What is diahorrea? Warning: gross

[sillywitch]

My DS is 7 and has a bit of a funny tummy. We give him lactobacillus bifida which helps him a lot but he seems to react to some foods or germs or whatever (I.e. occasion loose stools - maybe twice then fine). He has had loose stools today - once at school, then a very small amount at home once. He is perfectly happy otherwise. Is this diahhorea? Should I keep him at home tomorrow? I feel stupid that I don't know....does one case of loose stools count as diahhorea? How do you know if it's diahhorea or food disagreeing with him? Is there some sort of rule? Fwiw, I'm going to keep him off tomorrow but just don't know if I'm being ultra conservative...

I would call NHS direct about this. It could be a lot of different things. Diarrhea is a symptom rather that is caused by a nunber of different problems from food poisoning (doesn't sound like that) to just being too hot.

I think he has loose stools more than diarrhoea. Whilst there's no a big difference diarrhoea is more watery and frequent than loose stools. Your DS having two bouts suggests loose stools and if I were you and it were my DS I'd look at what he eats and when he has the bouts.

You probably have already but teach, or revise, proper hand washing after toilet use (and before eating) with him. Kids do tend to slack off on this!!

I was once told by a GP that diarrhoea was not the existence of loose stools per se (which in themselves may not be a problem unless there is an urgency issue) but the frequency of going (I guess because of the dehydration risk - my child was quite young when I consulted them). So I think if there is more than 3-4 episodes per day of loose stools then that counts as a medical issue rather than a 'I ate all the lentil curry' type issue....
Not sure if that helps?

Thanks, this is all what I suspected. It's the whole 'treat the child, not the symptoms' thing. He is so chipper, he's driving me crazy with his running around. I'm currently trying to shush him!! Thanks for your responses!