Question
My child is 5 months old and has been suffering from diarrhea for the past few days. I thought it was due to catching a cold and used ‘Dinggui Er Duzhi’, but it didn’t help. What should I do?
Answer
Hello: Have there been any changes in your child’s diet? The principle of diarrhea nutritional treatment is to adjust the diet, stop eating high-fat and difficult-to-digest foods to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, gradually restore digestive function, and supplement vitamins and electrolytes for symptomatic treatment. It is crucial to avoid the excessive use of antibiotics. Actively adopting dietary treatment is very important for recovering strength. Breastfeeding mothers can adjust the feeding time, while formula-feeding mothers can start with rice porridge or diluted milk, 1/2 water and 1/2 milk, or 1/3 water and 2/3 milk, starting with small amounts and gradually increasing to thicker consistency. Easily digestible dairy products include yogurt and skimmed milk, as well as homemade skimmed milk (boil the milk, then remove the floating milk skin on top). Below are several examples of therapeutic diets for children: Egg Yolk Diet: After boiling an egg, remove the shell and white, then simmer the yolk in a pot to extract the oil. For infants under 1 year old, one yolk oil per day, taken in 2-3 doses, for a course of 3 days. This treatment helps with diarrhea and also has a spleen-strengthening and stomach-soothing effect; steamed egg cakes made with a little flour and ginger strips also have the same effect. Apple Diet: Apples contain tannins that have astringent properties. Wash one apple, steam it, eat the flesh or peel it and mash it into a puree, taking 30-60 grams each time, three times a day. Apple soup can also be an auxiliary drink for treating diarrhea. Cut the apple into pieces, add 250 milliliters of water and a small amount of salt, you can also add…