14month old's poo is always soft / sometimes diarrhoea

[Elmo311]

Hi All,

I have a healthy 14month old DC. For around a month now he has been passing soft stool, occasionally it can be a bit more watery too.
He refused milk from 12months old so he doesn't have any at all now, but just has vitamin supplements.
His diet has been pretty consistent and he eats the same as previously when his poo was more solid (and easier to clean !)

We have been to the doctor with him but the Dr seemed to shrug it off saying if he isn't having diarrhoea she isn't worried, but I know this isn't normal for him ? Today already he has passed stool 4 times since 8am.

Anyone been through this? Should I worry ? Should I take him for a 2nd opinion?

Could it be some sort of food intolerance?

Thanks!

Does he have anything with lactose? (Yoghurt, cheese, fromage frais). That’s usually the main culprit in toddlers, and can just be a temporary thing. Both of mine grew out of their toddler lactose intolerances. It’s a simple stool test via the GP. Book a morning appointment, so you don’t miss the shipment to the lab, armed with a sample and ask for a reducing substances test. A doctor would have a hard time refusing a mum with fresh poo using the correct terminology!

@ElphabaTheGreen
Haha! Yes sorry I forgot to mention I handed in a faecal sample on Monday (but didn't use the correct terminology, dammit!)

When you say they grew out of it, does that mean you limited their foods with Dairy or did you just continue and then it got better? How long did it take?

He loves cheese and yogurts...

They went completely lactose-free for 12-18 months (the Lactofree range is massive these days so it’s not a bother). I ‘tested’ them every now and then with stuff containing lactose every now and again then once this stopped resulting in nappy explosions, I put them back onto the normal stuff.

@ElphabaTheGreen oh wow, that long!
Ok , I will give it a go then whilst I wait for the results.

It’s honestly no biggie. The Lactofree range is perfectly normal milk, cheese, yoghurt etc with lactase, the enzyme which breaks down lactose, added to it. It tastes and looks no different. We just all switched to it while they were affected and we’re all back on the normal stuff now.

The other culprit can be gluten, if it’s not lactose, but that requires a blood test which is a harder task with a baby/toddler. If the diarrhoea doesn’t resolve, the stool sample shows no reducing substances (lactose intolerance) or infection and you do think you need to proceed to that (as it may be Coeliacs which is a serious, life-long condition which needs to be identified sharpish) DON’T go gluten-free before the blood test or the antibodies they’re looking for won’t show up. And make sure you ask the GP to prescribe emla cream in preparation for the blood test - this numbs the skin so they can put the needle in painlessly.

My DS (2.5) has never had formed stools. We cut lots of things out of the diet, over many months (soya, dairy, peanuts etc but not gluten as gp said he was thriving so we shouldn't).

Eventually referred to hosp for paediatrician and they diagnosed toddler diarrhoea, after several stool samples. It's not uncommon, can't do much with it, but we do limit a few things like grapes which helps a bit! We use cloth nappies so it's more for our benefit than his, but potty training is unlikely to be fun!!

Apparently their gut grows out of it some time between 2-5yrs.

@ElphabaTheGreen are you medical ? :)
I know of Emla, I'm in the medical field myself , but with animals.
Thanks for all of your advice, it's been very helpful!

@vivavivaviva Are cloth nappies better when they have soft stool/ diarrhoea ?
He passed stool 7 tiles today, and has started to get nappy rash he is going so often.
Applying cream etc to deal with that.
This is just horrible and I feel for him...2-5years?! Ahhhhh

How many portions of fruit are you giving a day? I realised I was giving my DC too much and it firmed up their poos in a few days.

Oh no! Worse! I have to clean them all!

Too much fibre, too little fat, too much fluid. They're all issues. But the biggest issue is just that the gut isn't mature enough yet.

But I'm not saying your little one has toddler diarrhoea, I can't claim medical knowledge here!

Keep pushing if it's becoming a big issue, but doctors are unlikely to take it seriously, at least not quickly!

I’m an AHP in a hospital, OP, so know how to identify the right terminology which tends to convince medics you aren’t just an Anxious Mother. But my knowledge of emla is from when the GP sent my then 2yo DS1 for a blood test without prescribing emla. The phlebotomists were slightly horrified but as it was one of my first solo forays out of the house with a toddler and a newborn, and it had been very, very fucking stressful to get there only to almost be turned away, I gritted my teeth and said, ‘Just bloody do it.’ DS1 was amazingly good and I don’t think those phlebotomists had ever done a blood draw so quickly, especially with DS2 screaming in a sling on my chest while I clamped DS1 on my lap.

So, mainly, I just come limping like a crone onto any thread where blood tests in small children are suggested and wail, ‘GET EMLA PRESCRIBED.’

How tall is your little one? Mine had some blood tests done as he is very small for his age, the doctors were telling me it was probably just cos I’m short too - turns out he has tested positive for coeliac disease. I had never suspected gluten was a problem before. It was only because he’s had all sorts of other issues that this has come to light. Maybe ask your GP if they think it’s worth testing?

Hi all, thanks for your replies :)
I had a think about it and the more regular stool has happened around the same time he quit milk and we started giving him vitamins.
I've stopped the vitamin supplement and although the poo is still soft it's only been twice a day instead of the 7-9 times a day!

Will try him with another vitamin supplement to see.