Recognizing the Signs of Dehydration in Babies

Home Care for Dehydration

If your doctor recommends home treatment for dehydration, be sure to get clear instructions about what fluids to give, what foods to avoid and what, if any, medication to use. Make plans to follow up with the pediatrician if needed.

Here are a couple of guidelines for home treatment of dehydration to keep in mind:

• Most children should continue their normal diet, including formula and breast milk. For mild dehydration, children do not need special fluids.
• Remember, it is not safe to use adult medications, such as anti-diarrhea medicines, for children or infants.
• For older children and infants, the best foods to give after hydration include bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, dry cereal, and potatoes.
• Avoid all sports drinks (with high sugar and insufficient salt content) and caffeinated beverages.
• Avoid salty broths and soups and all caffeinated beverages.
• If your child has moderate to severe dehydration, your doctor may recommend special fluids to replace the lost electrolytes and help your child hydrate. Making hydration fluid at home can be complicated, and it is easiest to buy a pre-mixed formula, such as Pedialyte or Infalyte or a generic equivalent.
• Unless specifically instructed by your doctor, do not prevent your child from eating if he is hungry.
• Keep your pediatrician informed if there is any significant change in how your child is behaving, if he develops any new symptoms or if it doesn't seem like he is improving.

Preventing Dehydration

There are three important steps to preventing dehydration:

• First, maintain a good hydration routine for your child.
• Second, learn how to "read" your child's urine for signs of dehydration. Darker, more yellow urine is typically a sign of dehydration.
• Third, recognize situations when your child may need more fluids than usual.

For an infant who is breastfeeding or on formula, your regular schedule for feeding should give your baby adequate fluids and nutrition. (A healthy infant typically has six or more wet diapers per day.) For a toddler, water or juice with all meals and snacks should provide enough fluids. A child will be better hydrated if he drinks throughout the day, rather than at one sitting.

When might your child require more fluids? It all depends on his activities, his diet, and the environment.

• When it is hot, humid, or dry outside, drink up!
• Air conditioning and indoor heating can also cause excess fluid to be lost through the skin. (For example, the circulated air on an airplane, as well as altitude changes, commonly causes dehydration.)
• When your child is exerting himself in a particular activity.
• When you child has a fever, is congested, or has diarrhea or vomiting.

So, learn to recognize the early signs of dehydration, and act quickly if your child becomes dry. Remember, the best solution to preventing dehydration at any age is simple: Drink water.