What is dehydration?
When your child has diarrhea with or without vomiting, large amounts of fluid and minerals, called electrolytes, are lost from the body. This fluid loss can be excessive and frequently can lead to a more serious condition called dehydration.
Why dehydration is a problem
Dehydration causes our bodies to become out of balance. With dehydration, more water is moving out of our bodies than we’re taking in through drinking. When the body loses too much water it can no longer function efficiently.
Dehydration can make your sick child feel even worse. If your child has both diarrhea and continued vomiting, dehydration can become dangerous even more quickly.
Teach Your Child Why Hydration Matters!
When your child doesn’t feel well, it can be hard to get them to drink all that
they should. Here’s a fun way to explain why staying hydrated is so important.
Supplies:
- A celery stalk that’s been sitting out for a couple of hours
- A tall, clear jar or glass
- Half a cup of flavored Pedialyte® (or water and 1 tablespoon of food coloring)
- A knife or vegetable peeler
Directions:
- Cut an inch off the bottom of the celery stalk
- Fill the jar or glass with the flavored Pedialyte (or with water and food coloring)
- Place the celery in the glass - leaves up
- Let sit overnight
- The next day, take the celery stalk out of the liquid and gently peel or cut back the outer skin
- Notice how the liquid has climbed the celery stalk
Discussion with your child:
- Do you remember how dry the celery stalk was when we put it in the jar?
- We can see that the liquid (the Pedialyte or colored water) has moved from the bottom of the stalk far up toward the top.
- That happened because the celery was dry and needed a drink.
- Your body can get like that, especially when you are sick.
- When you are sick you need to drink enough to keep your body feeling good.
- Your drink starts at your mouth and travels all through your body, from your head to your toes. And that makes you feel better.
