When Should I Call The Doctor About My Child’s Diarrhea
3 months old or younger: Call the doctor immediately if your baby has diarrhea.
Older than 3 months: Call the doctor if diarrhea doesn’t improve after 24 hours.
All ages: Call the doctor if your baby or child can’t keep liquids down or if the diarrhea is severe .
Multiple symptoms: Call the doctor immediately if your child has diarrhea and any of the following symptoms:
- Vomiting multiple times
- Dehydration symptoms such as dry mouth, crying without tears, a sunken fontanel , and infrequent urination
- Blood in his stool or black stool
- A high fever: 101 degrees Fahrenheit or higher if he’s 3 to 6 months old 103 degrees F or higher if he’s 6 months or older. If your baby is younger than 3 months old and his temperature is 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, call the doctor immediately.
When To See Your Pediatrician About Your Babys Diarrhea
Many infants experience diarrhea once in a while. However, if your baby is three months or younger, or if you recognize the following, call your pediatrician right away:
- Vomiting along with the diarrhea
- Severe diarrhea or diarrhea that lasts several days
- Lack of wet diapers
- Rectal temperature of 100.4 F or higher
- Diarrhea that contains blood or mucus or that looks whitish
- Seems to be in pain
Diarrhea In Breastfed Babies: How To Tell
- Diarrhea in a breastfed baby is sometimes hard to tell.
- Normal breastfed stools are loose . Stools are yellow, but sometimes can be green. The green color is from bile. Runny stools can even be bordered by a water ring. These are all normal stools.
- Breastfed babies often pass more than 6 stools per day. Until 2 months of age, they may pass a stool after each feeding. But, if stools suddenly increase in number and looseness, suspect diarrhea. If it lasts for 3 or more stools, the baby has diarrhea.
- If the stools contain mucus, blood or smell bad, this points to diarrhea.
- Other clues to diarrhea are poor eating, acting sick, or a fever.
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How Long Does Diarrhea Last
Diarrhea can be acute or chronic .
Acute diarrhea generally lasts for 1 to 2 days. It can sometimes last up to 2 weeks. However, this type of diarrhea is usually mild and resolves on its own.
Chronic diarrhea lasts for at least 4 weeks. The symptoms might come and go, but it could be a sign of a serious condition.
Diarrhea can have many possible causes. The duration of diarrhea, along with any additional symptoms, depends on the cause.
Acute diarrhea might occur from:
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Medical Conditions Metabolic And Functional Disorders
The least common reason for chronic or recurrent diarrhea in babies and young children are the hundreds of rare medical conditions, metabolic and functional disorders, which involve the digestive tract as well as many conditions affecting other body systems.
All conditions and disorders which are capable of causing chronic diarrhea will involve ‘failure to thrive’ or weight loss. Where your child is generally healthy and gains good amounts of weight there is no reason for you to be unnecessarily concerned about these conditions. However, where your child struggles to gain weight, your child’s doctor may investigate the possibilities of these conditions through the use of diagnostic test.
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When To Worry About A Rash
Babies have sensitive skin, so even the smallest thing can cause a reaction.
Most rashes are harmless and will improve or disappear within a few days. Always contact your pediatrician if a rash looks suspicious or is accompanied by a fever.
Rashes can sometimes be caused by an allergic reaction. With this comes the risk of anaphylactic shock.
The symptoms of this include:
- Difficulty breathing.
These can be signs of meningitis.
It can be harder to see a change in skin colour on brown and black skin. Check the soles of the feet, palms, lips, tongue and inside the eyelids for colour changes.
As a parent, you may know if your child seems seriously unwell and should trust your own judgement.
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What To Do If Your Child Has Diarrhea
You are playing happily with your baby when you suddenly detect a rather unpleasant odor emanating from the diaper area. When you open up the diaper to change it, instead of the usual soft yellow stool, you find a greenish-brown, runny, foul-smelling mess thats all over both baby and his clothes. Your baby has diarrhea. Sound fun? Not when it keeps happening multiple times that day!
There are many causes of loose stools, most of which are not serious. Most diarrhea illnesses are more of a nuisance than a medical problem and clear up easily with extra fluids and minor changes in the diet. The main concern with diarrhea is dehydration. Your babys body contains just the right balance of salts and water. Healthy intestines and kidneys regulate this balance, causing the body to lose water and electrolytes, or dehydrate. Add vomiting and you further increase the risk of dehydration. Here are some guidelines to help you know when to worry and what to do.
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When Is It Safe To Send My Child Back To Day Care
This really depends on the cause of your child’s diarrhea. Acute diarrhea is often highly infectious, meaning it can easily spread from one person to another. Day care facilities have strict guideline which exclude children from attending if they have infectious diarrhea. A doctor will be able to tell you when your child is well enough to return to day care.
