Hi Moms,
I need some input on this one. I have seen his pediatrician Saturday and the doctor has dismissed this as serious. I beg to differ which is why went to see the doctor in the first place. Maybe you gals can help. My one year old has only had 3 wet only diapers in the past two weeks, yet he's had 7-10 on average daily poopy diapers. The doc says to not give him any diluted juice and give him only whole milk and iron fortified cereals. My baby had his flu shot two weeks ago and since then this issue has started. Could this be a flu? Reaction to the shot? His butt has horrible diaper rash and the doc prescribed a burn cream, but it's not helping much. I'm gooping on this burn cream, diaper rash ointment, corn starch, and giving Aveeno oatmeal baths twice a day every time I change him. I've tried so many things to relieve the pain. The poor kid won't even let me pat these ointments on, I just goop them on. By about 9 o'clock in the morning, he's had already 3 poopy diapers. The odd thing is that he's eating normal and acting fine, but I'm worried about this. I've also been giving him lots of yogurt, water, and pedialyte to prevent dehydration. It doesn't seem normal. Any advice is appreciated:) Thanks.
No vomiting or fever. No rashes. And it's not just diarrhea either. It seems as if his food his just going right through him. I'm doing the BRAT diet and have been for about two weeks, but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I thought that if this is a virus, it should have cleared up by now. Two weeks is a long time to have a virus, isn't it? I don't think it's teething either because he has almost all of his teeth. Thanks again:)
You don't say whether they are normal consistancy or diarrhea ,there is a big difference. I wouldn't want to give any advice until you confirm which one it is,...... C. S.
M.,
Could be a dairy or wheat intolerance. Try just feeding him rice, bananas and fruit. Take out the toast, and all dairy. Replace the wheat with a buckwheat hot cereal and see if the loose stools clear up. If not, then it might be something bacterial or viral.
I hope he starts to feel better soon.
C. J.
BRAT diet: bananas, (white) rice, apples, (white) toast. You want to bind him up a bit. How is he otherwise? Vomiting or fever?
How has he reacted to past vaccinations? Many flu shots still have thimerosol in them (a mercury preservative) even though it was mandated that thimerosol be removed from all childhood vaccines 8 or so years ago... It still baffles me that pediatricians will give flu shots with mercury in them. YOu can check here to get a list of flu vaccines without mercury (in case your little one needs another dose as I know they often give 2 doses to younger kids lately): http://www.safeminds.org/protect-yourself/flufacts-detail...
That being said, I wonder if that mercury has caused his immune system to go a little haywire. I would take some of the recommendations of trying to remove dairy for a while to see if it helps. A lot of kids have a dairy intolerence (less severe than an outright allergy). My son had "baby acne" for the first year of his life so I switched him to almond milk and removed dairy from his diet and it's finally clearing up. So I would suggest trying to remove dairy. Almond milk has all the same nutrients as cow's milk - but it does not have as much fat so be careful if your son is on the smaller side.
The best advice I've ever been given if a doctor says it's fine but you are still uneasy, follow your gut, follow your "mommy intuition" and continue to investigate. It very well could be nothing but it doesn't hurt for you to keep trying.
The diaper rash sounds like it might be yeast, in which case over the counter cream for vaginal yeast infections should work. Also, if you can leave him without his diaper for any time at all, that'd be good - know this is difficult, especially with boys and with loose stools, but even 1/2 hour here and there would help. The yogurt is excellent with both loose stools and yeast! Good idea!
Sounds like the flu shot to me.
I would agree with you... that is not normal. Is there another pediatrician you can go to? I would definitely get a second opinion before it lasts too much longer. The only thing I can think of is rotavirus... but your dr. would have figured that one out (unusually smelly diapers with a different consistency). best of luck to you and your little one....
poor baby! definitely get a probiotic (i use culturelle for kids which is a powder you mix in food or drink -- got it at target). my son would get a rash from antibiotics for ear infections and the probiotic would stop it within 24 hours. great stuff and its safe (i asked my pediatrician). as for the poop, is it runny or normal? if its normal, i would worry less about it but if its runny, dehyrdation is a real concern. if i were you i'd get a 2nd opinion...esp if its runny poop. and whatever you do, don't use desitin on the diaper rash -- it BURNS when they have a rash. use triple paste instead and maybe get him checked out for yeast infection too which can come from diaper rashes. good luck!!
Maybe he has developed a dairy allergy? If you google dairy allergy you can find tons of info. I thought teething too. But, you say he has all his teeth? It could be molars coming in? Poor guy!
