Traditional Method of Initial Diarrhea Treatment in Children

Diarrhea is the most common cause of death in children. For diarrhea, home treatment should be administered by parents to prevent diarrheal complications. The purpose of this research was to investigate the traditional method of diarrhea treatment in Tegal regency, Central Java, Indonesia. A descriptive study was conducted with the aim of describing the traditional method of home treatment for diarrhea in children. The study sample included families with children who were experiencing or had experienced diarrhea and had received traditional medicine. The participants were randomly selected based on cluster random sampling, and the results showed that traditional diarrheal treatment involved the use of Psidium guajava leaves, curcumic (turmeric), and tea. P. guajava leaves and curcumic were processed by pounding or shredding and then squeezing to obtain the extracts. Some of the respondents also added salt to the mixture. Most traditional medicine could be found in the garden or by purchase, and friends and family were the most common information resources. Most respondents assumed that traditional medicine was effective to treat diarrhea. It is expected that this research can provide information about diarrheal management by traditional method in the community.