Management of Diarrhea in Under-fives at Home and Health Facilities in Kashmir

Background: Diarrheal disease forms one of the two major killer diseases in children under five years of age in the developing world. There are inherent cultural practices for management of diarrhea at the domestic level. Also, the treatment practices at health centers vary, with inappropriate use of antibiotics, and iv fluids observed commonly, while ORS is less frequently used. Methodology: Cross sectional study was carried out using pretested interview schedule between January and December 2006, in villages of Kashmir Valley. Results: The ORS use rate is low (24.4% and 8.4%) respectively in past and current episode. Cultural practices include harmful ones like starving to overcome the episode. The rate of Antibiotic use is higher with 77.9%. Conclusion: Kashmir valley faces the same problems in effective diarrhea management as in other developing regions of India and the world, viz. less ORS use, high antibiotic use and harmful cultural practices like giving bowel rest.