Maternal perception of cause, signs and severity of diarrhoea in a suburban West African community

With the aim of investigating perceived morbidity and care seeking behaviour, a household survey was conducted, where 319 episodes of diarrhoea were followed by interviews every second day. The chance of consultation increased with the number of symptoms reported by the mother. The appearance of the eyes and how the child breastfed were early warnings that mothers recognized best. By contrast, there was an 80% reduction in the likelihood of seeking consultation when the mother perceived the diarrhoea as caused by teeth eruption (n = 96). Children with "teething diarrhoea" were, however, just as likely to develop signs of dehydration as children with non-teething diarrhoea. We conclude that health education concerning diarrhoea should emphasize early signs of dehydration and the discouragement of "teething" as an explanation of natural diarrhoea.