Diarrhea Diluted apple juice against dehydration

For diarrhea and vomiting, special electrolyte drinks are often recommended to compensate for fluid loss. In children who are only slightly dehydrated, the benefits are unproven and the drinks are quite expensive and children do not always like them. Diluted apple juice could be a cheap and accepted alternative for children with gastrointestinal infections.

Canadian researchers screened about 650 children aged 6 to 60 months who were taken from their parents to a Canadian hospital for diarrhea and / or vomiting and mild dehydration. They received either an apple flavored or diluted apple juice / other preferred beverage solution.

Apple spritzer for diarrhea and vomiting. Image: SBH - fotolia

The researchers measured the (dis) success of each treatment based on the following parameters that occurred within the first 7 days of treatment: in-patient hospitalization or intravenous rehydration, re-medical consultation, and symptom persistence for more than 7 days , a medically prescribed change to the other type of fluid intake or a weight or fluid loss of more than 3%.

The treatment failed in the electrolyte-treated group at 25% higher than the apple juice group (16.7%). In the apple juice group, 2.5% of children were given an infusion, 0.9% had to be hospitalized. In the electrolyte group, the rate was 9.0% for infusions and 2.8% for inpatient hospitalization. The study can be found here.