Oral rehydration therapy facts for kids
Oral rehydration therapy (often called ORT) is a simple but very important treatment for dehydration. Dehydration happens when your body loses too much water, often because of vomiting or diarrhea. With ORT, a sick person drinks a special mix of water, sugar, and salt. This helps their body absorb water and nutrients better. For very bad dehydration, the mix might also include zinc.
Before ORT became widely used, many children died from diarrhea, especially in developing nations. But in the second half of the 20th century, ORT was developed. It has saved millions of lives, particularly during cholera epidemics affecting children. Between 1980 and 2006, ORT helped reduce the number of young children dying worldwide from 5 million to 3 million each year.
ORT is considered so important that it's on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. This list includes the most important medicines needed for a basic health system around the world. Even though ORT is very effective, diarrhea was still the second most common cause of death for children under five in 2008. This shows how important it is to keep using and promoting ORT.
How to Prepare ORS
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have created clear instructions for making oral rehydration salts (ORS). You can buy ORS as pre-made liquids or as packets of powder that you mix with water.
If you don't have a ready-made ORS packet, you can make a basic solution at home. It's important to use the correct amounts of sugar, salt, and water.
Here's a simple way to make a basic ORS solution:
- Mix about 6 teaspoons of sugar with half a teaspoon of salt.
- Add this mixture to 1 liter (about 4 cups or 1 quart) of clean water.
It's better to make the solution a little too watery than too strong. If you use a bit more than 1 liter of fluid, it's usually fine for the sick person.
What Water to Use
The best fluid to use for ORS is plain, clean water. If clean drinking water isn't available, you can use other fluids like rice water, coconut water, or weak unsweetened tea. You can also use unsweetened fresh fruit juice mixed with water.
If you're worried about the water being unsafe, you can make it safer by adding chlorine or by boiling it. However, it's most important to give the ORS solution right away, even if the water might not be perfectly clean. Getting the sick person rehydrated is the top priority.
Images for kids
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Examples of commercially available ORS mixing into water.
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UNICEF-WHO Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) packet
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Intestinal cells that help absorb nutrients.
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A sketch by Robert K. Crane showing how sugar and salt help water get into the body.
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ORT is very important in places like refugee camps where clean water and medical care might be limited.
See also
In Spanish: Sales de rehidratación oral para niños
