6.5 month old had diarrhoea for 9 days

[MYA2016]

Hiya, my 6.5mo DS has had diarrhoea for 9 days now.
He got his first tooth just before it started so I assumed it was because of that. He has terrible nappy rash with it so I took him to the docs and she said just ride it out.
That was last week - he is going for a poo at least once every 30 mins from 4am - 7pm, then when he goes to bed it stops. It's really odd.
Sometimes he is going every 5 mins. He is fine in himself aside from the severe nappy rash which is clearly very upsetting for him.
He is eating and drinking as normal. He is still having 2 breastfeeds a day with formula and food. He has had nothing recently that he wasn't already eating (we weaned at just over 5 months 1 week on the advice from a doctor).
I took him to a different doc yesterday who said it was rotavirus, however reading up on this after I would be very surprised as he has no vomiting, doesn't appear to be in pain and he's had all his vaccinations too.

It's starting to really bother me now.
I have sent off a stool sample to test for salmonella and ecoli etc but the doc was adamant it's nothing like that.

My poor boy is constantly having his nappy off, pooing on old towels etc to try and let his bum breathe but I don't think until the diarrhoea has passed it's going to go.
I think 9 days is a very long time for a small baby to be going this often, but the doctors don't seem bothered.
Has anyone else any experience of this? I feel I should be doing more

[dementedpixie]

Could be a temporary lactose intolerance due to the original tummy upset. You could try colief that breaks down lactose and maybe try a lactose free formula for a short while. Breast milk contains lactose too though so don't know what to suggest. What foods are they having?

[MYA2016]

Thanks for responding :)

A normal day for him is
-breastfeed
-porridge
-mashed up veg such as carrots and peas
-pear or mango or apple for snack
-apple biscotti mid afternoon
-dinner something like spag bol, cottage pie, chicken casserole etc
-Yeo valley natural yoghurt for pudding
-breastfeed at bed

Along with some aptamil stage 2 formula throughout the day

Can you see anything in here I'm doing wrong? First time (clueless) mum :)

[MYA2016]

For the nappy rash I'm using 1% hydrocortisone with metanium on the advice of the doc but it's not clearing up so far

[Improvisingnow]

It does sound like Rotavirus. My DS1 had this at about the same age and it lasted for ages then just seemed to go on its own. He was not vomiting either. It is a horrid virus - my DS1 is an adult now so you can tell how upset i was at the time. Keep pushing fluids because dehydration is the main concern.

My DS was lactose intolerant as a result of it for about 6 months. I was told to keep breast feeding as much as possible because the more of your antibodies he gets the better, but to switch all other milk to a soya formula milk. I thought it smelled disgusting, but he did not seem to mind. Maybe try swapping all milk including in porridge etc for soya? You might also swap the fruit for veg for a couple of weeks.

I gave up dairy whilst I was breast feeding though I am not sure how much difference this really made.

It is the acid in wee and poos which burns their bum. Try washing after every movement with water to which you have added had a spoon of soda bicarb (the baking kind) as this make the PH alkaline. You are also doing the right thing giving him air time. If the metanium isn't working then my substance of last resort was a thick layer of vaseline. It doesn't let the skin breathe but it is an effective barrier to the acid burn.

Hang on in there!

[dementedpixie]

Don't think soya formula milk is recommended but you do get lactose free and dairy free formulas as an alternative

[dementedpixie]

Metanium with a layer of sudocrem on top used to work for my dc's

[BlackSwan]

I remember that when our son was a baby he had a long period of diarrhoea and the paediatrician explained that when they have had it for a few days, they can clear out the good bacteria in their gut which makes them have loose stools for even longer. We gave him optibac in his formula (probiotics for babies) and he improved.

[TealLove]

Sounds like s temporary lactose intolerance definitely. DD got it after a tummy bug.

[Sorebigtoes]

My DCs have had this. Seems to go on for ever, but they all started to improve after a couple of weeks. My GP told me that lactose intolerance after a bug isn't as common as the internet will have you believe (though undoubtedly it does happen sometimes). And, true enough, mine all got better without diet changes. It can sometimes take the gut a while to recover after an upset. No harm in taking baby probiotics, I guess?