10 Best Home Remedies To Treat Loose Motion In Kids

During the first six months, it is normal for a baby’s stool to be soft and loose. However, if your baby has loose motions or diarrhea, the chances are that you will know it immediately. Your baby’s poop will be watery in consistency, and bowel movements will frequently occur throughout the day and night. Sometimes, loose motions are also accompanied with fever. In this article, we will briefly discuss the potential causes of loose motion in babies and effective home remedies to cure loose motion in babies.

Causes Of Loose Motion In Babies

Loose motion or diarrhea is not an alarming problem, but prevention is always better than cure. Let’s look at the most common causes of loose motion in babies:

• Although new mothers are advised to solely breastfeed their babies, some women are not able to and resort to formula and cow’s milk. This could lead to allergies, and loose motion as your baby’s stomach is not able to handle the proteins in the diary.
• Babies suffering from rotavirus is a common cause for loose motions or diarrhea. Babies who have been vaccinated too can still get rotavirus.
• Antibiotics can kill healthy bacteria in the gut, and this can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, and loose motion in babies.
• Babies in daycare centres or dirty environments are prone to contracting giardia, an infection in the intestines caused by parasites.

Home Remedies For Loose Motion In Babies

Although it is difficult to watch your baby suffering, you should ideally let the loose motion run its course as it is the body’s way of naturally getting rid of germs. Hold off on the medicine and antibiotics for as long as you can. You can start with these home remedies to cure loose motion in babies:

1. Keep Your Baby Hydrated (0+ Months)

Babies tend to lose liquid from their bodies faster than adults do, and this is why they are vulnerable to dehydration. Keep breastfeeding and never give cow’s milk to your baby at this age. Skip sugary drinks as it only worsens the symptoms of diarrhea in babies.

2. Keep A Note Of What You Are Eating (0+ Months)

Some common foods like soy, dairy, wheat, and peanuts consumed by the mother could be the root cause of diarrhea in babies. Try eliminating these foods from your diet for a few days and check your baby’s progress.

3. Identify The Source (0+ Months)

Among many surprising reasons, one reason for diarrhea in babies is teething. It is believed that teething causes excessive saliva, which in turn could trigger loose motion in babies.

4. Clean And Sanitise Everything (0+ Months)

Sanitise all of your baby’s toys and wash your baby’s clothes with a mild detergent. Babies often grab hold of a piece of cloth or a toy and suck on it, especially when they are teething. Dirty germs can enter your baby’s body in this manner.

5. Oral Rehydration Solution (6+ Months)

Oral rehydration solutions (ORS) is one of the best ways to treat diarrhea in babies. It can treat dehydration caused by loss of fluids. Children under the age of 2 should be given 50-100ml of ORS. To make ORS at home, you need 6 teaspoons of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt, and 1 litre of clean water.

6. Banana (6+ Months)

Mash a banana and feed it to your baby to cure loose motion in kids. As bananas are low in fiber, it can help make stools firmer. Bananas are high in potassium and help in replacing nutrients lost from the body due to diarrhea.

7. Curd (6+ Months)

Probiotics found in curd helps in restoring healthy bacteria in the digestive tract. You can also give your baby lassi, but make sure you add sugar to it only after your baby turns 1.

8. Coconut water (7+ Months)

Coconut water helps in treating diarrhea in kids as it gets rid of germs in the stomach, prevents dehydration, and also helps in eliminating intestinal worms.

9. Apple (6+ Months)

Pectins present in apples help in firming up bowel movements. Wash the apple properly, boil it till it softens and make a puree to feed it to your baby.

10. Lemon (8+ Months)

Lemons are one of the easiest ways to cure diarrhea in babies. It is full of anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Mix lemon juice with a little water and feed your baby 4 tablespoons of lemon water throughout the day.

Things To Keep In Mind

• Rush to a doctor if diarrhea, along with fever, lasts for more than 3 days.
• Diarrhea contains blood, pus, or mucus.
• Do not feed any solids or semi-solids to your baby for at least 6 months.
• Change your baby’s diaper frequently and let your baby’s bottom air dry.
• Reduce the use of baby wipes while your baby has diarrhea and use a diaper rash cream.