Is It Safe To Continue To Breastfeed When A Mother Has Infectious Diarrhea
Yes! The organisms causing diarrhea are not transferred through breast milk. Breast milk has properties that will help to protect your baby from a gastro-intestinal infection, so continued breastfeeding is recommended. Because the organism can be transferred by hands, additional care needs to be taken with hand washing while any family member has infectious diarrhea, to avoid passing it to a baby or child.
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Treating The Underlying Cause
If youâve been diagnosed with a specific condition thatâs causing your diarrhoea, treating this may help improve your symptoms.
For example:
- irritable bowel syndrome can be treated with changes to your diet and medications read more about managing IBS
- inflammatory bowel disease can be treated with medications that help reduce inflammation in the bowel
- coeliac disease can be treated by excluding foods containing gluten from your diet read more about treating coeliac disease
- bile acid malabsorption can be treated with medication that helps stop bile building up in the digestive system
What Does Typical Baby Poop Looks Like
Theres no one answer to what baby poop should look like. Opening a diaper might reveal a rainbow of colors and textures. This is because babies can have different kinds of watery poop or diarrhea at different ages and stages.
In fact, theres even a color chart to help parents and caregivers figure out whats going on with a little ones poops. A rule of thumb for poop: Any earthy color is just fine!
Your newborns very first poop is called meconium and doesnt even smell bad. Thats because its not really poop, but just a babys way of cleaning out their intestines from all that time in the womb.
Meconium poop is black to green and looks greasy or tarry. You might see a bit of it mixed in with other poop for a day or two more.
After a few days, your babys poop will turn into a yellow mustard color. It might be watery and loose, but its still not diarrhea unless your baby is passing more poops than normal.
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Stomach Or Intestinal Infection:
Infections of the gastrointestinal tracts, caused mostly due to virus and bacteria, can lead to food poisoning and diarrhea. These microbes could enter through contaminated or under-cooked food. They can also occur due to poor hand washing and spreading germs through saliva.
- Rotavirus, which affects even newborns, causes acute gastroenteritis, eventually leading to cough and diarrhea. According to the WHO, rotavirus infection is the leading cause of infant mortality, but it can be prevented through immunization .
- Adenovirus are a group of viruses that infect different parts of the body including the inner linings of the gastrointestinal tract. They can easily spread through coughing, sneezing, and coming in contact with a contaminated surface.
- Salmonella bacteria affects stomach and intestine, causing severe diarrhea . The infections spread through contaminated food and water, or surfaces. Babies tend to put objects in their mouth, which exposes them to the risk of contracting the virus.
- E.coli or Escherichia coli causes severe stomach pain and diarrhea, and can lade the babys stools with mucus and blood. The bacteria spreads through contaminated food and poor sanitation.
- Parasitic infection, caused by microscopic parasites, affects the gastrointestinal tract causing diarrhea. Giardia lambliais one such parasite that spreads through contaminated water and food.
What Diarrhea Is Not
- Newborns often stool 8 10 times a day, sometimes passing small, watery stools mixed with yellow, seedy pieces. They also may have several stools each day that are runnier and more mucusy than usual. These are all normal variations and are not a cause for concern.
- Infants may occasionally have one or several stools that are much more loose and foul smelling than usual. This is probably due to a variation in diet or may be for no reason at all. It is not a cause for concern.
- Some infants may have persistent loose, runny stools that never seem to firm up into a normal stool. This can go on for one or two weeks. As long as your child is thriving, not acting sick, and your pediatrician reassures you that your child is well, then there is little reason for concern.
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What Is Hirschsprung Disease
Hirschsprung disease affects the intestine of newborns, babies, and toddlers. It makes them have trouble emptying their bowels. Most of the time, the problems with pooping start at birth, although in milder cases symptoms may appear months or years later.
Treatment always requires surgery. Fortunately, most children who have surgery are able to pass bowel movements normally.
Hirschsprung disease can cause constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting. Sometimes it leads to serious colon problems, like enterocolitis and toxic megacolon, which can be life-threatening. So it’s important to diagnose and treat Hirschsprung disease as early as possible.
Cows Milk Protein Allergy
Recurrent diarrhea after all or most feedings could indicate cows milk protein allergy . This dairy allergy occurs when the immune system mistakenly identifies a usually harmless protein within cows milk as harmful and triggers an allergic response. Babies with cows milk protein allergy may experience diarrhea as well as:
Cows milk protein allergy is the most common type of infant food allergy in the United States, affecting about 2-3% of infants.8
It’s important to talk to your baby’s doctor if you’re concerned that an allergy could be causing your baby’s diarrhea. Your doctor may recommend a dairy-elimination diet and perform additional tests to help identify CMPA.
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How Can I Tell If My Baby Or Young Child Has Diarrhea
If your child’s bowel movements suddenly change that is, he poops more than usual and passes looser, more watery stools than usual then it’s probably diarrhea. An occasional stool that’s looser than normal for your baby or child, though, is generally nothing to worry about.
Most cases of diarrhea in the United States are relatively mild and don’t pose a major health threat, as long as your child doesn’t get dehydrated. Dehydration can be very serious, even fatal, especially for a baby, so it’s crucial that you make sure your child is getting plenty of liquids.
