After rotavirus - permanent change in poo? (TMI warning!)

[Messing]

Hi, really hope someone can shed some light on this.

DS, now nearly 3 had rotavirus for the first time at about 11 months old. Prior to that he did what I would call 'normal' poo - solid, formed. Since the rotavirus, he has rarely done a normal poo - although not diarrhoea, it's much softer than before and not formed. I have been to the GP a few times in the last couple of years, and basically been told it's 'toddler diarrhoea', completely harmless as DS is thriving, growing normally, meeting targets etc and eats fine. It just became something we put up with - potty training was a bit of a nightmare, but otherwise we've just got used to the fact that DS's poos are always soft and unformed.
Now, what worries me is DD is almost 14 months and I can see a similar thing happening - she had rotavirus a month ago, and prior to that her poo was formed and firm (used to be able to empty the nappy in to the toilet). Since the virus, she has done similar poos to DS - much softer and go all up the back of the nappy etc. Like DS, she doesn't have diahrroea (in that it's not watery, and she only goes once a day or every couple of days) but it certainly isn't normal poo - and again, it's happened as a result of rotavirus.

Thanks for reading if you've got this far... - would really appreciate any advice, or just to hear from anyone that's had something similar happen.

TIA.

Some children get a temporary dairy intolerance after viral illness, but I haven't heard of it going on for this long. Still, reading your post, my first instinct would be to seek advice from a dietician about how to make sure it's not a dairy or wheat intolerance.

It happened Ds when he was about 2- he had a tummy bug and his poos became frequent (very) and soft. Was told it would take at least 6 weeks to get back to normal and to keep to bland food like the BRAT diet.

When they didn't it was diagnosed as toddler diarrhea. We got no help fromGP so I googled it and it seemed to suggest that less fruit and vegetables and more high fat type food would help.That seemed to really help - anything to slow the transit of food down through the gut I think. DS wasn't a big eater anyway so the extra calories from cheese etc didn't affect him. In the end it was potty training that fixed it. He sort of retrained his bowel as he learnt to hold the poos in so they became harder and more infrequent. Luckily he was ready for it.
I do remember when he was about 16 months he had swine flu which had a nasty vomiting and diarrhea kick at the end of it- I think it took him about 2 months for his poos to go back to normal then.

My DD has had norovirus twice and her poo has gone clay coloured and foul smelling for about a week afterwards. What are the colour of your DCs poo? If a normal poo colour I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe their gut bacteria is slow in returning to normal, try live yoghurt (not kids yoghurts) and like yakult drinks. Toddler poos really do vary as their guts are still immature.

If the poo is very pale or clay coloured then I would mention this to the doctor as, for a prolonged period, is not normal.

Is the new poo very pale?

Rotavirus can be a trigger for coeliac disease. if the 'new' poo carries on for several months, I would visit the doctor and ask for a coeliac test.

like the others here, I've definitely found that DS is sensitive to dairy after his time with the virus - mind you, this is only 3 months later, not a couple of years, but if he has a cup of milk, his poo will be runnier. If he has 2 cups then it'll go straight through. From what I've read it can take quite a while for the lactase generating bits to regenerate.

Many thanks for the responses - really useful.

I would say the poo are normal in colour - not clay-coloured. Just very squishy.. (isn't this a delightful thread).

Will look into dairy/wheat intolerance - that's interesting.

My Ds's poo comes in all manner of textures..... often of the unformed variety. I think often they get squashed in nappies..... mleeeugh. sorry!