Availability
The World Health Organizations states that some home products can be used to treat and prevent dehydration. This includes salted rice water, salted yogurt drink, and salted vegetable or chicken soup. A home-made solution of one liter of plain water with 3 grams table salt (one level teaspoonful) and 18 grams common sugar (three tablespoons) can also be made. And a medium amount of salt can also be added to water in which cereal has been cooked, unsalted soup, green coconut water, unsweetened weak tea, and unsweetened fruit juice. The homemade solution should have the "taste of tears." If available, supplemental zinc and potassium can be added to or given with the homemade solution.
ORT is available anywhere that adequate nutrition is available. ORS, on the other hand, is typically packaged in pre-measured sachets that are ready to be mixed in with water (generally 1L). These are available via commercial manufacturers or supplied by local/regional governments or relief agencies such as UNICEF. In 1996, UNICEF distributed 500 million sachets of ORS to over 60 developing nations. Commercial suppliers produce a variety of formulations, and there is no restriction as to what formulation can be marketed as ORS. As such, some vendors include extra sugar or other flavoring to make the product more palatable, popular examples in the US being the various flavors and formulations of Drip Drop ORS and Pedialyte.
Scheduled to start in October 2011, there is a pilot program in Zambia to piggyback onto Coca-Cola distribution channels using the empty spaces in cases to include Colalife, which are wedge-shaped packets of medicines including oral rehydration salts.
Read more about this topic: Oral Rehydration Therapy
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