Vomiting in the child

Diarrhea and vomiting are particularly important in children. The child’s organism is not fully developed in terms of the immune system until the age of 10. It therefore needs special help and protection from pathogens.

For this very reason, children are much more susceptible to bacterial or viral infections. The immune system has yet to learn and develop effective antidotes against the pathogens. On the other hand, children in kindergartens are exposed to a high pathogen load every day, and therefore fall ill more often.

Typical childhood pathogens are the Norovirus and the Rotavirus. Both viruses are transmitted via drinking water, food, and everyday objects such as insufficiently cleaned dishes. Unfortunately, only a few viruses are enough to cause an infection.

It is therefore not uncommon to hear in the news that all the children in a kindergarten have been infected by one virus. The most common gastrointestinal infection of childhood is that with rotaviruses. 1-3 days after infection the first symptoms appear.

After the symptoms have subsided, the children remain carriers for a good week, as they still excrete viruses in their stools. Thus it comes that up to the third year of life well 90% of the children are already contaminated with rotaviruses. Just like rotavirus, norovirus is transmitted via mouth to mouth or mouth to object.

Both viruses are very similar in the way they are transmitted, the symptoms and the course of the disease. The Norovirus also causes diarrhoea and vomiting, but these can occur after 6 to 50 hours. After the symptoms have subsided, the affected patients continue to be potential carriers for a good week, as they continue to excrete the virus in their stools.

Children – especially infants – need sufficient fluid to compensate for the loss of water they suffer from vomiting and diarrhoea. In addition, electrolyte solutions can also be given, which are freely available in pharmacies. Since the body is hardly able to absorb nutrients and energy from the intestines during the infection, it is important to ensure that the body is supplied with sufficient amounts. Honey-sweetened tea, high-fat soup, and salt sticks are good nutritional strategies for diarrheal diseases.In addition, calming and care of the child is also important, since especially small children do not yet understand that this is only a temporary condition that will soon be over. Therefore, it is also important to ensure a familiar, quiet environment in which the child feels as comfortable as possible.