Homemade serum is a mixture of water, sugar and salt and serves to contain the dehydration of the human body after diarrhea or vomiting.
Homemade serum is used to replace salts and fluids lost due to diarrhea and vomiting. It is common to take it when you have a virus, food poisoning, dengue fever or, in other words, any disease that causes diarrhea and vomiting.
You should take the homemade serum in small sips and according to the amount of liquid lost at each moment. Nonetheless, It is not recommended to take more than half a glass at once, for adults and children over 2 years old. Still, Babies under 2 years old should take spoonfuls.
Elderly people, children and chronically ill people also need special attention, as they dehydrate faster than normal. Usually in one day.
The homemade solution is valid for 24 hours if kept tightly closed and refrigerated. In this sense, if you need to take it for more than one day, it is recommended to make a new recipe every day.
In short, it is a mixture of water, sugar and salt and serves to contain dehydration. It is a good alternative when you cannot buy ready-made preparations in pharmacies, for example.
However, care must be taken with the proportions. The exact measurements of sugar and salt will replace the lost salts, and water the liquids.
The solution, in fact, has been used since 1970 in Brazil and has reduced mortality, especially among children, due to dehydration.
How to prepare homemade serum
There are two popular recipes for homemade whey, assuming you have a tablespoon or a standard spoon.
1- Recipe with tablespoon
- 1 liter of filtered, boiled or bottled mineral water
- 1 heaped tablespoon of sugar or 2 level tablespoons of sugar (20 g)
- 1 teaspoon of salt (3.5 g)
2- Recipe with standard spoon
When we talk about standard spoons, we are referring to the one provided by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). You can find it at any public health unit in your city. It contains the exact measurements of salt and sugar to make up the homemade whey solution.
- 1 glass (200 ml) of filtered or mineral water
- 2 level measures of sugar, on the larger side of the standard spoon
- 1 level measure of salt, on the smaller side of a standard spoon
Homemade serum contraindications
People with diabetes, hypertension, glaucoma, as well as kidney or heart disease cannot take homemade serum, and should see a doctor if they have diarrhea and vomiting, which could lead to dehydration.
When the quality of the water is questionable, it is best to use ready-made physiological solutions available in health units free of charge or sold in pharmacies. They are called Oral Rehydration Salts and they also have exact amounts of salt and glucose for dilution in 1 liter of water.
Look for a doctor
Above all, it is good to remember that homemade serum is not capable of stopping diarrhea or vomiting. Only medicines prescribed by a healthcare professional for the medical condition can do this. Therefore, if these symptoms do not stop within 24 hours, it is recommended to seek a healthcare facility.
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