It is the most authoritative expression, in plain language, of what medical science now knows about practical, low-cost ways of protecting children's lives and health. Diarrhoea causes dehydration, and malnutrition and kills over 3 million children every year. The seven health messages in this chapter can help parents and communities to prevent almost all of these deaths and most of the malnutrition caused by diarrhoea. The main causes of diarrhoea are poor hygiene, lack of clean drinking water, overcrowding, and the trend towards bottle-feeding rather than breastfeeding. It is the responsibility of government to support the community in tackling these basic problems.
Diarrhoea can kill children by draining too much liquid from the body.
So it is essential to give a child with diarrhoea plenty of liquids to drink. A child with diarrhoea needs food. When a breastfed child has diarrhoea, it is important to continue breastfeeding A child who is recovering from diarrhoea needs an extra meal every day for at least two weeks. Trained help is needed if diarrhoea is more serious than usual, if it persists for more than two weeks, or if there is blood in the stool. Diarrhoea can kill children by draining too much liquid from the body.