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The article focuses on the use of subcutaneous fluids as alternative to intravenous therapy in rehydrating children with gastroenteritis and moderate dehydration. Topics discussed include difficulty in offering oral rehydration in children with gastroenteritis with moderate dehydration, guideline on diarrhoea and vomiting in children offered by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and recombinant human hyaluronidasefacilitated subcutaneous (rHFSC) rehydration in children.

Rates of childhood mortality due to diarrhoea remain unacceptably high and call for renewed global focus and commitment. Affordable, simple and effective diarrhoeal treatments have already been available for many years, yet a shift in international health priorities has seen coverage of recommended treatments slow to a nearstandstill since 1995. This article reviews coverage of recommended childhood diarrhoeal treatments (lowosmolarity oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc), globally and regionally, and provides an overview of the major barriers to wide-scale coverage. It is argued that to ensure smooth supply and equitable distribution of ORS and zinc, adequate financing, relevant policy changes, strong public, private and non-government organisation (NGO) collaboration, local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, mass media awareness and campaigning, in conjunction with strong government support, are necessary for successful treatment scale-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors focus on the relation between water, sanitation and hygiene (WSH) measures and faecal-oral diseases in children. They inform that human excreta can contain various pathogens, which are transmitted through contaminated hands or via contamination of drinking water and food. They also mention that use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is used for treating diarrhoea in children.

The article provides an answer to a question on comparison between ultrarapid intravenous rehydration with standard methods of rehydration in children with dehydration secondary to gastroenteritis.

Intravenous maintenance fluid is widely used in general paediatric practice and more children who come into hospital receive intravenous fluid than in the past. The intravenous route is frequently used because enteral maintenance or rehydration treatment is more labor intensive and uses valuable staff time; furthermore modern pumps for delivery of fluids are safe. Nevertheless in developing countries the enteral route is still more widely used even for sick dehydrated children. The dangers of intravenous fluids is that there is a possibility of miscalculation of infusion rates and also the potential for mistakes in terms of dosing errors with additives.

The article presents stamps in paediatrics that have been produced to improve education and increase public awareness on oral rehydration therapy for children.