Many conditions, medicines, and diseases interfere with the ability to heal or fight infection. Your child may be at risk for a more serious problem from his or her symptoms if he or she has any of the following. Be sure to tell your child's health professional.

Conditions

• A newborn or is less than 3 months old. Newborns younger than 3 months of age have a greater risk for developing dehydration than older infants and children.
• Babies born prematurely. This risk continues until the child is 6 months older than when he or she was expected to be born.
• Abnormally slow growth and development
• Previous abdominal surgery
• A structural problem of the digestive tract, including:
  • Intussusception
  • Malrotation
  • Hirschsprung's disease
• Travel outside of native country

Medicines

• Corticosteroid treatment, such as prednisone
• Medicines to support organ transplant
• Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
• Radiation therapy

Diseases

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Gallbladder disease
• Heart defects
• Hepatitis
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Inguinal hernia
• Inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis
• Kidney disease
• Malabsorption syndromes, such as celiac disease or cystic fibrosis
• Pancreatitis
• Previous gastrointestinal bleeding caused by:
  • Bleeding ulcers (peptic ulcer disease)
  • Inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis)
• Sickle cell disease
• Thyroid or parathyroid disease
• Urinary tract infections