Diarrhoea in Children at Home: Why ORS and Zinc Come First
November 1, 2026 · 3 min read
The main danger of diarrhoea in children is losing too much fluid. WHO recommends oral rehydration solution to replace it and zinc for 10 to 14 days.
Diarrhoea in a child almost always worries parents. The first thing to protect is simple: the child's body fluids. Children lose water and salt through their stools much faster than adults do, and it is this loss of fluid that makes diarrhoea dangerous.
According to WHO, diarrhoea still takes the lives of around 443,832 children under five every year. Many of those deaths can be prevented with simple care that can start at home.
ORS to replace lost fluid
Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a mixture of clean water, sugar and salt, measured to replace the fluid and salt lost with the stools.
How to give it:
- Mix it with boiled water exactly as the packet says. Do not make it stronger or weaker.
- Give small amounts often, with a spoon or a small cup.
- If the child vomits, wait a little, then carry on more slowly.
- Keep to the storage time on the packet and throw away what is left.
Zinc for 10 to 14 days
WHO recommends zinc for children with diarrhoea: 20 mg a day for 10 to 14 days, and 10 mg a day for babies under six months. Keep giving it until the last day, even if the diarrhoea stops earlier.
How much does it help? A 2016 Cochrane review of 33 trials with more than 10,000 children found that in children over six months, zinc probably shortens acute diarrhoea by about half a day, and shortens persistent diarrhoea by about 16 hours. In babies under six months, no clear benefit was seen. The difference is not large, but for a child who is losing fluid, every hour counts.
Keep eating and breastfeeding
There is no need to stop food. WHO advises that children keep getting nourishing food during diarrhoea, breast milk included. Babies who are breastfed should carry on as usual.
When to take your child to a doctor
WHO lists signs of dehydration such as restlessness or irritability, sunken eyes, and drinking eagerly. Signs of severe dehydration are:
- the child is very drowsy or hard to wake
- sunken eyes
- not drinking, or drinking very little
- a pinch of skin on the belly goes back very slowly, two seconds or more
Take your child to a health facility straight away if you see these signs, if there is blood in the stool, or if the diarrhoea does not stop.
ORS and zinc for children are available at our pharmacy. If you are unsure about the dose for your child's age, just ask a Coapotek pharmacist.
Sources
- World Health Organization. Diarrhoeal disease, fact sheet, 7 March 2024.
- World Health Organization, eLENA. Zinc supplementation in the management of diarrhoea.
- Lazzerini M, Wanzira H. Oral zinc for treating diarrhoea in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016.