Zinc supplementation prevents diarrhea and pneumonia in children

Zinc is an indispensable trace element in the human body. Zinc is mainly taken into the body through the digestive tract and absorbed in the small intestine.
Zinc has many important biological functions. It is an essential component of many proteins, helps in cell growth and division, as well as participates in the formation of organs and body development. In particular, zinc is also an indispensable component for the production of insulin to regulate blood sugar.
In addition, routine zinc supplementation reduces the incidence of diarrhea and mortality from diarrhea and pneumonia. Therefore, zinc supplementation in children with pneumonia and diarrhea is a very necessary measure.

Use zinc medicine for children with diarrhea as follows:
In a trial performed on 937 children with acute diarrhea in India, it was shown that supplementation of 20 mg of zinc per day reduced the duration of diarrhea by 23 % and reduced fecal water by 39%. The World Health Organization recommends 10 mg/day of elemental zinc for children under 6 months and 20 mg/day for children over 6 months in developing countries with acute diarrhea, for a period of 10-14 days. Use of zinc in the treatment of persistent diarrhea in children:
According to the World Health Organization, persistent diarrhea is defined as symptoms occurring more than 14 days, this condition has a high mortality rate and affects to more growth than acute diarrhea. Randomized trials in children with persistent diarrhea have shown that zinc supplementation reduces the severity of the disease and the duration of persistent and acute diarrhea. Therefore, WHO has recommended zinc supplementation for children with diarrhea as above.

Use of zinc in the adjuvant treatment of bacterial infections:
Zinc supplementation provides additional benefits along with antibiotic therapy in the treatment of severe infections in young children. This was shown in a large randomized trial involving 700 children aged 7 to 120 days in India with severe infections such as pneumonia, sepsis and diarrhea. All these children were treated with antibiotics according to the Standard Protocol. Children who were given zinc at a dose of 5mg twice daily had a reduced rate of treatment failure compared with the placebo group. Therefore, zinc supplementation in children with pneumonia or other infections is also very important.

In a meta-analysis, it was found that zinc supplementation for 3 months or more in children 2 years of age reduced the number of episodes of diarrhea, acute and chronic respiratory infections, pneumonia, severe diarrhea or dysentery. persistent diarrhea.
Two meta-analyses including many of the same trials also found that zinc supplementation in children aged 2 to 5 years in developing countries reduced the incidence of pneumonia by 20% and diarrhea by 13%. . The dose of zinc used in this study ranged from 15-140 mg of elemental zinc/week.
Zinc supplementation prevents diarrhea in children: Many studies conducted in resource-limited countries have shown that regular oral zinc supplementation reduces the incidence of diarrhea and the incidence of diarrhea in children. mortality from diarrhea in subjects at high risk of zinc deficiency. A controlled study found that zinc supplementation for two weeks in children aged 6 to 11 months in India reduced the frequency of diarrhea episodes by 39% and the duration of diarrhea episodes by 36%. Not only that, zinc supplementation for pregnant women also helps to reduce the frequency of diarrhea in the neonatal period in newborns. In a controlled trial in Peru, babies born to mothers who received zinc supplements before birth had a 34% lower risk of persistent diarrhea compared with the group who did not receive zinc. In a similar trial conducted in Bangladesh, prenatal zinc supplementation reduced the risk of acute diarrhea and dysentery in infants by 16%.
Zinc supplementation in children with pneumonia: Besides the role of zinc in preventing diarrhea, zinc also has an important role in the prevention of infections, especially pneumonia.

When the body lacks zinc, it will increase the risk of lower respiratory tract infections as well as complications compared to children without zinc deficiency. And when zinc supplementation helped reduce 38% of children with pneumonia.
For stunted children when supplemented with zinc will reduce the risk of pneumonia 2.5 times compared with the group of children not supplemented. Zinc also reduces the symptoms as well as prevents the flu. A meta-analysis showed that zinc supplementation for children aged 2 months to 5 years reduced the incidence of pneumonia by about 20%.
Poisoning is rare with zinc supplements, even using 10 times the recommended daily amount of zinc does not cause symptoms. But prolonged high-dose zinc supplementation may be associated with copper deficiency because zinc inhibits intestinal absorption of copper. Taking 1 to 2 g of zinc sulfate at a time can cause nausea and vomiting associated with gastrointestinal irritation and erosion. High doses of zinc compounds can also cause acute renal failure due to tubular necrosis or interstitial nephritis.
Zinc supplementation as an adjunct to diarrhea has been shown to be effective with the potential to reduce mortality and duration of illness. Therefore, attention should be paid to zinc deficiency in health and nutrition programs to ensure that all children receive their essential nutrient needs. In addition to zinc, parents also need to supplement their children with other important vitamins and minerals such as lysine, chromium, B vitamins,... .
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