My 4 yr old has really smelly fatty sticky poo but otherwise healthy, anyone know why?

[Ellisx]

My 4 year old son has had bowel problems for the past 18 months. He is full of wind, regularly soils his pants when he passes wind and his poo has not looked normal for this time as it is really smelly and greasy (very hard to flush as it sticks to the pan). We have seen a specialist, had blood tests and poo tests but they can’t see any reason for his problems. He has tested negative for Chrohns and Celiac and no blood in his poop. The only thing I could think of is that he had a dose of long term antibiotics when he first started getting the symptoms 18 months ago for his glue ear. I tried probiotics which have made no difference, also tried movocol at first because the GP thought it was impaction from the symptoms. I am at my whits end as he comes home from school everyday with soiled pants. His tests did show a slightly higher intolerance to egg white but excluding that made no difference either.
Has anyone else had this problem? The Specialist has suggested another course of antibiotics to reset the bacteria or a low dose of loperamide to stop him from soiling. Neither of those options sound good to me.

Two of my kids have coeliac. How did they test him? Blood tests aren’t completely accurate. Plus he’d need to be eating a lot of gluten.

They just did a blood test and a stool sample. He’s gaining weight so they don’t seem worried about it.

Fat malabsorption is causing the sticky stools can you put him gluten and dairy free and see if this improves

How long before an improvement would show? My son is a really good eater so cutting foods will be tough. Willing to give it a go as an appointment at the specialist can take months.

I am currently waiting to see a specialist with my ds who has exactly the same thing you have described. He has had this since a very early age. He is 8 now and is not putting on much weight which is why he is being referred.
We are the same all bloods and stool samples have come back normal.
Is it still possible to have Coeliac disease with negative blood results?

Jamiebravo have you ever had an allergy test at a private clinic? I am considering clinical testing but not sure how that would differ to an NHS blood test!

@Ellisx no I never got him allergy tested, there isn't anywhere local to me that does them for children(small city Ireland).
I think his local consultant said it would be a biopsy first and see if they find anything there. Thanks.

My DD was like this for months and has Coeliac disease. Apparently it is possible to test negative in the routine blood test but still have it. They can also do a genetic test which would give you an answer.

This website is an excellent source of information:
www.eric.org.uk

I have to wait months for a specialist appointment so I am going to go Gluten free during Easter while I can monitor what he eats when he’s off school. I really don’t know what else to try. Everything points to Coeliac so going cold turkey is the best option.

Dh is gluten intolerant but not coeliac and he had the same symptoms as your ds. Negative screen for coeliac but it went away within 2 days of being gluten free.

6 days into new diet (a few minor set backs and accidental wheat consumption!) and my son had a solid poo !!! Still a bit windy but starting to look normal 🤗. Fingers crossed this continues 😊😊😊

Glad things have improved. Sounds similar to dd. We were initially told toddlers diarrhoea which is linked to sugar causing problems with soiling and really fouls stools. Were advised increased fibre and dairy with reduced sugar intake but this didn’t work. She developed constipation. Finally seeing specialists she tested negative for caeliac but is intolerant to dairy and gluten. There are also major issues with high FODMAP food with apples (which are in bloody everything) being the worst trigger. Since being on a massively restricted diet things are much better.

@Squeezed, did your dd have any tests to prove she was intolerant to all those foods? I have also been restricting Lactose for alternatives where I can as if it’s just an intolerance I have noticed most people can get away with having a limited amount in their diet.

No tests for the intolerances just excluded everything and then very slow reintroduction. Her physical reaction was very obvious so we know what she can or can’t have. The dietitian and continence nurse have been really great.

A week into gluten free diet and it was going great until yesterday afternoon when he had a massive explosive poo after lunch. I realised he had eaten at least 5 different fruits that morning, including a large snack pack of sultanas. Today he’s been much better and fruit is restricted to meal times to help with digestion.

Poor thing. I can remember how awful it was. It’s great that gluten free has helped as it is quite manageable, albeit frustrating at times. We kept food diaries that helped identify trigger foods. It does get better and you do get used to it.

Fatty poo screams cystic fibrosis at me, but that's because my eldest has it.

fat intolerance I'd say. Ask GP for advice.

is it an orangey colour?

It is an orange/pale brown sort of colour and very sticky looking- sticks to pan. Since we have gone Gulten free it has lost the sticky look and foul smell but poo is pale still. When it turns to the runs it is pale and yellow. Today he had a really normal looking poo then an hour later he just did a water parp 😳.

Following with interest as we have similar problems here atm.

Have you cut out barley as well as wheat? When dh first went gluten free I didn't know about barley containing gluten and was still using sauces and seasoning with it in.

Yes HippyChickMama, I have cut out all gluten containing foods. I am using milk alternatives where I can and now I am alternating fruit for veg in between meals and only allowing a small piece of fruit with meals to help digestion. I still don’t have an appointment through to see a speacialist and I know it can take months, so I will try anything in the meantime. I think a lot of it is trial and error. Starting to keep a food diary too.

Food diary is a great idea. Fwiw as well as being gluten intolerant dh is allergic to most fruit and some nuts. He's just a very allergic person I think. Out of all common fruit and nuts he can only eat citrus fruit, grapes, berries, cashews, peanuts, pistachios and pecans. Definitely no bananas or melon. I'm not sure if that's any use to you but in my experience with dh, and as a nurse, people with allergies and intolerances tend to have several.