Contents:
- Medical Video: Zinc Saves Kids
- Zinc, a nutrient that can accelerate the healing of diarrhea
- Where can I get zinc?
- Besides zinc, children also need ORS when diarrhea
Medical Video: Zinc Saves Kids
Diarrhea is a disease that often occurs in many children, especially in developing countries. Although it is considered trivial, prolonged diarrhea in children can interfere with growth and development. Therefore, diarrhea in children should not be allowed. Well, zinc is one of the important nutrients needed to prevent and speed up the process of healing diarrhea in children. How can?
Zinc, a nutrient that can accelerate the healing of diarrhea
Quoted from the WHO page, zinc supplementation is one way that can be done to reduce the duration (duration of the child affected by diarrhea) and the severity of diarrhea in children. Not only that, zinc supplementation can also prevent children from experiencing subsequent diarrhea infections for two to three months.
This is because zinc is an important nutrient needed by the body to carry out protein synthesis, cell growth, increase immunity, maintain body metabolism, and maintain the balance of water and electrolytes in the body. Lack of zinc nutrients in the body can be associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal infections and decreased immune function.
WHO and UNICEF recommend that children under five suffering from acute diarrhea be given zinc supplements as much as 20 mg (1 tablet) for 10-14 days, while children under the age of six months are given 10 mg (½ tablet) per day. Giving zinc tablets can be done by dissolving it in boiled water or breast milk.
Where can I get zinc?
Zinc is a nutrient that is not produced by the body, so children must get zinc nutrients from outside (can be from foods containing zinc or from zinc supplements). When a child has acute diarrhea, the child needs additional zinc nutrition that can be obtained from zinc supplements. This is because the child's need for zinc at this time is increasing to speed up healing.
While when a child is healthy, the child's zinc needs are not too high, so the child can fulfill his zinc needs only from food (no need to take zinc supplements). Excessive zinc intake from supplements is feared to interfere with the absorption of other nutrients, such as iron and calcium. This can then disrupt the growth and development of children.
Some foods containing zinc minerals are meat, chicken, oysters, crabs, lobsters, cashews, almonds, kidney beans, oatmeal, milk, cheese, and zinc-fortified cereals.
Besides zinc, children also need ORS when diarrhea
Yes, besides giving zinc supplements, administration of ORS certainly can help cure a child's diarrhea. If the child starts diarrhea, ORS is one solution that must be given immediately. ORS are useful for replacing lost body fluids and electrolytes when children are diarrhea, so the risk of children being dehydrated when diarrhea can be avoided. Giving ORS supplemented with zinc supplements when children are diarrhea is a "recipe" that is powerful enough to stop a child's diarrhea before it's too late.
However, if the child's diarrhea gets worse or doesn't heal (even until dehydration occurs), you should immediately take the child to the doctor to get further treatment.
