chicken RELATED TOPICS: Common cold: Draining ear: Earaches: Immunizations: Rubella: Speech problems and stuttering: Swimmer's ear guick Reference Dehydration SYMPTOMS • Infrequent urination • Smaller amounts of urine than usual (except in a diabetic child) • Sunken eyes • Drowsiness • Rapid or slow breathing • Sunken soft spot on the top of an infant's head • Dryness in mouth • Loss of resilience of the skin HOME CARE • If there are any symptoms of dehydration, call your doctor. • If a child is vomiting, stop the vomiting first Do not give solid foods. Give clear liquids. • If a child is losing fluids, give plenty of extra liquids. Commercial electrolyte solutions (available from your pharmacist) are best Also give gelatin desserts (liquid or gelled), weak tea with sugar, carbonated drinks, and fruit juices. PRECAUTIONS • Do not give milk or milk products. • The younger the child, the more serious dehydration can be. • Dehydration in infants is especially serious. Infants can become dehydrated as quickly as 12 to 24 hours after the start of diarrhea, vomiting, or breathing problems. • The amount of urine output is not a clue to dehydration in a diabetic child. • Common causes of dehydration include the following: diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating, rapid breathing from an illness, diabetes mellitus. Dehydration is a serious loss of body fluids. It occurs when the body is losing more fluids than it is taking in. When an excessive amount of body fluid is lost, the water, minerals, and salts that are essential to health and to life are lost as well. Several conditions may cause the body to lose excessive amounts of water, minerals, and salts. Diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive sweating are common causes of dehydration. Illnesses that increase the breathing rate (such as bronchiolitis and asthma) may cause the child to lose water vapor from the lungs. Illnesses that cause excessive urination (such as diabetes) may also cause dehydration. The smaller the child, the more quickly dehydration can develop. In young infants, the condition can become serious as rapidly as 12 to 24 hours after the start of any cause of dehydration (such as diarrhea or vomiting). A child who is not losing extra fluids will rarely become dehydrated simply by taking in fewer liquids. Except in young infants and in children with diabetes, the kidneys can compensate for a smaller intake of liquids. However, a small intake of liquids in a child who is also losing fluids causes dehydration to occur even more rapidly. A prolonged, high fever can cause fluid loss; encourage your child to drink extra liquids. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS Except in a child with diabetes, one sign of dehydration is a smaller output of urine. A young child who does not urinate for six to eight hours, or an older child who does not urinate for ten to 12 hours, may be dehydrated. Other signs of dehydration include sunken eyes, drowsiness, rapid or slow breathing, and depression (sinking in) of the soft spot at the top of an infant's head. pox