Bloated tummy in evening

[Suzie81]

My daughter is 2y8m old and is quite slender. But by the evening her tummy is huge and quite hard. We took her to the doctors and, though not worried, sent us for an xray. That came back fine, just lots of gas. They're now saying they'll do some allergy tests, in case she has some sort of intolerance.

Has anyone else been though similar? She's generally fine, doesn't seem bothered by it, eats normally and does normal poos / wees. Is farty though.

I guess sensible to rule out food intolerances, but at same time wary of subjecting her to blood tests without good reason

DS (2y6m) can get like that sometimes. Weirdly it's most noticeable after nursery days. I don't know if it's something he eats more of at nursery that he doesn't eat at home.

He has CMPA (cow's milk protein allergy). There are two different categories: Ige (classic commonly known symptoms such as immediate hives etc) and non-ige (less commonly known symptoms, digestive issues such as reflux, constipation and gas, take longer to appear). Ige allergies can be diagnosed by blood tests and skin prick tests. But non-Ige allergies cannot. The only way to diagnose is to eliminate and then reintroduce the food (if symptoms stop and then reappear, it confirms the allergy).

Non-Ige CMPA used to be known as an "cow's milk intolerance" but that's an outdated term (although some HCPs still use it). It is an allergic response just not one that we generally recognise as such.

Anyway sorry if all this is irrelevant, in your DD's case it might not be a food allergy at all, and even if it is, cow's milk protein might not be the culprit... but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I suggest that you keep a food and symptom diary for a month or so, and also look up the most common allergens in young children... you might just find that you notice a pattern (or of course you might not).

Good luck.

DD has this and shes 5. She too is a windy gas bag by the end of the day. I've been told its normal when they're little. By the time she wakes up all her pecs are back so I think its just a sign of good eating throughout the day.

Yeah, the next morning she's always back to normal, no matter how big the night before. In fact, normally a few hours after going to bed it's all gone. But is a bit disconcerting.

Thanks namechange30 for the detailed post.

Hmm interesting that you think it's just a sign of good eating. DS is usually bloated after nursery days, and they always tell us that DS eats really well. Recently one of the girls said that he's not a fussy eater at all, cue amazed laughter from us (he is a ridiculously fussy eater 99% of the time at home, despite our best efforts to tempt and encourage him).

Similar here. She's an okay eater with us, but can be fussy. Nursery always tell us she eats loads! And like you, often seems bigger in nursery days.

That said, today she was with us, and she ballooned to epic proportions just before bed.

Strange. I do think a food and symptom diary might reveal some clues.

I'm Chinese and my daughter is half. Dairy intolerances are very common amongst East Asians such as myself, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's a factor. Will experiment with the diet a little.

Adults get lactose intolerance. Children get cow's milk protein allergy, then usually grow out of it. Different things (an adult with lactose intolerance could eat lactose free milk products but a child with CMPA couldn't because they still contain the protein).