should i be concerned about ds' white poo?

[HeadFairy]

ds is nearly 15 months old, he's had some pretty pale poos over the last couple of days, I just assumed it was because the cm had given him something odd to eat, but this morning it was totally white. He didn't eat much yesterday, but he has a cold so I assumed that's what it was. Googling white poo is scary, so I wondered if anyone had any experience.

What's his colour like? The whites of his eyes? Jaundice can cause white poo - so check for yellow face/whites of eyes. You said he's not eating much? Is he overly sleepy?

I would speak to the Dr or NHS direct

His colour seems ok, I did read that white poo indicated a liver problem but he's not got a yellowy tinge to his skin or eyes so I was hoping it might be something else. He's not overly sleepy, he was tired yesterday, but that was because he slept badly as he was coughing most of the night I presume. This morning he seems ok, a bit whingey, but not overly sleepy.

He barely ate yesterday, even yoghurts which he loves. He had a corner of toast this morning. Normally he'd eat the best part of two slices. He did have a tummy upset on Sunday night and was sick, which is unusual for him, but I put that down to a 24 hour bug, he was right as rain the next day, but not eating much which I guess is understandable.

I've heard of this, it can be the result of some viruses, I don't think it's usually a problem, it should get better on it's own. It's worth speaking to your GP though, or NHS direct.

That's reassuring thanks Belgo. I hope that's it. I might try and see if he does another one today but if he's not eating much then he's not likely to poo much.

I remember my dd having about a week of whiteish poo when she was about 2.5 and had had a stomach bug a little while before.

It did seem to go away of it's own accord - but in her case was definitely related to her having been ill about a week previous and she was obviously recovering from the bug.

maybe it's due to phlegm from the cough?

Try not to google to much and ring your GP surgery for advice.

Thanks slim and pooka, it was dh who googled white poo, the fool! It came up with links to descriptions of liver cancer, sclerosis (I think ds is too young for that, he only has three cans of special brew a day ) and bile duct problems. I did think it's much much more likely to be something less serious as those sorts of things would be very rare in a 15 month old.

TBH I would check with your doctor - the liver thing is true and can be serious. And just because it's rare doesn't mean you don't have to check.

Yes my brother had this, he also has a lot of constipation. He also suffered from loads of convulsions and is dyslexic. Probably not related but I know that it worried my mum sick at the time. He had is for quite some time. But he got better by himself in the end. Well he is 25 now and massive.

Oh and incidentally, a friend's dd and ds had broadly the same thing at about the same time - obviously the same bug had the same result. But of course if you are worried (I also googled like a crazy fool) then it is worth taking him to the doctor for reassurance.

hello, my friends son had this.
however he was frightened of going to the toilet, and used to hold it in till the very last minute, so he became very constipated and had white poo. he also would not eat much at all.

is your son normally ok about passing poos?

did you speak to someone headfairy?

I haven't yet belgo, my gp doesn't take calls until 2pm and I'm always a bit sceptical about the advice on NHS direct, they always say see your gp regardless of the diagnosis. Understandable, they have to cover themselves and they can't see the patient so they have to err on the side of caution.

Everything else about ds is normal, he normally has no problems doing poos and doesn't hold on.