Chronic smelly wind from 8 yr old

[NotAfraidOfTheBudget]

My 8 yr old DS has awful wind problems; we laugh hollowly, but it smells like drains and is pretty much all the time. In addition, he quite often needs to poo 3 times a day and says his poos are quite hard. Sometimes he gets a sore bottom (mostly from straining I think). Occasionally has loose motions, doesnt really get constipated, and says his tummy doesnt hurt.

His diet isnt bad but he does love his food and quite a high proportion is wheat-based (pasta, bread) and I have a wheat intolerance which manifests itself in 'bottom-problems' so do you think he might have got this too? He does eat a fair amount of fruit and veg, and really very little processed/junk food, and only ever water/hot chocolate to drink.

I dont want to worry unnecessarily but I do have to think about the bullying potential of excessive farting, and the possibile damage to his digestive system if he does have a condition that we can sort out. Any ideas gratefully received!

Am off to bed just now but will check this thread first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks in advance

Just off to bed too - my DS (8) is coeliac and was diag. 11 months ago. He was tested because he had chronic diahorrea constantly - but to look at him he was tall skinny and healthy (eats about 10 portions of f&v a day - with hindsight now perhaos that didn;t make his tummy hurt) But he did not know he had tummy ache - suppose if you have always had it then you dont actually now this ? And he is a woss about everything else so if he had known - I would have known

Interesting you mention coeliac as there was just an article in our local rag about a kid with it, made me wonder about my DS. But...he is way off being skinny and doesnt get diarroeah and has massses of energy for sports and activity every day, so I am pretty much 99% certain it isnt coeliac. Thanks so much for responding though!

I know what you mean about constant tummy ache and not really realising you have one...I had one from about 12 yrs old til I was 30 then found out about wheat intolerance......fair to say my life turned around

ds reacts like this to too much soya. he was anaphaxlyc (sp) to milk and used to have a lot of soya based products (milk, youhurt etc0 to ensure he got enough calcium. We found simply reducing the amount of soya (changing to oat milk) helped. might be worth considering if you are considering the other dietary aspects.

suspect it is the coeliac though.

Hi NotAfraid,

I have two boys who have coeliac disease.

One was skinny, had diarrhoea, was lethargic with terrible smelly wind.

My other son was tested because his brother came out positive.

He was certainly not skinny, had energy and some problems with constipation. He came out positive as well.

Personally I would have the blood test before you try cutting wheat out.

Hope you find an answer

Damn :( was secretly hoping someone would come along with a magic answer that didnt involve wheat or gluten... Will think about the next step now and try and sort him out. Thanks everyone for your experiences

My DS is same age - same problem. Diagnosed as sucrose and fructose intolerant. Going free of this hasn't stopped the wind though. I do have a word of caution though. Boys, wind related topics - need I say more?! I remember reading somewhere how many times a day we all naturally pass wind and thinking OMG! He could be on the higher than average side and like my DS feel that they are worth sharing with the world. A slight intolerance to anything, perhaps causing excesses of gas produced (some intolerances are tested by the increase of hydrogen in breath - can also give slightly bad breath as well) - have to come out. GP might be able to get some basic bloods done and then refer to gastroenterologist if there are concerns.