oral rehydration therapy
Place in Therapy
Place in Therapy
Overall, if a patient has mild diarrhea, and is not a part of the senior or pediatric population, fluid replacement that contains salt and water is adequate to prevent dehydration. However, in those who have moderate to serious diarrhea, or if patient is an older person or a child, consider using hypo-osmolar ORS as they are more efficacious and should be recommended. It is not wrong to use ORS in those who have mild diarrhea and are healthy adults, however it may be unnecessary to do so. If a patient is unable to purchase ORS from local pharmacies, they can make ORS themselves. However, do this with caution, as it is not as precise as the manufactured ones and errors can occur. Therefore, it is only recommended for patients to use homemade ORS if patients do not have access to commercially available ones.
The recipe for homemade ORS is the following:
0.5 teaspoon of salt, 0.5 teaspoon of baking soda, 4 tablespoons of sugar mixed into 1 liter of water.
Overall, if a patient has mild diarrhea, and is not a part of the senior or pediatric population, fluid replacement that contains salt and water is adequate to prevent dehydration. However, in those who have moderate to serious diarrhea, or if patient is an older person or a child, consider using hypo-osmolar ORS as they are more efficacious and should be recommended. It is not wrong to use ORS in those who have mild diarrhea and are healthy adults, however it may be unnecessary to do so. If a patient is unable to purchase ORS from local pharmacies, they can make ORS themselves. However, do this with caution, as it is not as precise as the manufactured ones and errors can occur. Therefore, it is only recommended for patients to use homemade ORS if patients do not have access to commercially available ones.
The recipe for homemade ORS is the following:
0.5 teaspoon of salt, 0.5 teaspoon of baking soda, 4 tablespoons of sugar mixed into 1 liter of water.