Toddler's Diarrhea?

[CheerfulYank]

Anyone have any experience with this?

DD is 20 months and recently has bowel movements upwards of 3/4 times a day. They are loose but I wouldn't say watery. And there are often bits of undigested vegetables in it.

Other than this there is nothing wrong...she has no fever or pain, is happy and sleeping well. She doesn't seem dehydrated at all and is big for her age so I know she's getting enough, nutrient wise.

All of this ties in with what I've read about toddler's diarrhea. Does Antone have any experience with it and if so, what diet changes helped?

She's got a horrible diaper rash from it. :( The special cream from the doctor isn't working nor is anything else I've tried. (I'm attempting the egg white thing I've heard about tonight, fingers crossed it will help a bit!)

I'm going to get her in to see her doctor on Monday if it isn't improved by then as it's so red and sore. In the meantime if I could cut down on the number of times she goes a day I think that would help! So any diet reccomendations would be so helpful. Thanks!

[CheerfulYank]

Anyone, not Antone. Though if Antone knows anything he's welcome to contribute :o

[Superworm]

Diet usually play a big part in this so you can modify things and hopefully it will improve.

Toddlers dont need home wheat founds like brown bread, toast etc as their digestive systems are often unable to process the fibre. Wheatabix give DS terrible poo.

This www.patient.co.uk/health/toddlers-diarrhoea is really useful for diet help. Have you tried Metanium for the nappy rash? Works wonders.

[Superworm]

Whole not home

[CheerfulYank]

Thank you :)

I'm in the US and we don't have Metanium. It appears I can get it on Amazon but it wouldn't get here til March.

I've read conflicting evidence on the fiber...some sites say to lower it and some say to add more! I don't know if she's getting a lot or not.

She will eat almost anything and I thought her diet was really good :( I hate thinking it's making her sick.

I have tried cutting gluten as I can't have it but it's made no difference. Really I feel that's not it; she has no other symptoms.

She does have occasional juice but the sites say that's really bad for chronic diarrhea so I will cut that out. She does have a lot of fruit but maybe I'll ease back on that until she's feeling better.

But then, the BRAT diet reccomends bananas and apples so...argh!

[Californialiving]

My DS had horrible diarrhea. His bum was super sore from it and it got to the point where it started to bleed. The pediatrician told us to sparingly use hydrocortisone and then a really thick layer of desitin maximum strength.

We did the BRAT Diet and stopped giving him dairy. We used lactaid instead. We had differing views from pediatricians about the BRAT diet. One said it wasn't worth doing it and just to let it take its course. Which we ended up doing as it took some time to resolve.

But I would get her checked out to make sure it isn't a stomach bug.

I hope that helped!

[CheerfulYank]

Thanks :) I've just got her up to change her even though it's the middle of the night here. The egg whites seem to be helping which is wonderful, she has one sore which I just can't seem to heal. It's been bleeding and I want to cry every time I change her :(

I can try to cut back on dairy (or cut it out completely too) though another site said with toddler's diarrhea, more fat is needed and you should give them butter and cheese (as well as olive oil etc). So much conflicting information.

[Superworm]

Poor thing, sore bums are the pits.

Metanium is just the brand name so you may be able to buy titanium oxide cream over the counter somewhere? Zinc oxide creams work well too. Zinc and castor oil is used a lot here in hospitals for broken down skin.

The diet is a tricky one. DS is allergic to dairy so we eliminate but it's difficult to compensate and make sure he gets the calcium, fats and calories he needs from elsewhere. Children need a lot of fat for brain myelination and general development, especially in the first three years. The dietician we saw recommended puddings with custards at every inch/dinner, adding olive oil to food, mashed avocado, using nut butters etc. Giving cheese and milk would be so much easier!

[CheerfulYank]

Oddly it doesn't seem to be bothering her much If I had an open sore on my bum I guarantee it would bother me! She only seems to mind when I change her and have to wipe it but I am trying to use cloth and water rather than wipes.

I'm going to ease back on fruit and juice for a few days and see if that helps.

Drying her bum with the hair dryer and painting on egg whites seem to be helping for now...if we can just get her pooping down to once or twice a day for a bit her poor bum just might heal.