I posted on here last week about my 22 month old son who seems to be having chronic illness. We are on day 10 of having diarrhea. It started two Saturdays ago. We had him in on Monday and had some stool cultures sampled. On Wednesday he started having mucous in the stools so they had him back in on Thursday and just checked him over and let him go. His diapers have continued to be mucousy and yesterday morning he had 2 diapers which had blood in them. We went into urgent care first thing in the morning after he had the first bloody stool diaper. They confirmed that it is in fact blood. They checked his hemoglobin and white blood cells and those are fine. They are doing a second round of stool samples as everything came back negative the first time. The doctor at urgent care had us schedule a follow up appointment for tomorrow morning with our regular doctor. He also gave us 5 scenarios where we have to go straight to the hospital. He had a total of 5 diapers yesterday, all of which had blood in the stool. I guess my question is have others had this happen and how long do you go with bloody stools before something else is done? I know it is not uncommon for toddlers to get diarrhea for 2 weeks, which my son has had before. This seems different though and I am very concerned about the damage that is being done to his insides, the amount of weight he is losing, etc.
Have they checked him for Rotavirus. Mucus in stools is a big sign on Rotavirus and it causes diarrhea and other flu symptoms. Just a suggestion. My son had Rotavirus in the spring and blood tests and WBC counts came back normal except the stool sample.
It could be a food allergy.
Hi-
I've heard that blood in the stools could be food allergies. Have you discussed this possibility with your doctor? I know for sure the mucous in the stools can be food allergies as that was one of the symptoms (actually the only one) for both of my girls...
Good luck. if you'd like to chat some more, drop me a line.
L.
My daughter had diarrhea for almost a month, no blood though. At the time we took her off of dairy and the diarrhea stopped. I am sure this is very stressful. I felt like I was being very pushy with the medical staff when my daughter was undergoing multiple tests (dr didn't think they were necessary, but I demanded them). I just tried to remember that my little daughter couldn't advocate for herself, and as her mom I wanted every possible test etc to find out what was going on, so that it could be fixed. Good luck, and I hope your son starts feeling better soon. Don't be afraid to tell the doctor what you want...you are paying them, so in a way, they are working for you.
I work in a Emergency room and have seen this a few times before. Unfortunately if your son does have a viral illness, which it seems like if all the testing has come back negative, there is not much anyone can do to get rid of it any faster. I know it must be upsetting, but all you can do is to make sure he gets plenty of fluids. Water and juice are good and especially pedialyte. From what I was told, the intestinal lining will become very irritated after bouts of diarrhea and that it can be normal to see blood in the stool from the irritation. It doesn't sound like your son is having only blood coming out without stool. I would definitely follow up with your regular doctor as well. It doesn't take much to keep the little guys hydrated, so just keep giving him fluids. Good luck and I'm sure your son will recover just fine.
I would have your son checked for allergies if you haven't already done so. Are you still breast-feeding? Do you have him on the BRAT diet for the diarrhea?
My daughter had blood in her stool when she was a newborn but they said it was pretty normal for a breast-fed newborn.
I am currently having blood and mucous in my stool it has gone on and off for years and I am getting a colonoscopy done next week, but it is a procedure they may not do on children........I would however see a digestive specialist and get him tested for allergies, especially wheat gluten and dairy!
I can't help you with your request but I do want to say don't give up. Don't let those doctors excuse these illnesses for something that normally happens to babies. There is obviously something going on with him and sometimes it's just easier for doctors to excuse it then spend the time to figure out what is wrong. Good luck.
Well, I know that if you are actually able to see the blood, it has to be something going on in the part of the large intestine that is right before the anus (the rectum or the sigmoid colon, if that means anything to you), because if it is in the upper part of the intestine (like in the small intestine), then it will be digested and not look bright red, it will be more dark brown. That is good that his WBC's are fine.. that means that there is not an infectious process going on. But other than that, I am not sure what to tell you. I would think they would try to be more quick with the whole process because that is a scary thing to go through! Just make sure you are giving him plenty of extra fluids to keep him hydrated and I really hope everything goes well for you!
Has he been checked for Celiac Disease or any food allergies?
I would have him tested immediately. If left undiagnosed it could effect his development, and of course his health. Don't let any doctor waste your precious time. Trust your gut and get some answers. Good luck and God Bless!
