General information
A fluid deficiency that has grown over a long period of time can become an absolute emergency.
What is the fluid requirement for children?
The daily fluid requirement for children is slightly different from the daily fluid intake requirement for adults. This is due to the fact that children have a significantly higher water turnover. The daily fluid intake – and release is about 10 – 20 % of a baby’s body weight.
Overall, an infant’s average daily fluid requirement can be assumed to be 50 – 100 ml/kg body weight. The amount of water contained in the food should also be considered separately in this calculation and included in the daily requirement. In most cases, children drink according to their personal needs, as the brain constantly receives information about the current fluid balance via various receptors and can control the feeling of thirst. In the event of high fever, diarrhoea, vomiting or heavy sweating, the daily requirement increases, since in these situations a lot of fluid is lost and must be replenished to balance the fluid balance.
Causes
The most common cause is inflammatory gastrointestinal and diarrhea disease, which inevitably leads to a fluid deficiency over a longer period of time if not actively counteracted by the patient or parents. The cause of diarrhoea in small children is usually inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract caused by viruses (in 30-50% rotaviruses), bacteria (salmonella, E. coli), parasites (amoebae lamblia). The cause is not always known (30-50%). Rare causes of dehydration, also known as dehydration, can be Diabetes mellitus, diabtes insibitus, adrenogenital syndrome, Addison’s disease, hypertrophic pyloric stenosis and various kidney diseases.
Symptoms
A loss of fluid is usually noticeable by a loss of weight of the child (childhood emergencies). A body weight loss of 5% is called mild exicosis, a loss of 5-10% is called moderate exicosis and a weight loss of more than 10% is called severe exicosis. Furthermore, fluid loss is also associated with dryness of the skin (standing skin folds) and mucous membranes and, if very severe, with marbled skin color, sunken fontanel, rapid pulse, low blood pressure, clouding and cramps.
There are three types of dehydration, depending on the predominant deficiency. If the child loses as much salt as water, it is called isotonic dehydration (in case of vomiting or diarrhea). If more water than salt is lost, this is called hypertonic dehydration (due to diarrhoea, hyperventilation, reduced fluid intake and diabetes in sensitivity). Consequences of e.g. cholera, excessive sweating and increased salt loss can be hypotonic dehydration (more salt than water is lost).
