Baby diarrhea refers to increased frequency of bowel movements, with loose or watery stools. This is a common condition in children, especially in summer and autumn, and is more common in infants and young children under 2 years old. For mild cases of diarrhea, proper treatment can usually lead to a quick recovery. Massage can help promote the restoration of spleen and stomach function, and facilitate the resolution and elimination of excess water. Let's take a look at the illustrated guide for baby diarrhea massage.
Causes and Mechanism of Baby Diarrhea
Baby diarrhea is mostly caused by external pathogens invading the body or internal injury caused by improper diet, resulting in spleen and stomach dysfunction, which leads to improper digestion and absorption of food, resulting in a mixture of water and grains and causing diarrhea.
Long-term improper feeding or weak spleen and stomach can also lead to the accumulation of water and dampness in the body, which flows down to the intestines and causes diarrhea.
Massage for Wind-Cold Induced Diarrhea
If the baby's diarrhea is caused by wind-cold, parents can choose to massage the Spleen Meridian, push San Guan, nourish the Large Intestine, knead Wai Lao Gong, knead the navel for 1 minute each, massage the abdomen counterclockwise for 2 minutes, push up the seven vertebral joints, knead the tail of the turtle, and massage the Zu San Li for 2 minutes each.
Massage Explanation: Pushing San Guan, kneading Wai Lao Gong can dispel cold pathogens, nourish the Spleen Meridian; kneading the navel, massaging Zu San Li can strengthen the spleen and transform dampness; nourishing the Large Intestine, kneading the navel, kneading the tail of the turtle can promote the cessation of diarrhea.
Massage for Damp-Heat Induced Diarrhea
If the child has damp-heat diarrhea, parents can choose to clear and nourish the Spleen Meridian, clear the Stomach Meridian, clear the Large Intestine, clear the Small Intestine for 1 minute each, withdraw the Six Fu, knead the navel and Tian Shu, massage the abdomen clockwise, knead the tail of the turtle for 2 minutes each.
Massage Explanation: Clearing and nourishing the Spleen Meridian, clearing the Stomach Meridian can eliminate damp-heat in the spleen and stomach; clearing the Large Intestine, kneading Tian Shu, clearing the Small Intestine, withdrawing the Six Fu can eliminate damp-heat in the intestines; kneading the tail of the turtle can stop diarrhea.
Massage for Food Injury Induced Diarrhea
If the baby's diarrhea is caused by food injury, parents can choose to nourish the Spleen Meridian, clear the Large Intestine, knead Ban Men, activate the internal Eight Trigrams, knead Zhong Wan for 1 minute each, massage the abdomen clockwise, knead the tail of the turtle for 2 minutes each, knead the navel and Tian Shu for 1 minute, push down the seven vertebral joints for 1 minute.
Massage Explanation: Nourishing the Spleen Meridian, kneading Zhong Wan, activating the internal Eight Trigrams, kneading Ban Men, massaging the abdomen can promote the restoration of spleen and stomach function, eliminate stagnation; clearing the Large Intestine, kneading Tian Shu, kneading the tail of the turtle can help eliminate food stagnation and stop diarrhea.
Massage for Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Induced Diarrhea
If the child has diarrhea due to spleen and stomach deficiency, parents can choose to nourish the Spleen Meridian, nourish the Large Intestine, push San Guan for 1 minute each, massage the abdomen counterclockwise, knead the navel, push up the seven vertebral joints, knead the tail of the turtle for 1 minute each, pinch the spine 5 times.
Massage Explanation: Nourishing the Spleen Meridian, nourishing the Large Intestine, pinching the spine can help invigorate the spleen and replenish qi; pushing San Guan, massaging the abdomen, kneading the navel, kneading the tail of the turtle can help warm and nourish the spleen and stomach to stop diarrhea.
Different Manifestations of Baby Constipation
1. Food injury-induced diarrhea often presents with abdominal distension, with relief of pain after diarrhea. The stool is sour and foul-smelling, often mixed with food residues or milk clots. The baby has poor appetite, often belches or hiccups, sleeps restlessly, and has a thick and greasy tongue coating and stagnant fingerprints.
2. Wind-cold induced diarrhea often presents with loose stools with foamy appearance, abdominal pain, rumbling in the intestines, or accompanied by symptoms of a cold, such as aversion to cold, fever, clear nasal discharge, cough, throat discomfort, etc.
3. Damp-heat type diarrhea is characterized by sudden onset, frequent bowel movements, yellow-brown watery or egg-drop soup-like stools with a strong odor. It is often accompanied by abdominal pain, fever, thirst, desire to drink water, poor mental state, red tongue, and yellow and greasy coating.
4. Spleen deficiency type diarrhea is characterized by recurrent episodes of diarrhea, which often occur immediately after eating. The stools are loose but not foul-smelling, often accompanied by undigested food, poor appetite, yellow complexion without luster, thin body, poor mental state, pale tongue with white coating, and pale fingerprints.
