Must not have had enough caffeine.  I didn't get to the point.

So, by the time that ORS is needed, the infant or child or even adult is in danger of dying.  That person has already been infected with pathogens.  Hopefully they have started treatment for those pathogens.  By the time they are in that state, breastmilk will certainly help, but the fluid and solute balance of the body is so acutely out of balance that they may die.  

Having been to the point where I needed ORS, I can tell you that the choice for me was clear.  I would have drunk ORS even if the water in that solution came from a mud puddle.  Once the threat of death is taken care of, then treatment of the underlying disease can occur -- and in some circumstances the body itself can fight off the pathogen.  

Dehydration kills quickly (and unfortunately, I've witnessed it -- as with measles deaths).

Sincerely,
Susan E. Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC

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