How long diarrhea lasts and what the best treatment is depend on the cause.
How Can I Keep My Baby Or Young Child Hydrated If She Has Diarrhea
Diarrhea can cause your child to become dehydrated, which can be dangerous, so your first concern should be giving her enough liquids.
- If your baby isn’t vomiting, continue to give her breast milk or formula.
- If your toddler or preschooler isn’t vomiting, give her extra water.
- If your baby or child can’t keep liquids down, call her doctor. The doctor may instruct you to give your child a pediatric electrolyte solution.
Pediatric electrolyte solutions are formulated to give a child the right amounts of sugar and salt, for rehydration, if needed. They are different from sports drinks, like Gatorade, which doctors do not recommend for children with diarrhea.
Pediatric electrolyte solutions come in flavors that most children will drink. They tend to taste better cold, and even come in ice pops, which your child may tolerate better if she can’t keep liquids down. If your baby is eating solids, you can partially melt the ice pop and try spoon-feeding the “slush” to her.
For babies: As soon as your baby can keep liquids down, continue breastfeeding or formula feeding, so she’ll get the nutrition and calories she needs.
For toddlers and preschoolers: If your young child doesn’t like the taste of the electrolyte solution, try adding 1/4 teaspoon of sugar-free flavored powdered drink mix to 8 ounces of an unflavored electrolyte product.
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After 4 Hours Until 24 Hours: Recovery Stage
- Keep giving your child the oral rehydration solution until diarrhea is less frequent.
- Continue feeding your child their regular diet if they are not vomiting.
- When vomiting decreases, its important to get your child to breastfeed as usual, drink formula or whole milk, or eat regular food in small, frequent feedings.
Does Yellow Diarrhea Mean Infection
stomach infection
Intestinal infection is another typical reason for yellow stools. Abdominal discomfort and diarrhea are frequent additional symptoms of these diseases. Because the inflamed intestines are unable to adequately absorb fat from eaten food in these circumstances, the excrement frequently becomes yellow.
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What Causes Newborn Diarrhea
There are several ways your baby could have been inflicted with an newborn diarrhea. One of the most common factors is an allergy to milk. Nearly 3 percent of all babies are allergic to the proteins found in dairy products. Additionally, babies who have frequent contact with other children, at home or in day care facilities, have increased risks of developing an intestinal infection that is caused by parasites or viral infections on hands and toys. Although uncommon in newborns, antibiotics are another cause for diarrhea in infants as they often kill off healthy bacteria in the gut, causing stomach upset to develop.
When To Call A Doctor
The two colors that a babys poop or diarrhea should never be are white and red. Call your babys pediatrician immediately if you see these colors in your little ones diaper.
Very light or white poop can be a sign of a liver problem. Red diarrhea or poop can mean theres bleeding somewhere inside.
Also call your doctor if your baby has severe diarrhea, or more than 10 watery poops a day.
Get medical attention if your baby has other symptoms or signs of illness along with diarrhea. These include:
- lots of vomiting
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Moderate diarrhea. 6 or more watery stools in the last 24 hours.
- Stomach pains that do not go away after each diarrhea stool
- Fever lasts more than 3 days
- Close contact with person or animal who has bacterial diarrhea
- Contact with reptile in past 14 days
- Travel to country at risk for diarrhea within past month
- You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Whats The Difference Between Normal Diarrhea And Severe Diarrhea
There are actually several different ways to classify diarrhea. These types of diarrhea include:
- Acute diarrhea: The most common, acute diarrhea is loose watery diarrhea that lasts one to two days. This type doesnt need treatment and it usually goes away after a few days.
- Persistent diarrhea: This type of diarrhea generally persists for several weeks two to four weeks
- Chronic diarrhea: Diarrhea that lasts for more than four weeks or comes and goes regularly over a long period of time is called chronic diarrhea.
Constipation and diarrhea in newborns can be cause for concern for parents. Constipation can usually be treated at home or with advice from your doctor. If your newborn has diarrhea that lasts for more than 24 hours, you should see a doctor because they may have a bacterial or viral infection.
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Diarrhea Due To Medications
- Avoid the use of unnecessary medications.
- Avoid medications that contain ethanol .
- Limit your caffeine intake if you are breastfeeding.
- Be aware of infant reactions to medications taken by a nursing mother.
- Discuss the possibility of side effects of individual medications with your doctor or pharmacist.
What Should I Do If My Child Has Diarrhea
Children with diarrhea need to keep drinking the right amount of fluids to avoid dehydration.
- If you are breastfeeding, keep feeding on demand. You can also offer your child the foods he or she usually eats.
- If you are formula feeding, do not dilute the formula. Continue formula feeding and offer your child the food he or she normally eats.
- If you’re not breastfeeding or formula feeding, offer your child a variety of fluids more frequently, in addition to the foods they normally eat.
- At any age, if your child is not taking other fluids well, offer an oral rehydration solution , in addition to the feeding recommendations above.
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