What to do when a child has diarrhoea?

The basic principle in the management of diarrhoea is maintenance of water in the body. This is best accomplished by the use of oral rehydration salts (ORS). As soon as the child starts having loose motions, start giving him sips of ORS. (Add one packet of ORS to one litre of pre-boiled and cooled water to make an ORS solution.) You could start giving her one teaspoonful (5 ml) in one minute, taking care to give her at least 200 ml after each bout of loose stool. For infants and new borns, 100 ml and 50 ml respectively after each bout is recommended. In case you do not have ORS at home, you could administer a salt-sugar solution (add a pinch of salt and a teaspoonful of sugar in 200 ml of water to make the solution) to your child.