Hydration Treatment for Children
Dr. Travis Stork: The reason we received this email from Amelia in Fairfax, Virginia, she writes, “Last year, I had to take my daughter to the hospital because she had a really bad case of the flu and was severely dehydrated. I heard there may be a new way to rehydrate a child faster and more effectively. Is this true?”
And dehydration can be very problematic in young kids because starting an IV is very different in a four-month-old than it is in a fourteen-year-old.
Dr. Jim Sears: And if they’re dehydrated, their veins are even smaller.
Dr. Lisa Masterson: Right.
Dr. Jim Sears: So, it makes them that much harder to find.
Dr. Travis Stork: And for severe dehydration, there is a new product that’s called Hylenex and this isn’t something that we’re using right now but it does make the tissue below the skin surface more permeable so that when it is injected with fluids, the fluids are absorbed into the blood stream more easily and rapidly and that could avoid the need to start an IV in the first place.
Dr. Jim Sears: So, what’s happening, instead of putting the fluid into the vein directly, you just put it under the skin on the back and the fluid just kind of goes under the skin and just get absorbed.
Dr. Travis Stork: And in fact, it can take multiple sticks with an IV needle to find a toddler’s vein but Hylenex, like Doctor Jim said, it’s administered under the skin of a child’s back along with fluids and the moms as you can see there, all these babies say that they are able to hold and comfort their kids while it’s being administered and there are some reports that say it takes half as much time to rehydrate a dehydrated toddler.
Dr. Lisa Masterson: Well, as a mother, it is so hard to see your baby getting stuck over and over again.
Dr. Jim Sears: We use a little numbing cream. These numbing cream on the back there, so you saw the needles going to that --
Dr. Lisa Masterson: Right, no but I mean the other way. This is a great way because when [Voice Overlap] someone digging in there on your kid, it’s heart breaking.
Dr. Travis Stork: And there are treatments you can utilize at home to avoid that trip to the ER in the first place because if you have mild dehydration on your child, you can take aggressive steps at home, right Doctor Sears? To get hem rehydrated.
Dr. Jim Sears: Yeah, that’s usually small amounts of fluids regular. You don’t want to just give them a big jug of some sort of drink and just chug the whole thing because it’s usually going to come right back out. Small sips of electrolyte drinks; some sort of sports drinks, something like that.
Dr. Travis Stork: Because our first step once you come to the doctor is going to be oral rehydration therapy. If your child doesn’t tolerate it, then we have to go the next step which is usually IV or who knows, you may see Hylenex used across the country very soon but new technology is always great in these regards.