14 Month Old with Chronic Diarrhea

I graduated with a degree in Dietetics and there is something called the BRAT diet to help with diarrhea. You can google it. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast. Fiber actually helps diarrhea to bulk up the stools to make them solid. I hope that helps...good luck.

L.,

If your son has had diarrhea for 4 weeks, he really needs
a more thorough evaluation by a physician. There are many
causes of diarrhea in children from teething to infectious
agents like bacteria and viruses. Dietary changes and allergies can also cause diarrhea. You need to go back to you
physician and insist on a thorough evaluation. If the doctor refuses, you may ask for a second opinion or a referral to another physician. It is important to determine the cause of the diarrhea if it is not improving. In terms of protecting your son's skin, a zinc oxide cream like desitin will help. Use it with each diaper change. Another help is leaving his diaper off during nap times, for example, you can simply place a towel under him. When changing just gently pat the area, as rubbing will lead to more irritation and pain. Finally, in the evaluation of the
diarrhea, the weight of the child is only one factor. Young
children especially can loose electrolytes from chronic
diarrhea. The key here is not to wait until this becomes a
bigger problem for your child before seeking medical evaluation. Look at it this way, if you had diarrhea for 4 weeks, would you ignore it or seek further help?
Good luck and hang in there. Take care,
C.

I know what you are going through! I went through the exact same thing when my son (now 27 months) was your sons age. I also went to the doctors and had the same response. We took my son off of milk put him on soy milk and then on to rice milk. His diarrhea continued. I then remembered that acidophilus (which is found in yogurt or as a supplement) can help restore the natural bacteria in the stomach. I discussed this with my chiropractor and he offered an infant acidophilus supplement that I gave my son for several weeks and it did the trick. I'm sure you could go to a health food store and get get the same supplement or refer to a chiropractor or naturopathic doctor. My chiro is in Louisville if you are close. His name is John Scott 303/666-7717. I do think my son had milk issues, but I think the main problems was his stomach just got so out of wack that not even the brat diet worked, plus my son wouldn't eat the stuff most of the time.

My son had horrible diaper rash and there were a few things that really helped.

#1 bathe his behind as much as possible with cool water instead of using diaper wipes when changing him. We just put his butt in the bathroom sink and ran the cool water until he was clean.

#2 We used real corn starch. Not the powder with corn starch in it, but the real cooking corn starch. Make sure he is totally dry before you put it on. Sometimes when the rash was really bad, we would put Balmex or A&D with corn starch on top to make a nice layer that the diarrhea couldn't penetrate.

#3 We let him go without a diaper as much as possible (I know it's taking a risk) to let his skin breathe.

Good luck!

All the advice about the BRAT diet and no wipes is a great idea. I would also say that you probably need to see a pediatric GI doctor. If your pediatrician won't refer you, then it's time to find a new pediatrician. Mine wants to know if my child has diarrhea for more than a few days. Four weeks is outrageous.

Hi L.,
You are experiencing the story of my life! We did end up going to a GI doc, who diagnosed my son with "non-specific toddler diarrhea." (In other words, couldn't figure out the cause!) The good news was, he ran some tests and ruled our many illnesses and diseases such as Chron's, parasite, and allergies.
Here are some things that have helped our guy:
-as the other ladies have said, BRAT diet
-add 1/4 cup baking soda to bath water to soothe the rash... we've also given our little one Aveeno oatmeal baths
-put Vaseline or Bag Balm on his bottom at every diaper change, even if there's no rash. Avoid creamy diaper creams like Desitin, because the cornstarch base may actually feed the rash, which can be a yeast infection when it gets really bad
-limit juice & cut back on servings of fruit, especially citrus
-wipe his bottom with a soft washcloth and warm water, no soap (daycare lady is sure to love that one!)
-dry his bottom w/a hair dryer if he'll let you
-give a fiber supplement. Our son was 14 months and about 20 pounds when we started this. We give him 1 Metamucil fiber wafer each morning. They taste good and seem to help bulk up the poops
-as another mom mentioned, we also give our kids acidophilus. I buy Nature's Blend chewable acidophilus tablets
-make sure the daycare provider knows how important it is to change the poopy diapers IMMEDIATELY. Our doc said having the poop in contact with the skin essentially burns the skin.
I hope this helps. I know how frustrated and worried you must be, and how much pain your little boy is in.
Good luck :)
-P.

