The nurse is advising a group of new parents on how to care for their infant at home if the baby develops mild diarrhea. Which statement indicates that teaching has been effective?

Question

A) "I should offer milk after each episode of diarrhea.".
B) "I should take the baby's temperature and call my physician.".
C) "I could give Kaopectate as long as I follow the directions on the bottle.".
D) "I should offer Pedialyte after 1 hour and frequently thereafter to prevent dehydration.".

Answer 1

D
Feedback:
Mild diarrhea is not considered serious and at the end of approximately 1 hour, parents can begin to offer an oral rehydration solution such as Pedialyte in small amounts. Infants may develop a temporary lactase deficiency after diarrhea that leads to lactose intolerance. With this, a child cannot take formula or breast milk without new diarrhea beginning. Parents should alert their health care provider if they feel this is happening as the infant will need to be introduced to a lactose-free formula initially before being returned to the usual formula or to breast milk. An elevated temperature is seen in severe diarrhea. The parents should be cautioned to contact their health care provider prior to initiating over-the-counter drugs such as kaolin and pectin (Kaopectate) to halt diarrhea because toxic levels of these can occur quickly.