A pinch of salt, a handful of sugar and some clean water is all that is needed to save up to two million children who die each year from diarrhoea.

  How to prepare One (1) Litre Oral Rehydration Solution [ORS] using Sugar, Salt and Water at Home


Diarrhoea causes one-fifth of child deaths worldwide, and in poor countries children suffer the dehydrating condition about four times a year.

In addition to focusing on ways to stop diarrhea from striking, health authorities ought to ensure care-givers know how to use the re-hydrating recipe, which can be home-made.

Diarrhea is defined by the WHO as the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day, normally the symptom of gastrointestinal infection which can be caused by bacterial, viral, and parasitic organisms.

It can spread through contaminated food or drinking water, or from person-to-person with bad hygiene. When left untreated, severe fluid loss from diarrhea can cause can lead to death.

Health and aid workers typically hand out pre-packaged "oral re-hydration salts" and zinc tablets, costing a combined 30 U.S. cents per treatment course, to fight diarrhoeal outbreaks.

But the home-made version of the re-hydrating solution also save lives and more efforts should be made to educate parents and caregivers about the often-overlooked treatment option.

Ensuring that people have basic knowledge to avoid infection from water-borne diseases is fundamental if we are to reduce the number of deaths caused by consumption of infected water.


Rehydration