After the beginning of autumn, the high temperature weather in North China has been relieved. The reporter learned from various hospitals in Zhengzhou that the number of heatstroke patients caused by high temperature has decreased, but the number of patients with gastrointestinal colds and diarrhea has increased. According to the introduction of our hospital's pediatrics, digestive department, and emergency department, there are more than 30 cases of diarrhea every day. Experts reminded that at the intersection of summer and autumn, the dampness is relatively severe. Citizens should pay attention to protecting their gastrointestinal tract and be alert to dampness-induced diarrhea.
Poor appetite, pickled fish causing diarrhea
Xiao Ling, a fifth-grade elementary school student, has recently always felt sticky in her mouth, with a stuffy abdomen and general weakness. She has diarrhea 3-4 times a day and doesn't want to attend her summer training classes. Her family thought she was being lazy, thinking it was bacterial infection caused by unfresh summer food, so they gave her some antibiotics. Yesterday, during class, Xiao Ling had diarrhea 6-7 times continuously, her face turned pale, accompanied by mild fever, and she kept lying on the desk. The teacher notified her parents and sent her to the hospital for treatment. According to the parents' recollection, because the child has had a poor appetite these days, she wouldn't eat any bland food. The night before last, they bought pickled fish. Everyone else was fine, and out of fear that she would have diarrhea, they specially let her take some gastrointestinal antibiotics.
According to Director Zhang of the Pediatrics Department, diarrhea is prone to occur at the intersection of summer and autumn. Many people think that autumn diarrhea is caused by unclean diet and lack of hygiene and other external reasons. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that autumn diarrhea is mainly caused by the long-term stay of summer dampness in the body. Damp weather directly attacks the spleen among the five zang organs. The spleen is responsible for transforming and absorbing nutrients and distributing them throughout the body. It belongs to earth in the five elements, so it likes dryness and dislikes dampness. If the dampness in the body is too heavy, the spleen will be overworked. When the spleen cannot transform well, digestion and absorption will be poor, and a series of problems such as sticky mouth, upper abdominal distension, and discomfort will appear. Children have weaker resistance, and the damp weather has a great impact on the spleen and stomach. Combined with the stimulation of spicy food, external dampness plus external heat makes the gastrointestinal system unable to withstand the dampness, leading to abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Drenched in sweat, ice cream causing diarrhea
Similarly, Xiao Hu, an elementary school student cooling off at home, is usually active and mischievous, often playing until he is drenched in sweat. Yesterday, after playing around with his friends, he immediately turned the air conditioning to its lowest setting upon returning home and took out his favorite ice cream from the refrigerator. Unexpectedly, half an hour later, he suddenly felt abdominal pain and diarrhea, sweating cold sweat all over, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and his face turned as white as paper. His family quickly sent him to the pediatric department of our hospital for treatment. The doctor used moxibustion therapy, aiming the moxa stick at multiple acupoints of Xiao Hu for fumigation, while also using an infrared physiotherapy instrument. After an hour, Xiao Hu's abdominal pain symptoms were basically relieved.
According to Deputy Director Liu of the department, the hospital has recently treated many children like Xiao Hu, mainly due to the large temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, combined with eating cold food, which puts the abdomen in a state of being attacked by both internal and external cold and heat. This causes enhanced gastrointestinal peristalsis, manifesting as acute spasm, resulting in severe abdominal pain and nausea. Moxa sticks have excellent effects of promoting blood circulation and removing cold, and can drive away pain as long as they are used in time.
Experts remind that after the beginning of autumn, the temperature remains high, and the humid and hot weather weakens children's resistance. While cooling off, attention should be paid to protecting the spleen and stomach. Reduce the intake of chilled foods, focus on light and room-temperature foods, and eat more foods like winter melon, radish, and coix seed. Pay special attention to reducing the consumption of cold drinks. The temperature difference between the air-conditioned room and the outdoor should not be too large, ensuring adequate sleep to enhance physical resistance.