Diarrhea leading cause of children’s hospitalization

Most children suffering from diarrhea can avoid being hospitalized by following basic health practices, a leading pediatrician said yesterday.

"This should not happen, especially now that there are many ways to prevent dehydration which results from bouts of diarrhea," Dr. Lulu Bravo of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society said.

Bravo told the 35th annual convention of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) that diarrhea is now the primary cause of hospitalization of children aged five years and below.

She said diarrhea is now the country’s fifth most deadly disease among children.

Aside from intravenous re-hydration, Bravo said people suffering from diarrhea could be saved from certain death by giving them oral re-hydration solution (Oresol).

Because of Oresol, the threat of diarrhea has decreased globally. From 4.5-million diarrhea-related deaths in 1990s, the figure has been reduced to less than three million, Bravo said.

The re-hydration system is intended to replace the electrolytes lost by a person suffering from diarrhea.

Dr. Jaime Montoya, former president of the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, warned against dispensing antibiotics to any person suffering from diarrhea.

Montoya stressed diarrhea is basically caused by bacteria. — Sheila Crisostomo