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Family | Holidays

Holiday health: Diarrhoea and sunburn

Diarrhoea

Severe diarrhoea can be life-threatening, particularly to children under-three who find it harder to recover from bouts of gastrointestinal illness. The biggest risk is dehydration – knowing how to prevent this and how to treat it is crucial.

The risk of contracting severe diarrhoea is greater in certain parts of the world, such as the Indian subcontinent and Latin America (especially Peru). However, there are several ways to minimise the risk:

• Avoid ice-cream or ice from unreliable sources; avoid food that has been cooked and left to go cold; don’t eat raw food unless it is fruit or vegetables that you have peeled, and steer clear of shellfish if you are in areas a long way from the sea or where the effectiveness of refrigeration is suspect.

• Follow strict hand hygiene rules, washing or using anti-bacterial handwipes before eating or preparing food.

• Only eat food that has been cooked thoroughly and is still piping hot when served.
• Only drink water that you have boiled or sterilised, or bottled drinks from reputable sources.

Diarrhoea and vomiting can present themselves in varying levels of severity, depending on the underlying cause and the level of dehydration that follows. If your child is vomiting or passing blood or the episode continues for three days or more you need to take medical advice as soon as possible.

If the diarrhoea coincides with a fever give paracetomol and fluids, but seek advice if there is no improvement, as these symptoms may also be the sign of something more serious, such as malaria.

If your child has a bout of diarrhoea and/or vomiting there are several steps to follow. Firstly, keep clear fluid intake up, offering water, juices and oral rehydration drinks frequently (an alternative to rehydration drinks is Coca Cola with a pinch of salt added). Keep checking for signs of dehydration. If your child wants to eat, then offer bland carbohydrates such as crackers.

What are the signs of dehydration?

• Mouth and tongue are dry; thirstier than normal – early warning signs
• Passing less (and darker) urine than normal; sunken eyes – serious dehydration
• Skin has lost elasticity; listlessness, drowsiness and unable to drink – severe dehydration, requiring hospitalisation

Sunburn

Children are very susceptible to getting sunburnt. It is important to keep young children and babies out of direct sunlight during the middle of the day (between 1100 and 1500). This is especially important when they are still getting used to hot temperatures. As with most dangerous illnesses, prevention is better than cure. Here are some tips for keeping your children sun-safe:

• Stay out of the sun during the middle part of the day.

• Cover up with loose, comfortable 100% cotton clothes.

• Wear sun protection suits for playing on the beach and swimming.

• Wear a wide-brimmed sunhat.

• Drink lots.

• Have a siesta.

• Do not run around in the middle of the day.

• Use water-resistant suncream of SPF 15 or more and reapply regularly.

• Come straight out of the sun if any reddening of the skin occurs; more cream will not stop the child burning.