Dehydration Prevention for Children
Diarrhea or vomiting can cause children to lose an enormous amount of fluid in a short period of time. Aside from routine symptoms of dehydration, parents of sick children and infants should also keep an eye out for dry mouth and tongue, lack of tears when they cry, swollen cheeks or eyes, listlessness, sunken fontanel (babies top head soft spot), fever, and swollen skin after being pinched and released.
Give oral rehydration solutions to your sick child if they show signs of dehydration. Fruit juices and sports drinks are helpful too, but they don’t provide a balanced mixture of sugar, water, and salt.
A pediatrician instead recommends using oral rehydration solutions like Ceralyte, Infalyte, and Pedialyte. Unless your child is vomiting, you can use these fluids in very generous amounts until he or she begins normal urination.