15 Mo Old Daughter Has Had Loose Stool / Diarrhea for 4 Weeks

Every single time my kids are teething, they get really loose diapers. At first the diapers smell awful and then as the days go on, they get to where they don't smell quite as bad. I have NO idea why it happens but it does. It drove me crazy.

It has happened to all four of my kids and the little boy I nanny. I've had some kids do this for 3 to 4 weeks, especially when the teeth they are cutting molars. I've been told that the worst part of teething is when the tooth is coming through the bone, not the gum. Sometimes I don't see the teeth until a couple of weeks after the diarrhea ends.

Anyway, because it has been going on so long, they should test the stool to make sure that there isn't a parasite or something going on (even though there probably isn't because there isn't a lot of pain involved.)

There is an ointment called BAG BALM which is awesome for diaper rash. It comes in a deep square green tin can. It is actually for udders of cows but pharmacies carry it. I think I found it at CVS but it was in a weird place in the store. I think it was more with anti-aging or beauty creams or products of the sort. Go figure? Anyway, it works really well to heal up that bum.

Good luck!
A.

My son had a diaper rash that was spotty and sometimes even bled a little. Nothing...not even Boudreaux's would help. The doctor gave me a topical med for a more 'yeast infection' type rash and it helped.

Mixing baby cereal or oatmeal flakes in yogurt ought to help a little on firming up her stools. It's not a remedy for what's making it happen in the first place, though.

Try getting acidophylis sp? for her. Taking antibiotics really hurts the intestinal tracts good bacteria. If you double up on the yogurt...it's doubling up on dairy that is hard for little tummies to digest in the first place. The acid. will replace the good stuff. It comes in liquid form at the health store and doesn't taste bad.

I think you need a second opinion. It could be something rather common like an ecoli bacteria. Of course, I would think the orig antibiotics would've remedied that...but not if they aren't the med that kills that particular bacteria. A little girl I knew had diarrhea for weeks and it turned out to be ecoli or salmonella. She was a finger sucker...no telling where she picked up the bacteria!!

Best of luck.

Has the doctor wanted to take a stool sample to check for some kind of intestinal bacteria ? Potatoes,bananas,yogurt and a bland diet until stools firm.Diaper rash,I'd rinse with water to not irritate anymore and use Balmex.It helps coat her bottom and is fluid resistant. Mother of 5,ages 19-10.
Poor Baby!

Diarrhea from antibiotics can last a month or more, even 3 months. Keep her on the probiotics for 3 to 6 months after an antibiotic course. Be sure the probiotics have several strains of bacteria, such as both acidopholus and bifidopholus. Just acidopholus is not enough. My son had major issues with soy, and it is a very common allergy. Since that is new to her diet and the diarrhea worsened, I would take her off. Goats milk is the most similar to breast milk, so try that. You can buy it in powdered form at Whole Foods (not as stinky as liquid), or liquid is at most grocery stores. The diaper rash is definitely a yeast/fungal infection from the antibiotics. Yeast gets red, spotty, and can even have cracking and bleeding. The best thing I have found is Corona. It is actually an animal udder cream! I found out about it from my friend whose son was undergoing chemo at TX. Children's Hospital. Their oncologist prescribed it for her son's extreme fungal and bacterial diaper rashes as a result of his chemo. You can find it online (google corona cream or Corona animal ointment), or at any feed store, and at some drug stores. It is in a bright yellow jar or tube w/ red writing. I was skeptical at first, but it worked immediately to soothe my son's pain, and cleared up the yeast within 3 days. I've had to use it a couple of different times, and it worked both times. Any friends who I tell about it say it works like a charm for them, too.

Obviously keep an eye out for dehydration but have you tried to give her rice? It helps bind up. My daughter LOVES sushi rice. If you can't get her to eat regular rice. Stop by a sushi place and pick up a bowl of rice. My girl also LOVES miso soup with tofu so if you haven't tried that it's a great meal for the mini.

Good luck!!

SAHM (Part time freelancer) 17 month old girl.

PS- This will sound strange but I read some of the other post. If there is a concern about yeast...spread some yogurt right on her private area! Leave it on for about 15 minutes. It helps rebalnce the yeast. Eating it does also BUT if you are staying away from milk. I know this sounds strange but a DR. told me about this years ago, back when yeast meds were only prescription. It really works.
:)

I would continue with the probiotic. Yogurt Gogurt that kind of thing is the best. She has porbably developed a yeast infection from the antibiotic. It looks like what you described. If your pedi nurse doesn't say that they need to see her for the rash I'd be sure to tell the Dr. about your conversation and what she said or didn't say. You are right to be concerned. This can cause dehydration and lead to a hospital stay for your baby, and a negligence investigation for your family from CPS all cases of dehydration are supposed to be looked into by them. Take your baby to a Dr. there is a yeast infection rx specific for babies, and once that is cleared up the probiotics should be working and the bowels should be better. Hope she gets better.

I only know that Dr Smiths Diaper creme worked really good for my children. I hope your baby gets better.

