Children · 4 min read · 2025-12-13

When a child is drying out

Children dry out faster than adults. The warning is in the eyes, the mouth, and the nappies, not in how often you offered water they refused.

This page is general education for families in Gurugram. It is not a diagnosis, a medicine list, or a reason to skip a clinician. Doses are deliberately not given.

In plain language

Vomiting and diarrhoea take water and salts together. Plain water replaces fluid and not salt. Oral rehydration solution replaces both. A child who is floppy, has sunken eyes, or has not passed urine for many hours needs a hospital, because a spoon at home is no longer enough.

Signs worth noticing

These are the clues families usually notice first. One of them, on its own, is not a diagnosis.

A dry tongue and thirst, with the child still alert.
Fewer wet nappies.
Sunken eyes, no tears, and a weak cry.
Cool hands, fast breathing, or a child who cannot be woken properly.

What usually sits underneath

Loose motions, vomiting, fever, and a hot day add up. The gut is losing fluid faster than a reluctant child will drink.

Care that is reasonable at home

Give small sips of oral rehydration every few minutes if vomiting is the issue. Large gulps come back up.
Continue breastfeeding.
Offer usual foods once they will take them. Do not ‘rest the gut’ for days.
Wash hands. Keep a prepared ORS sachet in the house, and mix it exactly as the packet says. Too little water makes it dangerous.

These steps are for someone who is otherwise stable. If the picture is changing quickly, skip the home trial and come in.

When waiting is a bad idea

The child is too sleepy to drink, or vomiting everything.
No urine for many hours, sunken eyes, or a sunken soft spot in a baby.
Blood in the stool, or a swollen tense abdomen.

How Rao Lokram Charitable Trust fits in

Come early if you are unsure. Putting up fluids is ordinary work. Waiting until the child is limp is not a test of toughness. OPD runs Monday to Sunday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM at Near Rockford School, Anaj Mandi Chowk, Kadipur Road, Shakti Park, Sector 10A, Gurugram, Haryana. Call 98185 48492 or 70423 28047. There is no appointment form on this website.

Questions people ask

Can I use juice or soda?

No. They can worsen loose motions. Use ORS, and breast milk or usual food.

What if they hate the taste?

Small sips, cold, from a spoon. A flavoured ORS made correctly is acceptable. Do not add extra sugar.

Are anti-diarrhoeal syrups useful?

Do not give them to children on your own. They can harm. The replacement of water and salt is the treatment.

If this sounds like you, bring the article on your phone if you want, but let the clinician examine you. Old reports and a list of current medicines make the visit shorter.