Worrying about frequent runny poo (2 yr old)...

[Differentfrom]

My DD (2.3) poos a lot. At least twice a day and at most, 5 times. They are nearly always, erm, very loose (vest-changingly so). She has always seemed to go a lot but, with potty training looming, things aren't looking so promising. She eats really well and is active and sparky but it is beginning to worry me. She is in denial about poo generally - denies the obvious, hates having her nappy changed and will not tell us when she has one. Any ideas anyone? Is it worth a trip to the docs do you reckon?

I will be lurking with interest. I have a 2 and a bit year old DS. He does loads of poos too. He very rarely does a 'proper' one. They have always been very runny.

He is my 4th DC so have had a fair bit of experience with child poo and kept expecting him to firm up.

Still waiting.

I wondered if he might be very slighty sensitive to dairy or something. He stopped having morning/night milk a while ago though and no change.

He is very healthy and is on the upper centiles for weight and height so not worried there.

Interesting that your DD doesnt tell you about dirty nappy. DS never bothers either. He is not keen on nappy changing by IME 2 year olds hate all that faff anyway.

He is nowhere near ready for potty training yet. I am going to wait till the summer holidays before I even think about it.

There is a condition called 'toddler diarear' (I know, i just can't fathom the spelling of that word tonight!!. Don't know much about it but am sure it is mentioned in various child health books. Think its something they grow out of eventually. Maybe she has something like this?

Has she always pooed as loosely this frequently? If not she could be experiencing what the dr will probably describe as "Toddlers diarrhoea" and tell you that it will pass and not to worry. However, this wont be what you want to hear if the poo is as horrendous, lumpy and stinky as ds1's was at this age!

Ds1 has always had issues with his bowels and has been through the whole allergy to dairy and egg thing. It might be worth keeping a food diary to see if some days are worse that others and try to spot patterns.

diarrhoea - have dealt with lots of it today so looked it up to write it down. (at work not for this conversation

I would look at a mild intolerance first, something like dairy, try cutting it out to see if it changes, is prob toddler diarrhoea but to be honest i think that is something doctors say when they don't know what it is.

HTH

DS1 was like that and I was a bit terrified about potty training him as he was more than happy to sit in a revolting nappy for ages and always hated being changed.

But weirdly he is now 2.9yrs and we potty trained during Feb half term and he got the poo bit before the wee bit and his poo's are strangely solid.

Thanks so much for all the replies. Will google Toddler Diarrhoea this evening (oh what fun). Cutting out dairy sounds unnerving - just not sure that I'd be able to balance her food without it but I suppose a short break from all dairy would be worth a go and would not be damaging. Food diary too is a good plan...

Just a thought, my dd used to be like this until pediatrician recommended stopping apple juice (she drank maybe two cups a day) and all was well.

Hmm, no apple juice but plenty of apples. Oh yes, and pears... don't give her pears anymore because they go right through in about 15 minutes.

Sounds bad but if you did decide to try a week without dairy you can give her flavoured soya milk like the chocolate milkshakes when she normally has a drink me milk. Soya yoghurts are quite nice too. Its a bit inconvienient but not a big deal. Generally when buying dairy free biscuits etc go with value and long life brands as they tend to have soya instead.

All my three children have been like this. I tried cutting out dairy with dd1, and also gluten, but it didn't make any difference.

Thet are all generally healthy , and eat a very varied, and balanced diet. They aren't picky eaters at all; sometimes I think that things might get better if I just fed them on potatoes and pasta and chicken, and cut out all the other things that most children don't like, but that mine do!

I don't feel especially worried about them, but I do find it very tiring constantly to be dealing with sticky poo, changing nappies, rinsing out clothes, having to put dc3 in the bath to get him clean just when I should be going to get the two older ones from school etc.

If someone had a quick and easy solution I would be most grateful!

By the way, I don't remember potty training being a particular problem.

Thanks jollyma, for the advice about soya products. I will give them a go next week and keep people posted.

And, peasandbeans, my daughter isn't at all picky either - it's a bit odd having to say, "No, please STOP nicking that broccoli"! Comforting to know that potty training won't necessarily be a big issue too...

