Toddler diarrhoea, food intolerance or what?

[MsParrot]

This is my first Mumsnet forum post so hello and please be kind. I'm writing because I have just heard the dreaded words 'perhaps your dd has a food intolerance' from her childminder. I am a total foodie and I pride myself on the fact my dd (who will be two next month) eats happily, pretty much anything that is put in front of her.

She has, however, had persistant loose stools for the last two months. I think it must be this: www.patient.co.uk/health/toddlers-diarrhoea#
Meaning I should probably try to give her more fatty foods, less fruit juice and less fibre (i.e. whole fruit) in her diet.

Does anyone have any experience of this or suggestions for me? I should add that throughout the time she has had loose nappies my dd has never appeared ill in herself - just happy, playful, not lathargic or experiencing any pain. Your thoughts appreciated! Many thanks.

Its very common, you might want to see the GP just to check but if she's not losing weight, is well in herself, good energy levels etc then I think your diagnosis is correct!

Before you start changing her diet (especially eliminating things that are healthy), I'd consult the doctor first. A girl my daughter is at school with developed very soft stools over a period of time and when they eventually got her tested she had a gluten and lactose intolerance. If her parents had gone down the route of cutting say wheat out for a while, they wouldn't have got the answer as they also has a problem with lactose. Now she has a diagnosis, I know the girls Mum finds it much easier.

Thank you both! I will check with GP as you suggest, my childminder also suggested I keep a food diary. As a point that interests me, I am still concerned by the frequency with which food intolerances are diagnosed in small children these days as surely their tastes, and guts, are changing as they grow? I am worried that if my doc labels this as a food intolerance that's her watching, and worrying about, her diet for life. I regularly cook with oats and spelt, not just regular wheat, and she tends to drink only 1-2 cups of milk a day. I wonder if that could be the problem...

Doctors don't tend to call it toddler diarrhoea if they suspect a proper food intolerance. Ds had it at age 2/3, later showed as an intolerance to corn oil.

MsParrot in case it helps DD (14 months) has exactly the same - persistent diarrhoea.

We took her to the GP today who said often it is diary, so she advised to cut out diary for two weeks to see if that made a difference. If it doesn't or if it's not clear, we will have to take her back and then they'll do testing.

Hope your DD is better soon.

How old is she?

At 2.5 DS still has loose stools at nearly every bowel movement. He has a formed poo about once a fortnight. I presume he'll grow out of it. I certainly wouldn't want to make major changes to our diet for something that is just a minor inconvenience.

OP... When you say you are a bit of a foodie do you mean you cut out fat, eat a high fibre diet and drink lots of fresh juice? Children really need a balanced diet because they are growing and developing and this should include sensible amounts of fat, fibre, protein, dairy etc. Nothing should be cut out, but a good diet for a child is not necessarily a "healthy" adult diet. I think your link gave very sensible advice. Remember you are the foodie, not your child!

Thanks both, I may try this although I am baffled if she is dairy intolerant as I breastfed for 14 months and she has never drunk a huge amount of cows milk to compensate for not liking her dinner (for instance). I only give her one to two cups a day from age of 1.

I am kind of with @JollyScaryGiant here though as I am reluctant to omit food groups from her diet. I know @littlesiouxiesue that healthy adult diets differ from that of a child. What I mean by 'foodie' is that I cook us a wide range of meals from scratch nearly every day, rarely frozen or convenience foods with additives, but I'm not a health nut either so we do eat fat, red meat, dairy etc as well as whole grains and lentils. I'm really at a loss as to what she might be getting too much of, unless it really is the fruit/fruit juice thing. Thanks for all shares xx

This is a very old post but I wondered if the OP could update us?