Viral Diarrhea

Diarrhea is the passage of watery stools. Diarrhea is caused by one of several diarrhea-causing viruses and usually gets better by itself within a week.

A child with viral diarrhea has a fever and often starts the illness with some vomiting. Shortly after these symptoms appear, the child develops diarrhea. Often children with viral diarrhea "feel bad," but do not act ill.

You should call your pediatrician if your child is less than 6 months of age or has any of the following:

Blood in stool
Frequent vomiting
Abdominal pain
Urinates less frequently (wets fewer than six diapers per day)
No tears when crying
Loss of appetite for liquids
High fever
Frequent diarrhea
Dry, sticky mouth
Weight loss
Extreme thirst

It is not necessary to call your pediatrician if your child continues to look well even though there may be:

Frequent or large stools
Lots of intestinal gas
Green or yellow stools

Most of the time mild diarrhea lasts from three to six days. Occasionally a child will have loose stools for several days longer. As long as the child acts well and is taking adequate fluids and food, loose stools are not a great concern.