Patient's question:
The child is 15 months old and has had a fever, diarrhea, and vomiting for seven days. They have been taking Simethicone and receiving Cefmenoxime Sodium with Glucose and Sodium Chloride Potassium Injection. The stool test results show negative occult blood, yellow color, and positive rotavirus (Group A), with a small amount of fat droplets. There has been no improvement. What should be done?Doctor's answer:
Since the stool test shows rotavirus positive, and the stool is watery, it also suggests that the child's acute gastroenteritis is caused by a viral infection. Therefore, antiviral treatment is sufficient, and there is no need to overuse antibiotics. With watery diarrhea and vomiting for seven days, the child is likely already dehydrated. If the child's dehydration is not corrected, the watery diarrhea will be difficult to stop. The reason is that when the body is dehydrated, the crystal osmotic pressure in the blood vessels is not higher than the osmotic pressure in the intestines, so it is not sufficient to keep the water in the blood vessels. Instead, the water constantly "leaks" out of the intestinal wall. Meanwhile, the toxins produced by rotavirus continuously stimulate the intestinal wall to secrete and move, placing the body in a vicious cycle of watery diarrhea. Therefore, it is recommended to supplement the child with enough fluids. If the child shows signs such as sunken eyes, dry lips, or poor skin elasticity, it indicates dehydration.