Diarrhoea and sickness in children - Treating gastroenteritis in children

Children with gastroenteritis can usually be treated at home. In most cases, the illness lasts for around five to seven days.

When looking after your child, you should take steps to stop the infection spreading to others. You should keep your child away from school or nursery until at least 48 hours have passed since their last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting.

Read more about preventing gastroenteritis in children.

Treating dehydration

An important part of treatment is to assess whether your child is dehydrated or has an increased risk of dehydration.

Your child may have an increased risk of dehydration if they:

• are less than one year old, particularly if they are younger than six months
• have passed more than five stools in the last 24 hours
• have vomited more than twice in the last 24 hours
• cannot hold down fluids
• have stopped breastfeeding while they have been ill
• are less than two years old and had a low birth weight

Contact your GP if your child has symptoms of dehydration or may be at an increased risk. If your GP is unavailable, contact your local out-of-hours service or call NHS 111.

The healthcare professional you speak to will ask questions about your child's symptoms and general health to assess whether they are well enough to be treated at home, or if they should be admitted to hospital.

Fluids and food

If your child does not appear to be dehydrated and does not have an increased risk of dehydration, you should continue to feed them as usual, either with breast milk, other milk feeds or solids.

If your child is eating solids, encourage them to eat as soon as their vomiting is under control. Simple foods that are high in carbohydrates – such as bread, rice or pasta – are usually recommended.

Withholding food does not make diarrhoea go away quicker and can even prolong the illness.

Drinking fruit juice or fizzy drinks is not recommended, as it can also make diarrhoea worse.

Oral rehydration solutions

If your child is visibly dehydrated, or is thought to be at risk of dehydration, you should follow the above advice and use oral rehydration solutions.

These solutions usually come in sachets and are available without a prescription from your local pharmacist. You dissolve the mixture in water to make a drink, which helps replace salt, glucose and other important minerals that a child can lose if they become dehydrated.

If your child vomits after drinking an oral rehydration solution, wait 5 to 10 minutes before giving them more. Make sure they drink it slowly – a good method is to give them a spoonful every few minutes. Contact your GP if your child repeatedly vomits after drinking oral rehydration solution.

It is usually recommended that your child drinks an oral rehydration solution each time they pass a large amount of watery stools. The exact amount that they should drink will depend on their size and weight.

Your GP or pharmacist can advise you on how much to give your child. The manufacturer's instructions that come with the solution will also provide information about the recommended dosage.

Other treatments

If your child experiences pain and a high temperature (fever), this can be relieved by giving them paracetamol. Young children may find liquid paracetamol easier to swallow than tablets.

Children under 16 years of age should not be given aspirin.

Medication to prevent vomiting (anti-emetics) and antidiarrhoeal medication are not usually recommended for children with gastroenteritis. This is because they are not usually needed and side effects are possible.

Antibiotics are not usually used to treat gastroenteritis in children, as most cases are caused by viruses rather than bacteria. Even for gastroenteritis caused by a bacterial infection, antibiotics have been found to be no more effective than simply waiting for the symptoms to pass. Using antibiotics for mild conditions also increases the risk of antibiotic resistance.

Hospital treatment

Admission to hospital is usually only recommended if your child has signs and symptoms of severe dehydration, which include:

• a decreased level of consciousness, such as appearing drowsy or unaware of their surroundings
• a rapid heartbeat
• rapid breathing
• a weak pulse

It may be recommended that your child is admitted to hospital if their symptoms get worse, even after treatment with oral rehydration solution, or if they keep being sick.

Hospital treatment usually involves replacing lost fluids and other nutrients either directly into a vein (intravenous fluid therapy) or through a tube passed into the stomach through the nose (nasogastric tube). Most children respond well to treatment and are able to leave hospital after a few days.