3 year old has always had loose stools

[Theprimroseswereover]

My daughter is 3 in a couple of months. When she was a baby she used to poo a lot. 7 times a day maybe. I mentioned to gp and HV but as she was otherwise healthy everyone said it was normal for her. Anyway, gradually number of poos reduced - she now goes 1-3 times a day. But her poo has always always been very loose / mushy. She’s is very healthy otherwise. Doesn’t appear to be in any pain. Has never had antibiotics or and mess other than calpol.
Just to be clear - her poo is always like this. It’s not teething or toddler diarrhea.

Anyone else have this? Should I do something / be worried?

Her diet is varied. Her 10 month old sister eats the same stuff and her poo is normal / where you’d want on the Bristol stool chart!

That should say “or any other meds” not mess!! Freudian slip

Does she eat dairy?

Some adults just have naturally loose bowl movements- she probably just sits on the mushy end of the scale naturally. I wouldn't worry, personally.

Yes she eats dairy. Thanks.

Exactly the same as my daughter. She's 4 years old now. After 3 and a half years of back and forth to doctors and dieticians, tests for coeliac, eliminating dairy and other things, we discovered by pure chance that she is reacting to... vitamins and fortified breakfast cereals??!! Its so weird. We stopped the vitamin chewies, and now give her plain porridge instead of weetabix or cornflakes etc., and she's got solid stools!! First time in 4 years! Took about a week of being off them, but we've had no problems since (unless tummy bug related).

I was honestly sick to death of feeling like we were getting nowhere with working it out. I'd say keep exploring to find a solution. We were also told "maybe she'll just be one of those people with lifelong wet stools", but it's horrid for them, especially at nursery and school when they have to wipe themselves. Try to find a solution if you can - it's worth it! Good luck!

@RolytheRhino thanks. Yes, that’s my inclination I think as she’s otherwise healthy. No other symptoms. She was breastfed but there weren’t signs of cmpa other than the frequent poos!

Lactose? We had this too and apart from the days when they give something like yogurt at school 😡 she’s fine now- Aldi and Lidl sell cheaper lactose free milk, worth a try?

@GruffalOH interesting! Was your daughter otherwise healthy? Did you go down nhs route?
I hadn’t really thought it might be a problem for her. She’s still in nappies.

My daughter was entirely healthy otherwise. Gaining weight fine, occasionally would say she had tummy pain, but otherwise fit and well. We went NHS route, but really had to be persistent. One GP told me she was probably making it up for attention... at the age of 2... not sure at the age of 30 something I'd know how to cause myself to have persistent diarrhoea just to gain attention..! So we met mixed levels of usefulness along the way, but I'm glad we persisted. Life is so much easier with a normal pooper!

Sounds like toddler diarrhoea. Mine both had it. Grew out of it by 4/5 years old. I wouldn’t bother looking for obscure ‘intolerances’ if they’re otherwise fit and well.

@Drippywoo but can toddler diarrhea be constant? She’s literally never had a log type of poo.

Yes that’s typical of toddler diarrhoea.

Ah ok! I had no idea. I thought it lasted a week or so. Ok; that’s a relief. I’ll wait it out then. Thank you!

My son was like this and we had loads of tests done but nothing was found. It sorted itself out at around 5 and now he does normal albeit huge poos! When he went to nursery he used to get sent home as it was always thought he had a tummy bug but it was just the way he naturally processed food. My dr said he would probably grow out of it and luckily he did.

Thanks! Only another 2 years to go then!!

Can you cut dairy for a week or so just to see if it's lactose or dairy full stop?

I replaced cows milk with goats milk for my ds and that seemed to do the trick. Less strict about it now he is older but still has to be a little bit careful.

My DS was exactly the same. He also had severe eczema but we resisted going down the food intolerance route. We managed to sort out his eczema by using private healthcare, once his skin cleared up his bowel movements became normal. Whether it was toddler diarrhoea or linked to the eczema I'll never know, but he was otherwise perfectly fit and healthy.

Ds had this. On gps advice we cut out dairy (awful so many foods have milk in them) but that didn't work. In the end we went the other way and moved to full fat and upped the dairy and it really helped. We get occasional ones usually related to what he eats (grapes and oranges seem to be the main culprit) but it's a lot better.

@Thewindsofchange that’s interesting as it ties in with something I was reading last night about toddler diarrhea.

I’m reluctant to cut out dairy as it would be a pita as it’s in everything and it would be hard for my daughter. She doesn’t drink much milk but likes it at bedtime. And like I say she’s perfectly healthy. I didn’t realise toddler diarrhea could be chronic like a pp said. So that seems to be the most likely diagnosis I think. Funnily enough she did a more solid than normal poo last night!

www.nnuh.nhs.uk/publication/download/dietary-management-of-toddler-diarrhoea-10-1-9/

This is what I was reading in case anyone is interested!