How to Stop Diarrhea in an Infant or Toddler

How to stop diarrhea is a common question asked by parents of infants and toddlers with diarrhea.

There are 2 things I do to stop diarrhea.

Treat the underlying cause.

• If your child has gastroenteritis, the treatment is supportive while the body clears the infection itself. Supportive treatment means making sure your child drinks enough so she doesn't get dehydrated.
• If your child has a chronic infestation, like giardiasis, the treatment will be metronidazole, which attacks that organism.
• If your child has malabsorption, that will be treated specifically. For example, in celiac disease, gluten will be removed from the diet.
• If your child has toddler's diarrhea, the treatment is supportive and expectant - in other words, wait until she is older and in the meantime, make sure she isn't dehydrated.

So in most cases, the most important thing is attention to fluids and making sure your child isn't dehydrated. When the diarrhea is chronic, treatment of the underlying cause will generally sort out the diarrhea.

I do not routinely use Loperamide (Imodium) to stop diarrhea in children - it can be dangerous. So when the question how to stop diarrhea is asked, the answer is "not medication" in the first instance.

Probiotics

Probiotics (like Lactobacillus) have been shown to reduce the frequency of toddler and infant diarrhea and so I always remind my sisters to give their children Lactobacillus when they ask how to stop diarrhea in their children.

Probiotics normalize the natural bugs in the gut, which are often upset when there is diarrhea.

Probiotics may be given in capsule form - open the capsule and sprinkle the contents on your child's food or sprinkle in a drink and get your child to suck them up through a straw.

Probiotics also occur in natural yoghurts so you can give them that way if your child likes yoghurt - check the label to see if Lactobacillus is on the label.

Probiotics are the only treatment I suggest for infant or toddler diarrhea other than treating the cause.

You can buy probiotics in pharmacies and health food stores. Look out for names like Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bifidus and other similar names. You can buy natural yoghurts containing probiotics are many stores.

---