What should I do if my baby has diarrhea for a week?

Patient's question:

Gender: Male
Age: 140 days
Marital Status: Married
The baby started having diarrhea about a week ago. The stool was yellow and watery, with a slightly sour smell. More than ten bowel movements were recorded in a single day. The next day, we took the baby to the hospital for a stool test. The doctor prescribed Seabuckthorn Dry Emulsion and Bifidobacterium Triple Viable. For the first four days, we reduced the milk intake by about half. Since the day before yesterday, the baby's milk intake has mostly returned to more than three-quarters of its previous level. Additionally, we have been feeding the baby some rice porridge.
In the past two days, the baby still has seven to eight bowel movements daily, but each time the amount is relatively small. The stool remains yellow and loose but is no longer entirely watery—it now contains some solid matter. Furthermore, the baby tends to have a bowel movement either during or immediately after feeding. Because of this, we have already...

Doctor's answer:

According to the situation you mentioned, considering that the child's diarrhea is caused by indigestion, you can continue using Bifidobacterium triple preparation and add Smecta. It is okay to take Smecta, but be careful when using it. The child must be fasting, and you must strictly follow the usage instructions on the Smecta packaging. Otherwise, the effect will not be good.
Why does Smecta need to be taken on an empty stomach? Because this medication is an adsorbent. After taking it, it can adhere to the surface of the intestines, preventing viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens from coming into contact with the intestinal lining. It can also adsorb viruses, bacteria, and toxins in the intestinal cavity and excrete them with the stool. Taking it with food will not achieve this effect. If taken with other medications, it will adsorb the drugs, reducing their efficacy.
Your child has relatively small amounts of bowel movements each time and is eating well, so it is unlikely to have significant dehydration. To check for dehydration, observe the amount of urine, check for sunken fontanelles or orbits, and look for signs of significant dry mouth. If there is no dehydration, fluid supplementation is not necessary. If dehydration is present and fluid supplementation is needed, a simple method is to mix one beer bottle cap of salt into 500 milliliters of water or rice water, stir well, and take it frequently. The daily amount should be between 200-300 milliliters.
Here is another method you can try, which I often use in clinical practice and recommend to you: Mix equal parts of finely ground Huanglian (Coptis chinensis), Baijiao (white pepper), and Cangzhu (Atractylodes macrocephala) in a 1:3:2 ratio, add a small amount of Bingpi (mastic), mix well, and store in an airtight container. When using it, take an appropriate amount and fill it into the umbilicus. Then, secure it with adhesive tape.
I hope my answer is helpful to you. The external application method I recommend can be tried, and the effect is quite good.