Currently all Muslims around the world are practicing Ramadan, which is fasting.
This one worship is a compulsory worship that is carried out by all Muslims around the world. The duration of fasting is one full month starting from the rising of the sun until it sets at the time of maghrib call to prayer.
Fasting means holding back your lust for hunger and thirst and refraining from sinning. The challenge in holding back these two things often causes problems for some people who are not strong, especially for children.
This fasting service which is carried out for nearly 14 hours often makes your little one not get enough water supply to his body. When this condition lasts, what happens is a threat from dehydration.
Especially when child must do all kinds of daily activities such as those done when not fasting. This has often become a formidable obstacle for some Muslims, especially when the activities carried out are mostly carried out under the hot sun.
Dehydration is basically not a good and healthy condition for the body, especially for your little one. However, of course this should not be a barrier for you and your little one not to carry out this one worship for a full day.
Dehydration during fasting generally makes the skin and lips dry, even the absence of fluid intake which lasts for almost 14 hours tends to make the body weak, especially during the day. That’s why it’s not surprising if you see your little one looks even more limp when entering 12 o’clock and above.
Well, apart from a few things above, there are quite a lot of effects of dehydration on the body that need to be watched out for.
Effect of Dehydration on the Body
Dehydration is a condition that occurs because the body loses more fluid than the amount it gets. This makes the body do not have enough fluids to be able to carry out its body functions normally.
The most common effect of dehydration on the body to date is the onset of diarrhea. Diarrheal disease is still one of the main health problems in Indonesian society.
The fluid content in a healthy human body is as much as 60 percent. For that, make sure that your body always gets fluids to maintain the ideal water content in the body because of its very important function.
Well, there are several other health problems that can occur because the body lacks fluids or dehydration, including:
1. Back Pain
The first problem that can occur from dehydration in the body is pain in the spine which causes back pain. In this condition, the water pads under the spine are dehydrated.
2. Asthma
When the body does not get the amount of fluid supply that suits its needs, the body’s system will adjust it by closing various channels to minimize water evaporation. In the long run, this condition can lead to the development of asthma due to a closed respiratory system so that this section cannot work optimally.
3. Colitis
Colitis or inflammation of the large intestine can cause the heartburn to hurt, this condition is triggered by dehydration. When the body is dehydrated, the intestines will try to absorb water from the stool thereby reducing intestinal lubrication which causes pain to arise.
Those are some things that can happen to your little one who is dehydrated during fasting. However, there is no need to worry, so that you can still apply fasting to your little one for a full day without being overshadowed by the fear of dehydration, then some of these things can be done.
Preventing Dehydration in Children During Ramadan Fasting
1. Fulfill 8 Glasses of Fluid Every Day
The usual measure for meeting daily fluid needs is 8 cups. During fasting it may be quite difficult for your little one to be able to consume this amount of fluid at one time.
So, for that, you don’t have to get this fluid only from consuming mineral water. But replace it with the intake of fruits that contain water or food with broth.
Meanwhile, you can consume 8 glasses of this when breaking your fast, before going to bed and at dawn. For that, manage your little one’s eating and drinking patterns so that their fluid needs are met as well as possible.
2. Drink Milk
You can make milk as a good choice in meeting the needs of your little one’s body fluids during fasting. Besides being useful in providing hydration for the body, consuming milk also provides other benefits that are good for health.
Milk contains protein, carbohydrates, electrolytes and calcium. Even in a study revealed that milk is much better than giving supplement drinks to the baby. There are quite a number of types of milk that you can give your baby. Thus you can choose one of them according to the taste of the baby.
3. Consumption of fruit with lots of water content
It is very important to present a healthy type of food consumed during the fasting month. Apart from being beneficial for the body, healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables are good for digestion. In addition, consumption of these healthy foods will help provide nutritional intake and maintain your little one’s stamina during fasting so that he doesn’t just look weak.
In order to keep the body hydrated, it is important to pay attention to the type of fruit consumed. Choose the type of fruit that has a lot of water content when given to your little one. Some fruits that have a lot of water content include watermelon, melon, pear and many more.
4. Gives Taste To Mineral Water
Sometimes it can be very difficult to ask your little one to finish the drink that you serve in a glass. Even though fasting that your child has for up to a full day will probably make his body lose a lot of fluids. So that if the fluid needs are not met properly, dehydration can be a serious threat to your little one.
Children who have difficulty drinking mineral water tend to dislike the taste of the water given. It’s tasteless and tasteless, making them sometimes feel nauseous when asked to drink large quantities.
So, to overcome this problem, there is no problem if the mother gives a taste to the mineral water that is given, for example by giving orange juice, lime juice or by adding a little honey. It’s just that avoid giving sugar to your little one’s drinks because this is not good for their health.
These are some things you can do to prevent your baby from becoming dehydrated during Ramadan fasting. The need for fluids that are met during fasting will make the stamina better so that the fast that your little one is undergoing becomes more enthusiastic.
