Does Yogurt Really Work For My Child Who Has Diarrhea?

This is a typical scenario in pediatric wards: A child is admitted for pneumonia and gets antibiotic therapy for several days. His situation improves. After about 3 to 4 days, he is discharged from the hospital and the mom is instructed to carry on giving oral antibiotic to his son until a 7-day course of antibiotic treatment is completed. Several days after discharge, the mom is compelled to have his son readmitted for a different reason. This time the kid is having diarrhea.

A lot of us may believe that a different bout of infection may possibly have brought about the kid's acute onset of diarrhea. But be evenhanded, this impression is not often true. Not another round of antibiotic can deal with the diarrhea. Antibiotic medicines can even aggravate it.

The human gut is normally inhabited by several species of nonpathologic (nondisease-causing) bacteria which affords a lot of health benefits. The existence of these good bacteria (about 400 kinds) in the lining of intestines has protective capabilities and promotes a healthy digestive system. It lessens the development and over proliferation of unsafe disease-causing bacteria like E.coli, Yersinia, and Helicobacter pylori in the intestines by increasing luminal acidity, secreting bactericidal protein, and inhibiting bacterial adhesion to the intestinal wall.

In many cases, when an antibiotic is given to kill the dangerous bacteria that cause a particular disease like pneumonia, the good bacteria are also eradicated. Its population in the intestines is drastically reduced. This can then allow growth and propagation of unsafe bacteria, most commonly Clostridium difficile, that causes diarrhea. This sort of diarrhea is normally regarded as as antibiotic-induced diarrhea.

Nowadays, with the introduction of scientific technology, these excellent bacteria are cultured and produced available in the market. They are collectively referred to as as "probiotics". Probiotics are especially prepared products containing viable, defined microorganisms in sufficient numbers. They come in the form of capsules, tablets, liquid, powder, or at times incorporated into food items.

The most commonly known food items with live microorganisms are therapeutic yogurt preparations. Yogurts are more appetizing, thus well-tolerated by most patients, especially young children. Yogurts include Lactobacillus acidophilus that is the largest population of probiotic bacteria in the human intestine.

Clinical research have established dosages with therapeutic efficacy. For young children, the frequently applied dosage range from 5 to 10 billion colony-forming units per day. For adults, dosage range from 10 to 20 billion colony-forming units per day. These figures will differ though, based on the particular sort of microorganisms used. Species of microorganisms with widespread use and with most clinical testing are Lactobacillus species, Bifidobacterium species, and Saccharomyces boulardii.

Based on a recent medical research data, use of probiotics lowers the risk of antibiotic-induced diarrhea by 52% and that the best time to administer it is within 72 hours of starting antibiotic therapy.

In summary, giving probiotic supplements like yogurt to your kid may help replace the loss of helpful bacteria, and therefore help reduce the severity and duration of diarrhea. Even without diarrhea, probiotics like yogurt can safely be given to young children. They neither lead to allergic reactions nor cross react with other medications. In fact, they are also proven effective in preventing incidence of infectious diarrhea triggered by viruses and harmful opportunistic bacteria.