Mild to moderate diarrhea in children

Content provided by Healthwise

Mild to moderate diarrhea in children

As a rule of thumb, diarrhea is considered to be mild to moderate if the child's stools are more frequent and looser than usual, but there are fewer than 6 large, loose stools in 12 hours (more than 6 stools in 12 hours is considered to be severe).

Every child has different bowel habits. Your baby may have as many as 4 to 10 stools a day or as few as 1 every 3 days. Many breast-fed babies will have a bowel movement with each feeding and sometimes between feedings. Breast-fed babies are less likely to develop diarrhea.

The risk for dehydration is not great as long as the child is able to continue breast-feeding or take other fluids. Less severe diarrhea also decreases the likelihood of a serious illness or infection.

Your child's diarrhea may be foul-smelling (smell like rotten eggs) or yellow or green in color. There are many causes for these unusual changes, including viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections; cystic fibrosis; and celiac disease.

Formula-fed babies who have an intolerance to milk will have loose, green, watery stools, or they may have hard stools. Allergies to milk usually show up after the first few weeks of life.

Credits

Last updated:	April 28, 2008
Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Reviewed By:	Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics, Thomas Emmett Francoeur, MDCM, CSPQ, FRCPC - Pediatrics
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer