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General health

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Original poster

ds had blood in poo - nhs direct says increase fibre - ideas please

31 replies

gladbag · 12/01/2006 15:38

Poor ds (23 months) just did the most enormous poo, with a small amount of bright red blood in it, and smeared on his bottom and nappy. After calming down from initial shock, and having phoned nhs direct in a panic, I've now been reassured that this isn't unusual, and that I need to make sure he's drinking plenty and has lots of fibre in his diet. He has been a little constipated over the past few days, but nothing major, and it isn't an on-going problem.
So....he does eat loads of fruit and veg (though we may have been overdoing the bananas, which probably doesn't help), and generally eats what I consider a healthy diet, but could I add/give more of that contains decent amounts of fibre (apart from All Bran, which i'm sure he won't eat!).
Any hints or advice much appreciated.

OP posts:

doormat · 12/01/2006 15:40

weetabix
wholemeal bread
might help

tribpot · 12/01/2006 15:41

Brown rice and pasta instead of white will also help out, and as they said, make sure there's plenty of water too.

Copper · 12/01/2006 15:47

Sounds like he has more than enough fibre but not enough liquid. Can you try more to drink before increasing fibre?

Original poster

gladbag · 12/01/2006 15:55

Thanks everyone.

He has weetabix and porridge, with fruit, on alternate days for breakfast, and he always has wholemeal bread and pasta (though I don't give him brown rice, as I thought I'd read somewhere that it was too much for toddlers digestions, so I'll start doing that).

I think maybe fluids could be the main issue. I'll try to get him to drink more.

Would dried fruit help (apricots, raisins etc)? And aren't baked beans good?

Anymore ideas welcomed, especially for tea, so that his next poo is nice and soft and doesn't hurt (I assume he must have a lttle tear )

OP posts:

mazzystar · 12/01/2006 15:59

dried apricots might be good, but i think raisins tend to go straight through (as it were). fresh fruit - pears, apricots etc are good - fibre and liquid in one!

Mercy · 12/01/2006 16:02

Dried fruit(soft), muesli bars, cut down on the milk and increase amount of water/diluted juice, kiwi fruit mashed with banana also helps (remove black seeds).

Worked on ds within a couple of days!

mojomummy · 12/01/2006 16:14

Definetely no bananas - this is a real binder for poos. I'd get some lactulose as a quick fix & just try to get as much liquid down him as possible.

For tea, beans on toast with cucumber slices, cherry toms, lots of drink. Fruit - pineapple/kiwi/apple with skin on for dessert

For brekkie try Tescos wheatflakes. soak up milk & still tasty. They come in a blue box. Or Tescos organic porrige, nice chunky flakes.

Ref the tear, you may find he has a little skin tag form. Apparently they go after a year.

Prufrock · 12/01/2006 16:17

Lentils - lentil stew is a good and well accepted toddler food in our house and always produces loose, nay sometimes explosive poos

cori · 12/01/2006 16:18

mojomummy, can you get Lactulose for children. DS has this problem from time to time too.

Original poster

gladbag · 12/01/2006 16:20

I love mumsnet. That is all really helpful.

Fingers crossed for softer offerings over the next few days.......

OP posts:

kreamkrackers · 12/01/2006 20:13

my dd is on high fibre milk, lactulose and glycerine suposseteries, she's 20months. if any of the other things don't work go to your gp, but i'm guessing it's not too bad from what you have said.

MistyEyed · 12/01/2006 20:24

Bright red blood in the poo should not be a problem. I expect they said it was an anl fissure (sp?) or something like that? Try putting a small amount of Vaseline around & slightly in his bottom tomorrow (or get your DH to!!). That will make sure the small tear heals and the poo slides out. Doing it for a few days should sort it.

MistyEyed · 12/01/2006 20:25

Sorry - anal not anl.

Original poster

gladbag · 12/01/2006 20:31

Thank you MistyEyed! I think that would be my job then. Certainly worth a try, and if it eases things then it has to be good....

OP posts:

starlover · 12/01/2006 20:33

be careful about giving too much fibre! it can cause constipation if you have too much... had that prob with ds

Yummymummy24 · 12/01/2006 20:34

Hiya i've had constipation problemws with both my ds. Bananas and apples both constipate more. All soft fruit is good though. Defo get on the lactulose for a few days as bowel becomes like a bag instead of a sausage skin after constipation and doesn't push the poo out properly. Hope that bit made sense, defo lots of water. Its sooo bad when they actually do the poo!!! I feel so sorry for them i imagine its like childbirth poor things.

edam · 12/01/2006 20:35

Don't go overboard and give him too much fibre though, it can mean children don't absorb all the nutrients they need. Increasing fluids sounds like your best bet. If constipation keeps happening despite plenty of liquid and a healthy diet, ask your GP for a referral to an NHS dietitian who will be able to give you the right advice for your ds.

edam · 12/01/2006 20:36

Oh, and warm baths (obv. not too hot but nice and warm) help to get things moving too. Unfortunately this may mean fishing poo out of the bath, but that's one of the joys of parenthood.

Lonelymum · 12/01/2006 20:37

Yes, don't worry about the blood although I know it looks scary. I am an old hand with this problem as 2 of my 4 children have had chronic constipation and the youngest sometimes has a stool with a bit of blood on it so I fear he is heading the same way.

I can see you have had plenty of ideas from others re increasing the fibre. Another idea though is to help ease the stool out and for this I was recommened to put olive oil in any cooking I could possibly get away with, eg if you cook pasta, add olive oil once you have drained it. According to my HV it has to be olive oil (not sure why) but apparently is makes the stool slippier and less likely to tear the anus. HTH

Piffle · 12/01/2006 20:49

orange juice or small diluted quantities of prune juice, its naturally sweet so most kids love it.

longwaytogo · 12/01/2006 21:27

How do you get them to drink more though if they don't want it. My two have a cup of milk morning and night and a cup of very diluted juice through out the day, but i really struggle to get anymore than that down them.

kreamkrackers · 12/01/2006 22:13

my dd would only drink between 3 and 6oz a day so the hospital put a peg in her. she has massive cardiac problems as well though. you should go to your doctors, you might need to see a speach therapist about this and they'll put you in touch with one.

winnie · 12/01/2006 22:19

gladbag, like you I would be very worried but once again mumsnet is here to help and reassure

I am afraid I don't have any advice but wish you and your ds well

Calmriver · 12/01/2006 22:59

To help, my DD had a similar problem. Will he eat dried apricots or have prune juice? Always a great one for us.xxx She has had prune juice since she was 3 months old, and full of vitamins.

joash · 12/01/2006 23:06

GS went through a phase when this happened regularly, when he did a big poo. Try aloe vera juice from a health food shop, check with whoever works there, but I'm sure its okay for over 12 months. He couldn't possibly eat any more fruit or veg and We tried all the natural remedies, as well as stuff from the docs. Three months ago, a friend recommended the Aloe Vera juice - and he's brilliant now.

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