My eight month old started having diarrhea a few days ago. She has not run a fever or been cranky at all. She is still eating as much as she usually does and not experiencing any signs of dehydration AND she doesn't have it after every meal, but last night she had it during the day, twice in the middle of the night and a few times times today. I don't really think she is sick and perhaps it could be because she's teething, but I don't feel any bumps or see any swelling on her gums. I don't know if I should avoid play dates because of this or not. Any thoughts??
I guess I probably left out some information. She has been chewing on her fingers recently but there isn't too much drool. When my son teethed he got diarrhea, I have no idea why in the world teething would cause diarrhea but even some of my friends children got it when teething. The other thing is that my daughter doesn't eat food yet, despite my attempts she just isn't interested so the only thing in her diet is formula. We did recently change the formula from the anti spit-up kind to regular kind because she no longer spits up.
both of mine had diarrhea when they were teething, my grandma called them their stomach teeth. But I'd still keep an eye on her.
Kids can get diarrhea with teething. Is she gnawing on stuff? With lack of other symptoms, I'll bet it's OK to share a playdate.
Mine always got loose stools from teething too, my doctor says it is totally normal. Even when I couldn't tell for sure if there were teeth coming in. Then a few days later they would be red and inflamed. My doctor also told me that diarrhea is not about the consistency of the poop, but about the quantity and frequency of it. I can't remember the amount but once when I called about this (it turned out to be teeth) they said it isn't considered diarrhea until it is X amount a day. And X was a huge number, like 10 or something. If it is not that much, then it is just considered loose stool, and you just monitor it.
That being said, I would still call the nurse's line at your pediatricians office tomorrow and talk to them, just to be safe. When you call, give details like how many times yesterday, how many times today, whether it was total liquid or just soft, etc. It will help them determine if she needs to be seen. But don't worry too much.
She is putting her fingers in her mouth! Unless you are following her around with Purell 24/7 she may have picked up a rotovirus. Absolutely avoid play dates, unless you want to spread this and become the most unpopular Mom on the block, and call the pediatrician right away. Diarrhea lasting for days on end is NEVER normal and if you do not know this you might not be the best judge of whether or not your child is dehydrated.
I hate to sound so harsh but you always need to take diarrhea seriously and you are already a couple of days past when you should have called the doctor. So please call today.
What does she eat other than formula/breastmilk? She may be eating too much of something that is upsetting her stomach. I get sick if I eat too many carrots lol
Or have you recently introduced a new food?
I also thought about teething. Might keep an eye on that, keep checking her gums.
Also check for fever. If she ever has fever, I'd call the doc. You might go ahead and call the doc if she continues to be sick for another day or two. They can tell you if/when to bring her in, or possibly some other things to try to help her.
diarrhea is hard to judge without seeing it first hand. my son has never really had solid poops so every diaper looks like diarrhea. my son has always had increase in stools and mucus in stool around teething time. one poster said why would teething cause diarrhea it can cause diarrhea because of the excess saliva produced and snot drainage if they are upper teeth (my son always got a runny nose with his upper teeth coming in) but there are many "bugs" floating around right now. best bet is keep her away form other kids just to be safe and watch her for other more serious signs or if the diarrhea just wont stop. if this is her only symptom why expose her to a dr's office with worse stuff going around. my son is 2 and he still has days once in a while where he seems to have an increase in bowel movements. "teething" is a 2 year long event once it starts. lol teeth can be working themselves out but not break the gums yet. my son worked on his 1st molars from 10 months until finally getting them through around 15 months. his top second molars have taken nearly 6 months. good luck. give her lots to drink and lots of love :)
Yes, it can be teething because of all the fluid she is swallowing it is drool and it can upset their tummy. She is 8 months old, it makes sense.
If she does not have a fever and is not cranky, it is possible her little teeth are making their way through..You cannot always feel them. Remember that can feel like little pins in there.. Give her stuff to chew on. Freeze some wet baby wash cloths and let her chew on them.
Sometimes kids get that. When that happens to mine, I reduce any fruit or other high-fiber items they may have been eating and encourage them to eat more cheese. But yours isn't eating solids yet, so that wouldn't work. If you're worried, call in to your doctor and ask if they think its something you should bring her in for. Remember to tell them all her symptoms. Often they'll advise you over the phone if it doesn't sound serious. My thought is that it probably isn't serious, but I'm not a doctor.
Please be caredul blaming medical issues on teething. Think about it-- why would a tooth coming through a baby's gums have anything to do with her digestive track? Call the doctor and see if they ask you about any symptoms you hadn't thought of.
I think I would play it safe and avoid other little ones for a few days. There is a horrible bug going around right now and it seems to be affecting everyone just a little different. I was nauseous, my son had vomiting and my daughter had 3 episodes of vomiting and then diarrhea for a few days. And you can still be highly contagious 3 days after the symptoms subside.
She's probably not eating a ton of solids but I would switch her to more of a BRATY diet to help soothe her system if she does have a tummy bug. That's the other part of this bug-it keeps the system upset for about a week and "regular" foods seem to keep the upset going.
Just my opinion, but have you called her pediatrician? I would.
I just went through this with my 17 month old daughter. Diarrhea, no fever or other symtoms EXCEPT she would not eat or drink well. She lost 12 oz. in 5 days. We ended up spending a night in the Pediatric Care Unit at the hospital b/c her electrolytes were low and CO2 (?) was low. Since then her appetite has been great and she is drinking very well. The pediatrician said that this is a new virus (very contagious) that includes diarrhea and vomiting, and generally no other symptoms.
Don't mean to scare you, only to make you and other mommy's aware. If she is eating and drinking, replenishing what she is losing, then I think she should be okay. But I would advise keeping her away from others, as my daughter did share this with others (somehow NOT mommy and daddy). Also, this did cause a bad diaper rash. I would suggest Zinc Oxide (Rx we got from the hospital) for the diaper rash.
