Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
WEKU
WEKU
Kamala Thiagarajan

There's a cheap and effective way to treat childhood diarrhea. So why is it underused?

A 7-month-old child with diarrhea lies in a bed at a hospital in India. Oral rehydration salts are a cheap and effective treatment but are underused. A new study aims to find out why. (Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)

Every year, nearly 500,000 children die from an easily curable condition: diarrhea.

There's a simple and effective treatment: mixing oral rehydration salts — which are basically a mix of sugar and salt in the form of glucose and electrolytes — for the child to drink to restore the body fluids that are lost during bouts of diarrhea. It works by keeping the body hydrated. These salts are available in small plastic pouches.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.