New advice issued on children's gastric illness

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said the idea that fizzy drinks or fruit juices can help with gastroenteritis is a myth and warned that in children under the age of five they could make problems worse.

The guidance recommends that children should be given water or oral rehydration salt solutions such as Dioralyte if they are at risk of dehydration and continue with their breastfeeding or milk feeds.

Gastroentritis is highly infectious, with 150,000 to 300,000 children under five in England taken to their GP or hospital each year with symptoms.

The guidelines, published last week by NICE and the National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health, cover children from birth up to their fifth birthday, presenting with acute diarrhoea (lasting 14 days), with or without vomiting due to gastroenteritis.

They give advice on fluid intake, nutritional management, how to prevent and manage dehydration and what to tell parents and carers, from home management through to hospital admission.

Simon Minford, advanced paediatric nurse practitioner and member of the group who drew up the guidelines, said, 'Parents are concerned that they are receiving mixed messages about the treatment of gastroenteritis. I hope this guidance will dispel the myths and give parents clear, evidence-based advice about what to do if their child has diarrhoea and vomiting'.

The guidelines also stress washing hands with soap in warm running water after going to the toilet, changing nappies and before preparing, serving or eating food.

- Further information: 'Diarrhoea and vomiting caused by gastroenteritis: Diagnosis, assessment and management in children younger than five years' is at www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG84NICEGuidelineWord.doc