Should I contact my GP if my child or baby has diarrhoea?

Diarrhoea is more serious in babies than in younger children as they have a bigger risk of losing more fluids and becoming dehydrated. As such, it is important to contact your GP or out of hours service urgently if your baby has six or more episodes of diarrhoea within a 24 hour period. You should also contact your doctor if your baby has vomited more than 3 times over 24 hours.

For children, you should also contact your GP if your little one has had six or more episodes of diarrhoea within 24 hours. You should also contact them if they have diarrhoea and vomiting at the same time, blood in their poo, symptoms of dehydration, poo that is more watery than usual, or a stomach ache that is very painful and does not go away. If your little one has also had diarrhoea for more than a week and it is persistent, you should also make an appointment to see your family doctor.