Question
Does the baby’s diarrhea indicate an inability to absorb nutrients? What should be done when a baby experiences diarrhea, especially after calcium deficiency, which may exacerbate the condition?
Answer
When a baby has diarrhea, the frequency of bowel movements increases compared to normal, ranging from 4-6 times in mild cases to over 10 times in severe cases. The consistency of the stool may appear as loose watery or egg-drop soup-like, sometimes accompanied by mucous or pus-filled stool. The baby may also experience symptoms such as vomiting, bloating, fever, irritability, or poor mental state. If acute diarrhea is not treated thoroughly, especially in babies who are not breastfed and are fed milk instead, it may lead to a reduction in the secretion of gastric acid and digestive enzymes, weakening the digestive ability. This may cause the normal flora in the lower part of the intestine to move up to the upper part of the intestine, where they decompose and ferment food, forming irritant substances that corrupt the intestines, leading to persistent diarrhea that does not heal. Under a doctor’s guidance