Green poos; should I be worried??

[giraffemum]

DS is 4.5 months and in the last week has gone from one poo every couple of days to 3-5 times a day. I have been putting this down to teething, can see them under the gums etc. but last night and this am has had really green poos- yuk, yuk, yuk

I know this can often be sign of an infection but there's nothing else as yet- he's a bit snuffly and is currently snoring but no sign of a fever. I don't want to take him to the doctor unnecessarily, anyone got any advice?

I don't think you should be worried - yet, not if he doesn't appear to be ill to you. Mine did the exact same thing when his teeth first started bothering him. He still hasn't got teeth, they just move around from time to time making him miserable and turning his poo green!

If it's very watery, and keeps happening throughout the day, he may have a bug. my 4.5 MO is currently producing green diarrhea at every feed, and has done so for the last week. It's been accompanied with him being generally out of sorts, running a low fever and being a bit snuffly. NHS direct were of the opinion this was probably rotavirus diarrhea. It's been going on for a bit too long for my liking, so we're off to the doc this afternoon to get it checked out.

PS, beware of green poo. it eats bottoms. The green colour is caused by bile, a cocktail of digestive enzymes that normally digest food. If bile comes out in poo, it will happily digest bottoms instead . I'd suggest frequent changes and barrier cream.

Cheers Sanguine, i have kept an eye on him today and think it's a bit of a cold combined with teething. seems a bit happier now and poo is returning to normal colour i think. good tip about the barrier cream!

both my ds have suffered when teething, where bum is so red raw you wipe it and it appears wet again from tissue fluid! And yes poos were green (and stank of fish....!) Found the most amazing cream in world. very expensive but will last through out whole of teething you use so little of it. CAVILLON, available on prescription I believe if not, about £14 fro chemist (or cheaper on ebay!) If you can see the cream on their skin you've put too much on, that's how little you use. My MIL suggested it as she used to be nurse and they used it on bedbound patients.

also diet affects poo colour. my 6mth son is on prescription formula for milk intolerance and that produced loose green poos.