Question
How should childhood diarrhea be treated? Do you need to go to the hospital? How long will it take to see improvement after treatment?
Answer
The treatment of childhood diarrhea depends on its cause, with common causes including gastrointestinal infections and non-infectious factors. For gastrointestinal bacterial infections, active anti-infection treatment is required. If it is a viral infection and only manifests as diarrhea, anti-viral treatment is not necessary. Non-infectious diarrhea may be caused by improper feeding, lactose intolerance, or allergies to milk and protein. Most young children need to add lactase or use lactose-free formula before being breastfed. If diagnosed with lactose intolerance, lactase should be added before breastfeeding or a lactose-free formula should be used.