Diet for rotavirus in a child

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Rotavirus infection is a very insidious disease. First of all, his "cunning" lies in the surprise. Waking up in the morning, the child can be cheerful and cheerful as always, and then suddenly become lethargic, start complaining of abdominal pain, he starts vomiting, diarrhea and a high temperature.

The second point: the disease can occur in two stages.

It would seem that the disease has receded, but suddenly after a few days everything repeats again, and the recurrent disease is much more severe than the first. Intestinal infection caused by rotavirus is quite common among children.

It is especially common among babies under three years old, since their immunity is not sufficiently developed to effectively fight the disease, and it is easier than ever to drag the infection into their mouths.

You can get infected with this "infection" by contact with an animal, licking dirty fingers, drinking unboiled milk or eating an unwashed apple. They also serve as sources of contamination in common areas and common household items. Therefore, rotavirus is so common among babies attending nurseries or kindergartens. And if he gets into the apartment - "mows" the whole family. And it is almost impossible to keep track of this, whether a person is at least three times clean and washes his hands with or without reason.

"Rotavirus" in children under three years of age is especially difficult, therefore, in order not to aggravate the already deplorable situation, pediatricians recommend not to start self-medication, but to carry out therapy under the supervision of a specialist. If you start to fight the disease on time and correctly, then it is quite possible to recover quickly and at home. The issue of hospitalization is always decided by the parents, but it is worth listening to the doctor's recommendations.

One of the most important measures in the fight against rotavirus infection in children is diet, diet, and again diet. Correct fractional nutrition will quickly put the baby on his feet. Many mothers and grandmothers are afraid that if the child is not fed, he will die, and the terrible word "diet" literally puts them into a stupor. In this case, he is more likely to die if food is forced into him.

In the first days of the disease, doctors do not recommend feeding the child, if it does not require it on its own. The main thing is to drink, because with vomiting and diarrhea, the body of a small patient loses a large amount of water. This leads to dehydration and, if you do not replenish the supply of moisture in the body, the situation can end really badly.

When the baby begins to slowly cope with the infection and wants to eat, you need to make such a menu for him so that all useful microelements get into the weakened body, while not bothering the stomach, so as not to cause the constant symptoms of rotavirus again - severe flatulence, frothy stools and vomiting.

Diet for rotavirus infection in a child

Unfortunately, medicine has not yet come up with a drug that could cope with an intestinal (rotavirus) infection so that he drank a pill and forgot that he was sick. In addition, there is no stable immunity to this ailment. If the baby has had a "rotavirus" - this does not give any guarantee that the disease will no longer cling to him.

Therapy for rotavirus infection is mainly limited to taking measures to prevent dehydration and adherence to diet. Only diet can relieve inflammation in the intestines, overcome unpleasant symptoms and ultimately help cope with the disease.

There are several rules that must be followed during treatment.

Quickly see a doctor

Before starting to treat a child, it is necessary to make a correct diagnosis. And mothers and fathers, unless they are, of course, pediatricians or infectious disease specialists with a mobile laboratory, will not be able to do this. Therefore, in order not to miss any more serious disease disguised as symptoms of "rotavirus" (for example, cholera or salmonellosis), you need to seek help from a specialist.

In addition, it is not always possible to prevent dehydration of a small organism in the acute period of the disease (3 days), therefore, hospital conditions are necessary to inject fluid intravenously through a dropper.

Do not force feed

Under no circumstances should a child be force-fed. If he refuses food, this is not a reason to panic. Better instead of eating, give him homemade thick jelly or weak sweet tea.

Eliminate "dangerous foods" from the diet

In order not to provoke the progress and development of rotavirus infection, parents should exclude all dairy and fermented milk products, raw vegetables and fruits, sweets and carbonated drinks, fatty and fried foods. By the way, about dairy. If a child is breastfed, in no case should it be limited in breast milk, because it is this that is the main source of useful vitamins and immunoglobulins for the baby.

Children on artificial feeding are usually transferred to dairy-free formulas and cereals and refuse complementary foods. After the condition of the little patient is normalized and his appetite returns, everything can be returned to its place.

Frequent meals

After the disease begins to slowly recede, and the baby begins to ask for food, you cannot feed him as usual. It is best to give food often (as well as to drink), but in small portions so as not to provoke vomiting. Doctors recommend table number 4 for the first three days (exacerbation period) and adhere to a further diet (table "1") for 3-4 weeks after the extinction of all symptoms of the disease.

Diet for rotavirus infection in children

Now, in fact, we can talk about what is allowed to give the baby during the treatment of an intestinal infection. The menu, as mentioned earlier, should be varied in order to replenish the body with lost substances, as well as easily digestible ones.

The first days of treatment

The first days are the most difficult. Fever, diarrhea, and vomiting are debilitating to the baby. To normalize the stool for a baby (we are considering a small patient from a year who does not refuse to eat), buckwheat, semolina or rice porridge are suitable, but always on water and without oil (pearl barley, barley and millet porridge are excluded. pasta). Chicken, not fatty, broth and white bread croutons will also be good.

Subsequent feeding

After the acute period of the illness has passed, you can gradually introduce other dishes into the menu. A strict rotavirus diet is necessary in order to prevent the disease from recurring. Meals can be varied: a variety of dietary recipes and mom's imagination - that's all you need.

In addition to the same cereals on the water, children with rotavirus can be given:

• low-fat meat and chicken soups (the main thing is that the meat, vegetables and cereals are well-cooked);
• mashed potatoes;
• rice pudding;
• meatballs, meatballs;
• steamed fish and meat cutlets;
• steamed dairy-free omelet;
• boiled egg;
• applesauce or carrot puree.

For lovers of snacks and sweets, as well as for a variety of menus, you can prepare:

• baked apple;
• sheet marmalade (
• give biscuit cookies;
• drying;
• wheat sticks.

At the final stage of recovery, after the child stops vomiting and diarrhea, the temperature returns to normal, doctors recommend introducing fermented milk products. In such a natural way, the microflora in the intestine is restored.

For this, the following are suitable:

• yoghurts;
• kefir;
• grated cottage cheese.

Drink abundantly

At all stages of treatment, the main thing is to drink a lot. Dehydration and subsequent intoxication of the body are the main enemies of rotavirus infection. Rehydration therapy is the first thing a pediatrician prescribes. Regidron, Humana electrolytes, etc. - these mixtures are diluted with water according to the instructions and given to the baby by a teaspoon (5 ml) every 5-10 minutes. But they taste not at all pleasant and kids drink them reluctantly.

Therefore, this drink can be alternated with:

• weak sweet tea;
• a decoction of chamomile, mint, rose hips;
• homemade jelly (jam, starch, water);
• dried fruit compote (without prunes) or dried blueberries;
• rice broth.

All treatment for rotavirus infection in a child, from the drug list of drugs to the diet, should be carried out under the strict supervision of a physician. The baby can be transferred to the common table in about a month.

During this time, the crumbs need to be removed from the diet: chocolate and sweets, pastries and fresh bread, fried foods, cheese and sour cream (although milk and butter can be added a little to ready-made meals), legumes, vegetables that can cause bloating (cabbage, turnip, radish), as well as sour and unripe fruits.