How long has he been on whole milk for? I would switch to soy for now until you can get it under control. Also, my old pediatrician created a home remedy for my son who at 2 months was going through what yours is going through now with the horribly diaper rash. I swear it was like his skin was falling off. Get A large tube of balmex, 4 tablespoons of maalox and cornstarch to thicken. Mix the balmex, and maalox together, then add enough cornstarch to thicken the mix. You need to rub it in, I know it hurts him but the only way to get it on good is rubbing it in. When he goes, because it's thick the poop will not be right on his bottom it's going to be on the ointment. I would wipe off the poop, but don't completely clean off the cream, just add more and sprinkly a little bit of the cornstarch on top. It took two days to clear it but I had to use it for a month because we too couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He was having close to 15 poopy diapers a day and maybe 4 wet diapers. We eventually took him to an allergist and found out he was allergic to the soy formula which we gave him. You might want to consider taking him to an allergist as well, he could very well be eating something or drinking something he's allergic too. Once we found out my sons problem, he was back to normal poops by the 2nd day.
I would stop with the fruits for a week and anything that normally gives you loose or frequent stool as well.
For the RASH my kid got them horribly had GI infections Chronically until diagosed for an immune issu; here is how you get it GONE in no time
Mylanta!!! Yes the stuff you use for tummy issues and cotton swab it on the area Get it good and on there! Then take vasaline or whatever cream you have it is only to keep the Mylanta from getting soaked up into the diaper, once a day instead of oat meal use Baking Soda a couple tablespoons dont be shy! and a GOOD AIR DRY, pat it gently first if he will let you. The baking soda will also help clean is all over skin so NO BUBBLES or Soap or anything like that until the rash is gone. If you do this even with the WORST of rashes I give it 48-72hrs TOPS and his butt will be soft and sweet as the day he was born.
Do a probiotic. Is he teething? That always caused the burn and sores on my son.
Did he start any new foods? It could be a reaction to that.
My baby who is almost 12 months did this for about 3 days a couple of weeks ago. I would feel inside his mouth. She was getting 2 molars and I had no idea what was up. Keep with the pedialyte for sure. I got to the point where I just took off her diaper when I needed to change her and showered off her butt because it was too burned and raw to wipe even with a washcloth. This seemed to help a lot!
I would cut out juice since its actually a laxative, our pediatrician gave it to my daughter when she was constipated. I would increase fiber, I know it sounds counter intuitive, but fiber can help block things up too, and add bananas, the nurse told me these stop up babies, and cheese.
If I were you, after trying these for a day or two, and its still not better, I would take him to a different doctor since this is pretty dangerous at this age. It could be a reaction to the flu shot, but it should have gone away by 2 weeks. If he's teething, it will need to run its course, but I would double check anyway.
Good Luck!
My 17 month old just went through something similar... Diarrhea and vomiting with no fever... For about 5 days the diarrhea continued and then he would only vomit 1 time per day. It was very strange. We brought him to the pediatrician and they did a stool sample on his stool.... We found out that he had c. diff. It was caused by him taking another antibiotic for his ear infection... it cause too many bad bacterias to stay in his colon... 1 day on the new meds and he was a totally different kid... I would say to get a stool sample done and check for c. diff and rotovirus...
Just my opinion... good luck
Sounds like a possible dairy allergy. Lactose intolerance can cause diarrhea. Try taking all dairy out of his diet for a week and see what happens. I'd recommend using a soy milk, soy yogurt, and a vegan cheese (this you'd probably have to visit a health food store for) or sour cream/cream cheese. (soy cheese like "veggie shreds" have casein in them, the protein from milk, so it might cause a problem as well).
Hope you can get to the bottom of this. And don't freak out about not giving him milk, the soy is fortified just like milk and fine for a one year old, I have my 13 month old on it right now. Try the vanilla flavor if he doesn't like the taste.
Best wishes, yes this is serious.
My son had diarrhea for a long time after being sick once. His Dr called for a stool sample to see if it was c-diff (it was not.. it was a virus that lasted a very very long time). The cream that made a huge difference was something the Dr can prescribe called "Magic Butt Cream". It's a mixure of a bunch of over the counter meds and it works everytime on any irritation, redness, burning, whatever my kids have had. They also encourage keeping the skin as dry as possible, air drying after diaper changes etc before putting the cream on. They did say that if the skin starts to bleed to call them for something different but I haven't had to do that.
Wow, I am sorry the doctor doesn't think this is serious as it certainly would scare me. Without being in the medical field I would have to think that there is something to be concerned about - either he is not absorbing the correct nutrients or something in his stomach/intestines are not right. I have a 15 month boy who often has 4 poops a day and I know the diaper rash can be awful. I know it may be less than desirable if he goes but is there an area in your house with uncarpeted floors that you may be able to keep his diaper off for a bit at a time. I think that may help at least give him some relief from always having "pressure" on his rash area or at least not making it worse?
Also, I know my son eats a lot of fruits which is what I assume is the reason for the days with frequent stools. I think if this continues you should look for a second opinion just to rule out other things (like allergies maybe to dairy since you say you have been giving him yogurt or intestinal problems). Good luck to momma and baby.
