Info on Epsom Salts Overdose

Hi A.,

It may be some kind of stomach bug that's going around, because my two year old and my boyfriends three year old have had the explosive diarrhea thing for about three days now. Nothing else seems to be wrong with them and they are happy and don't seem to be sick in any other way. My son did throw up once after eating his vitamins one morning, but immediately went on to playing afterward and just said that he had a little tummy ache. Anyhow, maybe it's just a little tummy bug. As long as she stays hydrated and seems happy it should probably pass, but 3 weeks does seem like a long time.........I think I would take the advice of the woman who suggested doing a stool sample. Good Luck!

The magnesium in Epsom salt is what causes the loose bowels, and only for as long as the mineral is actually in the body. It should be completely purged after a day or so of diarrhea. Unless your daughter has some unusual metabolic condition that doesn't allow her body to metabolize or excrete excess minerals, it's unlikely that the magnesium is still a problem now.

Follow through with the pediatrician. If some pathogen isn't causing the problem, you could be looking at food allergy. Good luck; this sounds like a real cause for concern. I'm glad your little girl seems otherwise healthy.

Yogurt! It could be that the salts have killed some of the good bacteria in her guts. Give her yogurt for breakfast and maybe a snack for a few days. Also there was a guest on the Dr.s yesterday who's home remedy for diarrhea was burnt toast. Something about the absorbant/filtrative qualities of the charcole on the burnt toast always seemed to slow down her kids diarrhea.

To much salt (especially magnesium salts) intake can cause diarrhea but it would be extremely unusual for it to last this long. I would look into other considerations while keeping the epsom salts out of her routine until she is better. You could consider food sensitivites, pathogens from pets, your water or outdoors, metabolic disorders, etc. Your pediatrician will be able to either request tests or send you to the appropriate specialist if needed.

I do not know why the naturopath recommended the epsom salt baths, but perhaps you can double check on the amount of epsom salt to use. For general use in adults you would use 1 to 2 cups per whole bath tub of water. Even at two cups per tub of water your child would have to drink a whole bunch of the water in order to get too much magnesium salt. Your naturopath may have recommended more epsom salts for a specific purpose so double checking would be reasonable.

Good Luck! I know it is frustrating to not know what it going on with little one.
S.

Take her to her pediatrician so they can do a stool culture to see what is causing the problem. She may have irritable bowel syndrome or have a food allergy. Drinking salt water, a lot of it can be deadly for a small child. If she did this 2 weeks ago, the residual effects should not be lasting this long. Are you sure she hasn't gotten into something else?

To 'slow' things down, serve her rice cereal. Feed her bananas. Toasted cheddar cheese sandwiches. Do not use American cheese or Velveeta. These are foods that are known for their 'binding' capabilities.

There was a flu strain going around that had this effect, but if no one else in your home is suffering from this flu, it probably isn't the flu.

Again, get her to her pediatrician who can do a full spectrum of blood and stool cultures.

Get well soon!!

A. please go to a real homeopath with your child. This is a serious situation.
Children that young can die of diarrhea.
She may have another condition that causes the explosive bowel movements.
Home remedys won't work here. As for your naturopath find a new one.

You haven't stated the age of your daughter, but have you cut out all dairy? I'd try that and use the BRAT diet. Banana's, Rice, Applesauce and Toast. You can smear a small amount of jelly on the toast to make it edible, but NO butter. No apples either, just applesauce.

I seriously doubt it's the Epsom's salts. My husband took four doses as part of a gall bladder cleanse once, and he only had diarrhea for about a day and a half.

It sounds like you're doing the best you can at this point. I can't offer any other ideas, except that if you want stronger probiotics, you should look into kefir. It's a cultured milk and super easy to make at home if you get the kefir grains. It costs about $3 or more a quart to buy it ready made, but you can make it for the cost of milk with the grains. And it so happens that I have extra grains I need to get rid of! So if you would like to try it, let me know asap. If you live near Gresham, you can drop in and pick it up and I'll let you have it for free. If you want me to ship it, I'll need a little to cover my costs. It takes about 24 hours to make a batch, and it makes great smoothies.

BTW, anyone else reading this, if you want kefir grains, let me know. Mine are growing faster than I can use them!

Just a quick thought - call Poison Control to ask them about this. I've found them to be very helpful the 2 or 3 times I've had to call them. Of course, I'm sure you've discussed this with your pediatrician as well.

Good luck!
C.