Dehydration in Babies – Symptoms & Prevention

Dehydration in babies is a serious problem requiring parents to know about different signs of dehydration, treatment and prevention options available.

Have you ever thought why babies need constant feeding and liquid intakes ? The reason is that babies have very limited fluid reserves and any factor like diarrhea or hot temperature can get them dehydrated very quickly. They also have very high metabolic rates which make them susceptible to quick water and electrolyte loss.

Due to these reasons, it is very critical for parents to know about different signs of dehydration, treatment and prevention options available which we will discuss in detail.

Signs that your Baby might be Dehydrated

Please carefully keep track of any of the following signs that your baby might exhibit if they are dehydrated –

– Unusually dark yellow colored Urine (concentrated)

– Tearless crying

– Excessive dry skin

– Cracked & choppy lips

– Sunken eyes

– Reduced urine frequency (Guideline : less than 6-7 filled wet diapers in a consecutive 24 hour period)

When should you visit the Doctor

Although mild dehydration as exhibited by symptoms above can usually be resolved at home by following certain steps we will discuss shortly, there are some additional signs in addition to above which can demonstrate severe dehydration and needs consultation with the pediatrician.

– Baby is unusually sleepy

– Hands and feet very cold to touch

– Very irritable

– Little or no urine output in a 4-5 hour period

Treatment for Mild Dehydration

The first step is to make sure that you continue breast-feeding / formula feeding your child regularly as earlier and for mild cases, give them some water in a teaspoon every few minutes.

For little older Babies with mild to moderate dehydration due to diarrhea should have their lost fluids replaced (also known as Re-hydration). It’s done by giving a special liquid called an oral rehydration solution (ORS) over the course of 3 to 4 hours.

Start the Re-hydration process by giving your child 1 or 2 teaspoons (5 or 10 milliliters) of an ORS every few minutes. If your child does well, you can gradually give bigger sips a little less often. As per the re-hydration project, the recommended guidelines are as follows within a 4-6 hour period –

Up to 11 pounds: 200-400 ml

11-22 pounds: 400-00 ml

Please note that any ORS solution (like Pedialyte) should be given only after checking with your pediatrician who is aware of babies history and medical details. In general, it is not a bad idea for parents to keep some of these solutions handy so you don’t have to run to the store in case of an emergency.

How to Prevent Dehydration in Babies ?

For babies that are not sick, make sure to feed them regularly. Usually that is good enough to keep the body hydrated. However, if the weather is unusually hot, it is recommended to supplement that with additional few teaspoons of water every hour and keep track if they start exhibiting any signs of dehydration that were mentioned above. Also make sure that there is no excessive sweating due to heavy clothes or blankets which can cause loss of water (and also cause additional problems like rashes).

Babies tend to get dehydrated more often through diarrhea or vomiting when they get sick. Make sure that you are keeping the surroundings very clean and are staying up to date with all the immunizations.

Do you have any additional tips that you would like to share with us ? Please let us know through your comments below.