Slide 19 (Also Figure
7)
Home made oral Fluids, and how much
to giveYou have seen several ways to
make on OR fluid. "Glucose-electrolyte solution" is
the name of the OR fluid made with a packet of ORS
like 'Oralyte'. The electrolytes are the salts dissolved in water. "Sugar-salt" solution is the home-made fluid.
If you did the Exercise after="diarrhoea-management-12.htm" target="_blank"> Slide
12, you worked out
how much fluid to give to a moderately dehydrated 10
kg. child. This slide shows a much simpler way to work
out how much OR fluid to give to a person with diarrhoea. You give the same amount
whichever kind of fluid you use.
Q. How much fluid should you give to an adult?
A. Look at the picture above. Give an adult 2 glasses of OR fluid for every diarrhoea stool he
passes. Some researchers found that each
diarrhoea stool is approximately the same volume. And two glasses of fluid replace the water and salt
usually lost in one diarrhoea stool.
Q. Mow much fluid should you give to a child?
A. Look at the picture on the left. Give a child either
half a glass or one whole glass of fluid for each diarrhoea stool. (Notice that it is not one
and a half
glasses, but one glass or half a glass.) Whether
you give one glass or half a glass depends on the
size of the child. You can use this rough method both to replace lost fluid, and to prevent
dehydration. For example, if a small child has passed 5 watery diarrhoea stools, he needs about 5
half-glasses of OR fluid to replace the loss. If an older child has just begun to have diarrhoea and he
has passed one diarrhoea stool, he needs one glass of OR fluid to prevent dehydration.
Remember also about the speed at which you give the fluid.
Q. How long would you tell a mother to take to give
her 10 kg. child one glass of fluid? (See Teacher's Notes for="diarrhoea-management-12.htm" target="_blank"> Slide 12 and here.)
Teacher's Note
No answer to this question is given in the main commentary because it is important
for students to work it out for themselves. If there are no signs of dehydration, or it is mild, a 10
kg. child should take a 200 ml. glass of OR fluid in about 2 hours. See the Table in
Appendix 2. For mild dehydration, give 50
ml. in 5 hours, which is 100 ml. per hour, or 1 one glass in 2 hours. One 200
ml. glass contains 40 teaspoonfuls, so she should give
1 one teaspoonful of OR fluid every 3 minutes. A more severely dehydrated child may need to
take one glass of fluid in about an hour. |