Ah well, we pay for our good eaters with poo!

Very interested to read this. My DS is the same. He is 2.2 and no where near ready for potty training. Completely denies having a poo in his nappy, even though the smell makes my eyes water! His poos have always been the same consistency, I've never know any difference, but it did concern me. I asked at his nursery, as I thought they have plenty of experience of changing lots of nappies and was told all the poos are different and his was nothing to worry about.

This made me feel a bit better. He does eat a lot of food, he loves it and most of his deserts and snacks consists of fruit and raw veg, so hardly supprising I've alway thought.

DS1 had horrific nappies, very loose often very acidic smelling and lots of them,

however they became much better once all his teeth had come through, so I think they were linked to this

they were at their worst soon after he turned 2, which is when his last set of back teeth came through

We've been avoiding wheat products for a couple of days now and have noticed no change as yet. Will carry on for a week and then try dairy avoidance just to exclude. Cheekychopsmum - agreed about the fruit and veg snacks thing. Am leaning towards that as an explanation at the moment - that and a perhaps immature gut. And, IWNNEAT, the teeth thing is probably a factor too. DD has always had a bad bum around teeth time. Think she still has one back tooth to come so it could be why it's particularly dire these last few weeks. We've abandoned the cloth nappies for now anyway (annoying to have got this far) - just too much of a risk when out and about!

Unfortunately I have quite a lot of experience of toddler diarrhoea with DD (just turned 4). She is a lot better than she used to be but we still have our moments. There is a good info page about it on patient uk. The four F's in the diet are well explained on the page but def avoid too much flruit/fruit juice- (esp apples/juice) we also have to avoid tomato based products/sauces. I think a lot of DD's problem is an inability to digest fructose in fruits/sauces. We have been down the whole lactose/dairy free route for several months and ultimately it wasn't the answer for us, although i would say if she has a flare up now I do avoid dairy for a day or two as milk products can seem to heighten the effects of diarrhoea. (Sorry if this is repeating any OP info, have only skim read the thread).

HTH. I feel your pain!

Not yet read the info on Patient and will, but you've got me worried now. I wasn't particulary bothed about DS loose nappies and just thought that's the way he is. It doesn't seem to bother him, he doesn't get a sore bum or seem to suffer from wind. I would rather he didn't give up his eating and enjoying fruit and veg. Like I said before that's what he eats most of as snacks apart from the odd oat cake, bread stick/rice cake. As far as meals go, he eats what ever I'm make for myself and DP but it will include veg in the meal. DS doesn't have fruit juice,, just water.

Have just read the info on patient uk - very interesting (thank you elizabethsmum). It appears that, if this is toddler diarrhoea, then it's not really anything to worry about. It will get better over time. So, with that in mind, I'm off to do another load of washing!

Cheekychopsmum-shouldn't worry about it too much if he is not getting a sore bottom. DD had absolutely awful sore bottom, skin used to crack and bleed. It is not anything to worry about but just a bit more inconvinient as they get older! I was told by paediatician (who we were referred to because of sore bum!) that children eventually outgrow it. We have had several good months but at the moment have been going through a bad flare up the last couple of days (can be set off worse by cold/general tummy upset etc) but DD is absolutelu fine in herself so am sure it will soon settle again!

Glad you found info useful Differentfrom- it could have been written for us and is the most practical explanation I have found!

Just an update - have been excluding all fruit from DD's diet (except bananas) and have had miraculous results! Blimey, solid poo is so much easier to deal with (have even gone back to cloth nappies and can't believe we've not noticed the correlation before- feel bad).

We're lucky that she's so accepting (willing, even) to eat vegetables. However, last night, I slipped up and gave her a meal with some tinned tomatoes and, this morning, promptly after getting up, had to deal with a thunder-nappy again. So, at least for the time being, tomatoes are off the menu along with all other fruit. Think I'll keep going for a fortnight or so and then start reintroducing fruit one small piece at a time. Poor child, she so loves her fruit...

I'm hoping all this is just temporary though I know that tomatoes are quite a common allergen (she has always had a red rash around her mouth after eating them - never seemed to bother her and would disappear shortly after).