Dehydration: symptoms in children. Causes, treatment and consequences

Water is the basis of life for both the adult and the child. This is really so, since without this liquid normal life activity is impossible. Water in the human body takes about 65% of the total mass, and if this balance is not maintained, dehydration may occur. For a growing man this situation can be very difficult.

Dehydration in a child

Scientifically, this condition is called dehydration. It occurs if the body does not receive the necessary norm of the liquid or is unable to retain it. In childhood, the slightest lack of water is especially acute. Even if the baby's body loses just 2% of the fluid, it threatens the disease. It is due to the fact that in newborns the percentage of water in the body is 78%, and in children from a year - 65%, while their metabolic processes are more intense. Also, grown-up kids lead a particularly mobile life. The child does not yet understand that he needs to drink water and does not recognize the body's signals, so adults should pay special attention to this issue and carefully monitor the drinking balance.

Because of what there is a dehydration

In fact, there are different causes of dehydration. This leads to all kinds of health disorders. It can be one of those diseases that cause vomiting, diarrhea, intense sweating, frequent and profuse urination - everything that leads to loss of water or prevents its intake. The kid can refuse to take any liquid because of sore throat. In addition, there may be internal problems. For example, a child has poor intestinal absorption. Also, overheating of a baby who is too warmly dressed can cause dehydration.

But the main reason why dehydration occurs more often than others is diarrhea and vomiting. They can be provoked by viral diseases or infection. These factors can affect the strong dehydration of the body in the baby. The younger the child, the greater the risk of infection with bacteria that cause diarrhea and its consequences. The reason is that the crumbs have not yet fully formed immunity, which fights against microbes.

Main symptoms

Depending on the intensity of the disease, dehydration of the body may be manifested in different ways. Symptoms in children become noticeable after about a day or two and will depend on age. In children up to a year, the shade of the skin may change and the fontanel fade. Also, they, most likely, will noticeably decrease the mass. This is due to the fact that the fluid is lost not only through the urine, but also through the skin and lungs, and during illness, babies often refuse to intensively drink liquids and eat. Listed below are the main signs of dehydration.

• Lethargy.
• Rare urination, with secretions have a strong odor, and the color is darker.
• Dry eyes and lack of tears.
• Cold fingers.
• Dryness in the mouth.
• Rapid pulse and breathing.
• Irritated, restless condition.

The younger the baby, the more difficult it will be to dehydrate the body. Symptoms in children, even minor, should immediately induce parents to act in time to prevent the disease and the likelihood of complications.

Types of dehydration

Dehydration of the body in the child is of varying degrees, different in intensity. It can also be acute or chronic. In the first case, the disease occurs against the background of another disease and manifests itself in physical ailments. Chronic form is acquired over time and affects the perception and quality of learning. Apathy and weight loss are also noticeable.

Degree of disease

In medicine, this disease is divided into three degrees - pronounced, moderate and weak.

On complex signs and weighing a child, you can determine how severe dehydration is. Symptoms in children are also an indicator. A weak form is called compensated. Diagnosed with a slight weight loss - up to 5% of the total mass. She is accompanied by a constant desire to drink, a slight dryness of mucous membranes. Also, her companions can be rare cases of diarrhea and vomiting.

Moderate dehydration is called subcompensated. In this case, the child loses up to 10% of its mass. The baby begins irritability, the skin becomes flabby, the mucous membranes become dry. During crying, there are no tears, and the eyes look sunk. At the same time, breathing changes, it becomes rapid, and vomiting and diarrhea accompany the course of the disease.

Pronounced dehydration is called decompensated. Signs of the last degree is a tangible weight loss (over 10%). The child becomes very sluggish, he has shortness of breath and a weak pulse. There is a tachycardia. Skin is dry, flabby to the touch. Sharp reduction in urination or total absence. No chair. There are cramps.

It is worth noting that water in the human body can be present, but the weight falls. This phenomenon, most likely, indicates the development of the child's dystrophy.

Diagnosis

Only the doctor is able to determine the exact diagnosis and the degree of the disease. He compares the previous symptoms, the history of the disease and conducts a survey. If necessary, the baby can be hospitalized. Taken tests of blood and urine allow you to estimate the volume of fluid that is present in the body, and the amount of trace elements lost.

Treatment

Having discovered even some signs, parents may not know what to do when dehydrating the body from their crumbs. But it is worth remembering that you can not postpone treatment, because taking action is immediate, because this is not the kind of disease that can pass by yourself.

First of all, invite the doctor to the house. While the help has not arrived, otpaivayte your child. The earlier you start water therapy, the sooner you can return the water balance. To do this, try to give the liquid to the baby often and in small portions. There are solutions that struggle with this problem and compensate for the lack of electrolytes and water. For example, it can be "Regidron". In addition to the solution, crumbs are given non-carbonated quality mineral water, jelly and weak gulls. The main goal is to fill not only the water, but also the salt balance, which was also lost. To do this, you can prepare the broth (but do not use the stock cubes, they are too salty). You can also give juice. If the child has vomiting, he refuses to drink, let him try to take a cube of ice or a piece of orange in his mouth.

Also try to get rid of the reason why dehydration happened. But if dehydration has a severe degree, it is not advisable to conduct such treatment alone, since more serious therapy is required. It is necessary to immediately call a doctor and entrust a comprehensive treatment to him, otherwise the consequences of dehydration can be severe.

After the water balance is restored, the crumb again becomes cheerful and active. His drowsiness and other accompanying symptoms will disappear.

Possible complications

If a child suffers severe dehydration, it may affect the activity of his body. The consequences of dehydration can manifest themselves not only in physical processes, but also in mental processes. Of course, much depends on the degree of the disease, but complications can cause problems in the following areas:

• Violation of the urinary tract and kidneys.
• Diseases of the respiratory system.
• Violation of the circulatory system and the work of the heart.
• Diseases associated with the central nervous system (spinal cord or brain).

Many parents will console themselves that all these complications can turn out to be temporary, they almost never outgrow the chronic form. But this does not mean that you need to negligently treat the treatment of crumbs. If the baby's brain in the first year of life as a result of dehydration for a long time can not receive a balanced dose of fluid and salts, it will not be properly formed, and a chronic illness associated with the central nervous system will arise. Unfortunately, all over the world, one of the leading causes of child mortality is dehydration.

Preventive measures

It is much easier to prevent a disease than to deal with its consequences. The most basic method of prevention is regular provision of crumbs with adequate nutrition and drinking. But it is known that at this age it is simply not possible to avoid infectious diseases that cause disorders. Therefore, adults should always monitor the baby in time to detect dehydration of the body. Symptoms in children are easy to recognize even at the very beginning of the disease. Also, if the baby has vomiting or diarrhea, after the fifth time it is better to start giving a solution of electrolytes to prevent dehydration.