Children are always eager to explore their surroundings. They like to play with objects around which, of course, their cleanliness and hygiene are doubtful. Not infrequently they also have difficulty washing their hands discipline so they have the potential to touch food with dirty hands. Coupled with digestive conditions that are not as strong as adults, children are more susceptible to dysentery.
What is dysentery?
Dysentery is an infection of the intestine that causes diarrhea which can sometimes be accompanied by blood or mucus which is generally experienced by children or toddlers. Meanwhile, diarrhea is one of the symptoms of dysentery which makes the sufferer continue to have watery bowel movements and occurs more than three times or more than 24 hours. Apart from diarrhea, there are several other symptoms of dysentery, such as stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. There are two types of dysentery which are classified based on the cause, namely:
- Basilar dysentery/shigellosis : dysentery caused by shigella bacteria such as Escherichia and Coli
- Amoebic dysentery /amoeebiasis : dysentery caused by an amoeba (a single-celled parasite ) named Entamoeba histolytica which can generally be found in tropical areas.
Dysentery is a common disease that is often experienced by children, the most common dysentery is bacillary dysentery. Apart from bacteria, there are several environmental factors that cause dysentery, namely poor sanitation and limited clean water, unhygienic living conditions and contamination from the food and drink consumed.
Does dysentery need special treatment?
Not all cases of dysentery require special treatment from medical personnel because in general this disease can recover within a few days. But if you experience bloody or mucous diarrhea that lasts more than a few days immediately consult a doctor for further diagnosis and treatment.
Dysentery sufferers must still be vigilant because in general dysentery can cause dehydration and even death if not treated immediately. Dehydration is the main cause of death in children who experience diarrhea and vomiting. During an emergency, mild dehydration can be treated by giving electrolyte fluids or ORS to replace body fluids that have been lost due to diarrhea.
What are the preventive measures for dysentery?
The most effective prevention in dealing with dysentery is to maintain cleanliness (hygienetas). Here are some steps to prevent dysentery due to contamination, namely as follows:
- Avoid consuming food whose cleanliness is not guaranteed and do not drink water from the tap directly
- Always wash your hands before and after eating
- Separating raw food from cooked (reduce raw food)
- Store food in the refrigerator and don't leave food exposed to sunlight for too long.
- Apart from that, there is also a natural way to deal with dysentery, namely by drinking boiled water from rambutan skin, crown fruit skin, guava leaves and avocado leaves.
That's the sundries of dysentery that you can know. Understanding what dysentery is, how the symptoms that appear are related to dysentery, to preventative steps that can be taken can certainly help you prevent this one disease from your child. However, if your child has dysentery, it is better to immediately consult a pediatrician to get the right direction and treatment.