better. Unless the kid's having low urine output or very dull or excessively sleepy or blood in motion or green bilious vomiting...you need not worry.
There is no need to use antibiotics unless there is blood in the motion. Antibiotics might worsen if unnecessarily used causing antibiotic associated diarrhoea.
I suggest you use zinc supplements (Z&D drops 1ml once daily for 14 days) & ORS (Each small packet mixed in 200ml of potable water and keep giving sip by sip) as hydration is very important and crucial part of treatment. If there is vomiting you can use Syrup Ondansetron (as prescribed by your paediatrician).
Regarding diet - Avoid fruit juices as they might aggravate diarrhea. You can give zinc supplements & ORS apart from normal vegetarian porridges & soups.

Please get back to me with the exact date of birth, birth weight and the kid's current weight please.

Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (1 hour later)

Thanks Doctor for the reply. Below are the details as requested:
DOB: 18/12/2015
Birth weight: 3.5 kg
current weight: 12.3 kg

Thanks,
XXXX

Answered by Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (11 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Your son is doing well weight wise - don't worry

Detailed Answer:
Hi... as you had mentioned that his greasy, I just wanted to make sure that his current weight is comparable his birth weight and age.

I asked this because if the kid is having greasy stools and he is under weight then we need to evaluate further.

Regards - Dr. Sumanth

Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar