MATERNAL PERCEPTION OF CAUSE, SIGNS AND SEVERITY OF DIARRHEA IN A SUBURBAN WEST-AFRICAN COMMUNITY

With the aim of investigating perceived morbidity and care seeking beh aviour, a household survey was conducted, where 319 episodes of diarrh oea were followed by interviews every second day. The chance of consul tation increased with the number of symptoms reported by the mother. T he appearance of the eyes and how the child breastfed were early warni ngs that mothers recognized best. By contrast, there was an 80% reduct ion in the likelihood of seeking consultation when the mother perceive d 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.