KALIBANGA

GENERAL OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF 20 MINUTES STRUCTURED HEALTH TEACHING, TH ELISTENERS WILL
ACQUIRE IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT DIARRHEA IS, HOW IT CAN BE ACQUIRED, ITS SIGNS AND
SYMPTOMS, ITS TREATMENT, AND HOW IT CAN BE PREVENTED.

OBJECTIVES CONTENT
1. DEFINE Diarrhea is the passage of 3 or more loose or liquid stools per day, or more frequently than is normal for the individual. It is usually a
WHAT symptom of gastrointestinal infection, which can be caused by a variety of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms. Infection is spread
DIARRHEA IS through contaminated food or drinking-water, or from person to person as a result of poor hygiene.

Severe diarrhea leads to fluid loss, and may be life-threatening, particularly in young children and people who are malnourished or have
impaired immunity.

Most of the pathogenic organisms that cause Diarrhea and all the pathogens that are known to be major causes of Diarrhea are
2. HOW transmitted primarily or exclusively by the faeco–oral route. Faeco oral transmission may be waterborne, food borne, or direct
DIARRHEA IS transmission which implies an array of other faeco oral routes such as via fingers, or fomites, or dirt which may be ingested by young
ACQUIRED children.

3. ENUMERATE Signs and symptoms associated with diarrhea may include:

THE SIGNS
AND • Frequent loose, watery stools
SYMPTOMS • Abdominal cramps
OF • Abdominal pain
DIARRHEA • Fever
• Bleeding
• Lightheadedness or dizziness from dehydration
4. HOW You can treat acute diarrhea at home. In fact, diarrhea will usually go away in two to three days without specific medical therapy.
DIARRHEA IS
TREATED Adults: Make sure you do not become dehydrated if you have diarrhea. Drink plenty of fluids.

• The type of drink is not as important as simply replenishing lost water. But avoid milk. It will make diarrhea worse. Diet soft
drinks do not provide the calories that dehydrated people may need, so regular soda or soft drinks may be selected to replace
lost water.
• Try to eat. The food does not need to be bland, but try to avoid greasy or fatty foods. Infants and children should be encouraged
to eat bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast -- called the BRAT diet -- a combination used for decades to treat diarrhea. If diarrhea
is accompanied by nausea, suck on ice chips until the nausea stops. After the diarrhea stops, avoid alcoholic beverages and spicy
foods for two more days.
• Continue your usual activities if you are mildly ill with diarrhea but avoid strenuous exercise until you feel better because it
increases the risk of dehydration.

Children: Dehydration is also a concern.

• Very young infants pose special problems because of their increased risk of dehydration. They should be offered a bottle
frequently. Solutions such as Pedialyte may be more appealing than water. These fluids also contain necessary salts lost with
diarrhea. But avoid salt tablets. They may worsen diarrhea and should never be used.
• Children with frequent stools, fever, or vomiting should stay home from school and daycare until these symptoms go away. In
addition to allowing the child to rest and recover, this also helps prevent other children from becoming ill.

Medical Treatment for Diarrhea

To replace fluids, the health care provider will often start an intravenous line if you are dehydrated from diarrhea and cannot eat or
drink. Salt solutions flow through the intravenous line, which replaces the lost fluids and often brings quick relief.

Because viruses cause most cases of diarrhea, antibiotics will not work. Even the more severe diarrhea caused by bacteria will usually
go away in a few days even without antibiotics. In fact, antibiotics appear to make some bacterial diarrhea worse, specifically those
caused by the E. coli bacterium (often a source of food poisoning).

• Antibiotics may benefit some adults with diarrhea. If selected carefully, antibiotics may decrease the severity of illness and
 shorten the duration of symptoms. If you have recently traveled out of the country or have been camping (and may have been
exposed to contaminated water in the wilderness), your health care provider may prescribe specific medication used to treat
traveler's diarrhea or certain intestinal parasites.
• Your provider may recommend using over-the-counter antidiarrheal medication. These drugs, such as loperamide (Imodium)
and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) may help some people with diarrhea, but should be avoided by others. Antidiarrheal
5. HOW drugs are not usually recommended for infants and children with diarrhea.
DIARRHEA IS • If you have severe diarrhea, especially if you are dehydrated, you may require hospitalization to receive intravenous fluids and
PREVENTED to be observed.

Sanitation

Simple hygienic measures like hand washing, with soap

• Before preparing food

• Before eating,
• Before feeding a child, after defecation,
• After cleaning a child who has defecated and
• After disposing of a child`s stool, should be promoted

Public health nurses, school nurses, and others who are involved in patient teaching should emphasize principles of safe food
preparation, with special attention to meat preparation and cooking.

• Ground beef should be cooked until no longer pink

• When preparing food, it is important to use different surfaces, knives, and other equipment for meat and nonmeat items.

http://www.who.int/topics/diarrhoea/en/
http://firstaid.webmd.com/diarrhea-treatment
http://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/diarrhea/signs_and_symptoms.html