What is toddler diarrhea? Loose, watery and unformed stools that often contain bits of undigested food. It's as unpleasant for the parent as it is for the child, who can also suffer severe diaper rash from the acidic stools.
Toddler diarrhea can be caused by a virus, bacteria or "stomach flu" – most often caused by the rotavirus. It will go away in a few days but is highly contagious, so wash hands often – especially after diaper changes!
Treatments for Toddler Diarrhea
Diarrhea from a virus usually runs its course within 2 to 3 days, but there are ways to speed it up while keeping the diarrhea from getting worse:
- Reduce the juice: Avoid apple juice, which just leads to more diarrhea. Try white grape juice or water instead. Milk is okay for a mild case of diarrhea, but for a more severe bout, it's better to avoid it and reintroduce dairy products later when the stools have returned to normal consistency
- Take a break from solid foods: It's tempting to withhold fluids until the diarrhea has run its course, but that could just lead to a more dangerous condition – dehydration. However, it is okay to hold off on feeding the toddler solid foods for a while to let the digestive system settle.
- Reintroduce easy-to-digest foods: When the toddler is ready to go back to solid foods, try the BRAT diet: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Other good starchy foods to try include noodles, mashed potatoes, pretzels, saltine crackers and rice cakes. All of these foods add bulk to the child's stool, helping it to thicken and return to normal, and the saltines and pretzels give the child sodium – one of the electrolytes the body loses a lot of during a bout of diarrhea.
- Avoid these foods: Fried foods and anything hard to digest, such as beans or corn (or anything else that comes out of the child looking the same as when it went in!).
Treating Dehydration If the child has a sunken abdomen, eyes or cheeks, or a dry mouth and tongue, he or she needs to replace lost fluids right away. Pedialyte is often recommended by doctors because it replaces both the fluids and also electrolytes like potassium and sodium. This is called oral rehydration therapy. Buy 3 to 4 bottles of Pedialyte and, once a bottle is opened, be sure to use it within 24 hours because it has a very short shelf life.
If the toddler has a high fever, take him or her to a pediatrician. Otherwise, most toddlers who have diarrhea but aren't suffering from severe diaper rash or dehydration usually act perfectly normal and are energetic.
If that's the case, just use the BRAT diet, gradually reintroduce other foods, treat the diaper rash, and give the child lots of love and patience until the diarrhea runs its course!
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