Hi L.,
It sounds like maybe it's time to get a second opinion. Granted your son is not dehydrated or losing weight, but diarrhea is not normal and it is affecting his quality of life. If your current pediatrician doesn't seem concerned about that, then you should find one that does. In the mean time stay away from food with lots of fiber or laxitive properties ( prunes, grapes, apple juice) and try to stick with dairy or other "constipating" properties. Good luck with this!

J.

Hi, L.. This is the worst time for everyone! I would just suggest rice, oatmeal, crackers, bananas, etc. Our experience with diarrhea always coincided with teething. As for the rash, our pediatrician prescribed "Happy Hiney". An OTC option would be "Beaudreaux's Butt Paste"...GREAT! I would also use a soft towel and warm water to wash...don't use wipes! Finally, trust your insticts...if you're concern is not matched by your pediatrician...go somewhere else. Good luck!

My daughter had diarrhea for 3-4 weeks during the summer. The symptoms sound the same.
Our doctor recommended buying a probiotic (Walgreens) and sprinkling one capsule on her food. We did this for one meal for about 2 days before we saw a big difference. It really helped to harden her stools. I'd try it!

I agree with everything Peggy says and many others. Hopefully, you're still breastfeeding him. My daughter seemed to have chronic diarrhea as a toddler and it was maddening. Acidophilus should be added to every man, woman and child's diet. It will help put his system back in balance. Fruit juice is not necessary. I think you should remove that any and all citrus. Applesauce is a part of the BRAT diet. Just go to the blandest diet you can, but eliminate items one at a time. If you can find the time, make your own baby food. And give him LOTS of good, bottled water. Milk seems like the most obvious suspect at first. With my daughter, I cut out dairy for awhile, but it turned out not to be the problem after all. The problem just cleared up on its own. Still, I recommend you try almond and rice milk to see if it makes a difference. If all those things don't work, gluten may be the problem. I buy all organic milk with Mambo Sprouts coupons and others. I spend just about the same buying organically as I would not buying organically. Please send an update in a few weeks.

L.,

Diaper rash ointment probably actually hurts him more. When my toddler has really runny or watery BMs, his little butt turns bright red and my Dr. told me to use athlete's foot cream (like Tinactin although there are many brands). It works SO much better than diaper rash cream. I would suggest you buy two tubes today and send one to daycare. Good Luck!

My son went through a 4 to 5 week bout and was a little younger. At first we thought it was a virus as both parents had a stomach flu, but our son couldn't kick it. We took him to the doctor and they had us get stool samples (not fun!) and tested them for parasites and other tests including celiac disease. It turns out he had some indicaters for celiac disease (a genetic disease caused by an intolerance to gluten, so we went to a pediatric GI specialist. By this time the diarrhea was gone, but we went anyway and he does not seem to have celiac disease, but we didn't test him further to be absolutely sure. I think you should have some testing done just to be sure and maybe layoff wheat or gluten containing foods in the mean time.

Besides the recommendations from others below - I have heard rice water (the water from boiling rice - before it is absorbed from the rice) is good to drink to firm things up.

Good luck.

If your pediatrician is not worried about it and he is still gaining weight and not dehydrated, then don't worry about it. If you don't trust your pediatrician, find a new one. Drop your daycare provider as soon as you can. If she doesn't like changing diapers, then she shouldn't be taking care of kids.

Ditto with the BRAT diet--it really works for my little tigers when they have diarrhea. The other thing that I would recommend is Weleda's Callendula Cream. After bathing their bottoms in cool water (no wipes with bad diaper rash!) apply the Callendula cream and THEN the A&D or Desitin ointment. It moisturizes and disinfects a bit. My boys love it and it really helps!