Treatment of underlying causes
Dehydration, secondary to some underlying cause needs management of the primary disease. In addition to rehydration therapy, dehydration, which is due to a pathological side effect, can require medicines to cure primary disease. Depending on the cause, these can be:
- Antidiarrheal drugs are used to treat diarrhea, which is a common cause of dehydration in children.
- Antibiotics to treat infections. Most children have infections, underlying dehydration.
- Medicines to treat kidney or liver diseases can be used if their malfunctioning is leading to excess urinary output.
- Antipyretic are used to bring down fever if it is identified as the causative agent for dehydration.