5 month old ongoing diarrhea, help!

[MrsLTH]

Hi there,


Wondering if anyone can offer any advice. My 5 month old DS has had diarrhea since last Friday night so we are into the 5th day. He is doing 10-15 dirty nappies a day, some of them not more than a smear but come out with some force. I see him straining quite a lot even if nothing comes out. This is my first baby so I dont have any experince of this kind of thing but could it be teething? I cant see any reddness or lumps on his gums but he is drooling a lot and putting everything in his mouth, sometimes in a bit of a frenzy.
I went to the docs yesterday and he said it could be a cold (which he also has) teething or an infection and to go back to do a stool sample in a few days if not gone.
He is happy in himself and feeding ok etc
Anyone had any experince of this kind of thing? Is 5 days of diarrhea quite normal?

Thanks!

[SenoritaViva]

Sounds like it could be teething to me, sometimes they are happy in themselves (be grateful) but it comes out in other ways such as this. If the doctor wasn't too worried then you shouldn't be, stick to their advice and make sure that he doesn't get dehydrated.

[MrsLTH]

Thanks, we are now on day 10 of him pooing constantly. It is still a about 10-15 nappies a day. Most of these are pretty small and watery. Some are yellow and a bit jellyish and some are dark green.
I am waiting for a stool test result but the doctor seems to think they wouldnt do anything even if it is a bug. Health Visitors have just said to take him to A+E if it gets any worse but that is it! Does anyone have any experience or advice? Could this in fact just be teething or can a bug take this long to clear?

[GloriaVanderbilt]

It sounds like it could be an infection. It's not usual for it to go on this long.

I hope you get the results soon. Is he drinking alright or do you think he might have become dehydrated...is he well in himself apart from this?

No temperature etc?
I would suggest if you don't hear back from the doctor tomorrow then call them and explain this has been going on for 10 days and he is passing mucus.

They really ought to evaluate him at this stage, possibly in the hospital though if he is well in himself that's a good sign.

Definitely take him in tomorrow (to the Dr I mean) and insist that he's given something to help/ assessed for dehydration.

[GloriaVanderbilt]

It is also possible it could be some kind of allergy/intolerance, perhaps, but I don't know much about these things - just a thought. Is he breastfed or bottle? Have you changed his formula recently or introduced cows milk or something like that?

[MrsLTH]

Hi

Thanks for your speedy responses. I have been mix feeding him breast plus cow and gate number 1 milk from the cartons which I have been doing for the last 3 months. One of the health visitors I spoke to last week suggested he could have developed a lactose intolerance after a bug and said I should try and breastfeed exlusively which I have been doing over the last couple of days. My concern with this however is that because I have been mix feeding, whether he is getting enough fluid... his lips and eyes are moist however, in fact he is droooling a lot. Even with the exclusive breast feeding he still doesnt seem any better.
The doctor examined him on the two occasions I went in last week, checked him for dehydration, looked in his ears, took temp, listened to chest/heart and felt abdomen and said he seemed fine as well as him appearing very well in himself (he is still smiling and laughing etc). I hope the stool sample I did was adequate, as the nappies are so absorbant there really wasnt much at all to scrape up!
As this is my first baby I am getting a bit upset with worry about it all.

[GloriaVanderbilt]

If he is still looking and acting fine, then it's possible it is just down to teething. Mine didn't have such a bad reaction to it but I have heard of this.

please don't worry. A huge part of assessing a baby's wellbeing is his general demeanour...you would know if he was really poorly, honestly you would. He would be unresponsive, upset, crying and very pale.

I'm sorry if I worried you. Hopefully it is just the teeth Poor little mite! (and poor you!)

[MrsLTH]

Thanks, I know what you mean about how he is in himself. If it wasnt for his nappy situation he seems totally fine and normal, how confusing! I think I will go to see the senior health visitor in the morning and also call the docs to see if the stool sample is back as I guess they wont do anything until that is back anyway,

[GloriaVanderbilt]

Good luck, let us know how you get on x

[MrsLTH]

So the latest update is that we ended up going to A+E this morning as he was pooing through the night. They checked him over and said same as GP. Seems fine and not dehydrated. However they did say it could be a secondary lactose intolerance. I have bought some SMA lactose free formula for me to continue my mix feeding with. I have a couple of questions though. As I am breastfeeding does this mean I also need to cut out lactose from my diet? ALso the SMA LF formula contains soya which I remember can be potentially damaging to infants reproductive systems, does anyone know about this?
Thanks!

[GloriaVanderbilt]

Oh gosh, well, that's good news that you have another avenue to try and also that he seems Ok

You did the right thing,

perhaps you could post in the breat and bottle feeding section? There are a lot of people who will look in there and are proper experts on this issue, while they might miss your question in this thread.

Good luck, hope he is better soon x

[GloriaVanderbilt]

sorry breast, being climbed on by ds2 which does wonders for my typing

[MrsLTH]

Ooh thanks I'll try that x

[RitaMorgan]

Lactose is milk sugar, so it is in breastmilk as well as cow milk - cutting milk sugar out of your diet won't stop you producing it in your milk.

I think you might need some expert advice on what to do - have you tried calling a breastfeeding helpline? There is some info on secondary lactose intolerance here on kellymom and here. Seems to suggest that just continuing to breastfeed will help the baby's gut heal better than lactose-free formula.

[MrsLTH]

I went to see the senior health visitor at my clinic today, she also said he seems well etc so a bit of a mystery, she is making an appt for me to see a different GP tomorrow, saying he is 'very thorough' (suggesting the other one maybe isnt) and to try to exclusively breast feed until then.

[GloriaVanderbilt]

Very best of luck!