Q: My two years old daughter is suffering from loose stools from the past seven days and still continuing. She is passing her stool 10-15 times a day. The stool is liquid in state and many times mixed with blood. Sometimes, the stool is yellow, or green or mixed with whitish discharge, mixed with froth etc. We have consulted a paediatrician and she has been primarily on Saril (Ofloxacin and Ornidazole) twice a day. According to the doctor, the bleeding should be stopped first. He asked us to increase the dose of Saril to thrice a day. The other medicines she was taking earlier were Emecet (2 days), Atarax (one day). Now, he has been advised Neticox for three days. Her motion test couple of days back diagnosed pus cells - 35-40 per HPF and RBCs - 25-30 per HPF. No worms or ova were found in the microscopic examination. Sometimes there is no stool for three hours then suddenly she starts passing stools for 3 or 4 times within 30 minutes. The doctor told us that normally it takes about a week for the condition to improve. How can loose motions in my daughter be treated?

A:This seems to be dysentery and sometimes the organisms take a long time to respond. Perhaps you could send the stool for culture and sensitivity at a good laboratory. The general line of management is on the right track. Any additional changes in management plan are possible only on reviewing the child.