Praktické lekárnictvo 2/2017

Vomiting and diarrhoea in children – how can the pharmacist help?

Diarrhoea and vomiting are very frequent symptoms, which we may meet in children. Usually, they are caused by gastrointestinal disorders and have infectional base but they can have many other causes, which are in children specific but less common than in the adults. The base of the therapy of the non-complicated diarrhoea and vomiting is securing of rehydration and following realimentation. From the non-prescription drugs, we can recommend the intestinal adsorbents and probiotics, in older children intestinal disinfectants and in especial cases the analogues of opioids with symptomatic effects as well. Always we get on to the physician, if in association with the diarrhoea and vomiting there is a not-decreasing fever, headache, blood in the stool, abdominal pain or if the state get suddenly worse.

Keywords: vomiting, diarrhoea, self-medication, non-prescription drugs