The household staple every health-aware new parent needs at all times

Kids certainly keep us on our toes. With a seemingly endless supply of energy it can come as quite the shock when your little bundle of energy runs out of steam quickly. And the culprit, particularly in the summer months, is usually dehydration.

Whether your child is unwell or otherwise, dehydration can come on quickly and often. We take a look at why that is, and what you can to stay on top of it below.

Why is hydration so important?

The human body is a wonderous thing, and to keep it functioning at its peak we need to stay hydrated. When there isn’t enough fluid in the body, it simply doesn’t work properly!

We need that hydration to help maintain body temperature, keep all of our joints lubricated and for general day-to-day functioning including sleep quality, happy organs and much more.

How do children become dehydrated?

You may be surprised to know that young children and babies are at greater risk of becoming dehydrated than adults, and the impact of that dehydration can escalate quite quickly, particularly if they are unwell and losing electrolytes too.

Common ways children may become dehydrated:

• Physical activity/exercise
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Fever – lack of food and fluid intake during illness
• Not drinking enough water
• Hot weather

Arguably the cause for the most concern on this list are vomiting and diarrhoea, as they lead to a large fluid and electrolyte loss. If your child is experiencing vomiting or diarrhoea, make sure to rehydrate them as soon as possible and seek help from your health professional if it persists for more than:

• 6 hours in infants under 6 months
• 12 hours in children under 3 years
• 24 hours in children ages 3-6 years
• 48 hours in children over 6 years

What are the signs of dehydration in children to look out for?

If your child is very thirsty, they are probably already dehydrated. The effects of severe dehydration can be serious.

The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne lists the signs and symptoms of mild dehydration as:

• dizziness or light-headedness
• nausea or headaches
• dark yellow or brown urine (wee) – urine should be pale yellow
• fewer wet nappies or nappies not as wet as usual; or older children will not go to the toilet as much
• dry lips, tongue, mouth or throat.

And if your child has severe dehydration, they may be:

• extremely thirsty
• lethargic or less active than usual
• pale and have sunken eyes, tears may be absent when crying
• cold – especially their hands or feet
• breathing faster than usual and have a fast heart rate
• irritable, drowsy or confused.

If your child shows signs of severe dehydration, see your GP or go to your closest hospital emergency department.

What can I do to help if my child becomes dehydrated?

When your child is showing any of these symptoms, there’s a good chance they’re already dehydrated. For mild dehydration, give an Oral Rehydration Solution like Hydralyte to rehydrate faster than water alone.

Oral rehydration solutions (fluids) can be used to replace both fluids and body salts (electrolytes). These are the  recommended option if your child is mildly dehydrated, and can be purchased from your local pharmacy or supermarket. It is a great idea to have some on hand at all times.

And because parenting is challenging enough, the good folks at Hydralyte also supply their product in icy pole form in a range of great tasting flavours which children are often more happy to have!

Hydralyte can help you help your young one relieve symptoms of mild dehydration by replacing electrolytes and water lost due to the causes listed above.

The advice from the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne around administrating oral rehydration solution is as follows:

Dehydration in infants

If your baby is under six months old, they should always be seen by a doctor if they are dehydrated. For babies over six months:

• If you are breastfeeding your baby, continue to do this but feed more often. You can also give an oral rehydration solution or water for the first 12 hours.
• If you are bottle feeding your baby, replace formula feeds with oral rehydration solution or water for the first 12 hours, then give normal formula in small, but more frequent amounts.

Dehydration in older children

For older children (over 10 kg) who are dehydrated, give at least one cup (250 mL) of water (or oral rehydration solution) to drink, every hour for four hours. Give them more than this to drink if they are vomiting or have diarrhoea. Your child may want to drink it all at once or drink smaller sips frequently.

Smaller children will need less to drink than older children.

Important: Do not give drinks that are high in sugar (e.g. flat lemonade or sports drinks), because they can make dehydration worse.

When to see a doctor

Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne advises that if your child is under six months of age or has a chronic (long-term) illness, you should see your GP if you think your child is dehydrated.

If your child shows signs of severe dehydration or you are concerned for any reason, see your GP or go to your closest hospital emergency department.

If your child is unwell, they may need medical treatment to help replace lost fluids. This can involve using a feeding tube that goes into the stomach via the nose, or fluids given directly into a vein through a drip (intravenous or IV therapy).

Always read the label and follow the directions for use.

Brought to you by Hydralyte