She may be forming a yeast build up from the antibiotics. My son who is now 16yrs, had something similiar and it turned out it was a non textbook allergic reaction. Find out about Nystaton and look up yeast infections. There are many different ways they show signs. Just a thought. I will tell you the doc.s were no help to me on this for a long while and the result is a somewhat strict diet for him for many years. Good luck.

My son had the same thing, but it was for 4 months! He started losing weight and he was tiny already, after lots of tests and visiting a GI specialist, they did a endoscopy and colonoscopy (sp) and it turned out to be from all the antibiotics he had been on (lots of ear infections) they stripped his body of all the good bateria and cause the diarrhea, and diaper rash, so we put him on the probiotic and after a week or two he was fine.
I would try corn startch for the diaper rash and use desitin together. Hopefully your baby will have a faster recovery then mine did. Good Luck!!

my daughter had the same problem. She actually had tubes 2 times before the age of 3. The first time she actually had them done at Kings Daughters. That set fell out in about a year. We had to do it a second time (this time in Waco because that is where we live) because she began having problems again after they fell out. That set lasted about a year. She is now 5 and turning 6 May 6th and she is no longer having problems. Hopefully it will work for your child too!

I am a mother of a 3 and 2 year old. When my daughter was diagnosed with Rota Virus, she had an extreme case of diarrhea. The only cream that seemed to work was Desitin. It is thick and with just one use, it totally works. In order to calm her stomach down and prevent some of her diarrhea, we took her off of milk completly. I feed her Pedialyte popsicals. They run right through her system and prevent dehydration. Hopefully everything works out and your daughter is better in no time. Good luck.

It is the antibiotics that has caused the diarrhea. My son also suffered with the same problem. The solution was "yogurt for babies".. it is located at walmart in the dairy section. It only takes a few spoonfuls and you should notice the difference relatively quickly...1-2 days. The yogurt works with the bacteria in the stomach to get things working correctly.
Good Luck it worked for us.

I don't know if this would be much help but recently I've discovered my daughter has a diary problem (intolerance/allergy?) and I used goats milk. But it's hard to remember that the cheese, butter, ice cream...are problems too. However, with the amount you say she's having I think I'd get a second opinion. But my daughter had a rash which I thought was just a yeast infection but it wouldn't go away and her bowel movements increased and were very wet, and she was breaking out on her face. It's worth a shot. When my daughter was in the hospital when she was real young (found out it was a heart disease) she had a bad diaper rash. I recommend super duper diaper doo and maybe that with a creamier one, protection with healing...hope this helps, I hope you guys can get this figured out! Let me know if I can do anything for you!
jes<><

Hi Lis,

My daughter went through similar experience when she was 15 month old. After 2 months of diarrhea and several different diets we found the cure. We saw several pediatricians and the last one suggested to stop for 3 days all dairy foods, meat, poultry and any fats. Essentially she was allowed to have all kinds of COOKED fruits and COOKED vegetables (no fresh ones). I could not believed that after 2 months of diarrhea this one will work, but it did. So, as that pediatrician explained the irritated intestines get even more irritated by fats and proteins and a 3-day diet should help them recover. The miracle for my baby! After this diet we put her on a lactose-free formula, and as it turned out she had had developed (after antibiotics tretment when she was 14-month old) a temporary lactose defficiency. Ever since when she has stomach problems i put her on that diet, and every time it works. My daughter is now almost 4 year old and her lactose intolerance was over around her 3 birthday.

If that diet does not help you my advise would be to check her for bacteria/parasites.

Good luck!
G.

The rash is probably yeast since she had been on antibiotics. Your doctor can call in an anti-fungal cream, but I just use the creams sold for yeast infections over the counter (ie Monistat, dual pack comes with external cream) The diarrhea is probably due to the lost of water absorbing bacteria so I would stick to the probiotics and add a yogurt drink like Yo Baby. It does take a while to reestablish the good bacteria so stick with it. Also bananas will usually firm things up. Good luck, I hope she is feeling better soon.

Give her rice milk, and get some acidophilous. You can purchase powdered acidophilous at most of the health food stores here. It dissolves easily in liquids, and doesn't taste bad. Don't let her have any juices or acidic foods either. There is also the possibility that she might be teething. My 16 month old has loose stools when he's cutting teeth. Hope this helps!!! Good luck and God bless!!!!!

I would try fiber and protein. that's what firms me up. Edamame (soy beans) would be really good. My 2 yr old has always loved them and they are high in fiber, protein, and all the good green veggie stuff. It's a super food that might help her poo firm up and will definitely give her the nutrients she needs when she is getting rid of them so fast. You can get them in the frozen food section at HEB. They even have organic. You want to be sure to get the ones that are already shelled. I eat them, too. They are a great snack by the handful. Good luck.

Antibiotic associated colitis may be a possibility. I would definitely suggest keeping up with the probiotics and use them any time you have an antibiotic.

http://tinyurl.com/4qnbuz

Good luck figuring it out. While this is likely to be self-limiting, do continue to take this seriously as it can be a sign of something more serious.

Hi Lis - You may want to continue the probiotic for a while, maybe just one or two times a day. Taking a lot of probiotics can cause the runs. That said, I think it does take a while to restore the good bacteria after taking antibiotics. And try dropping the soy - your daughter may be having issues with that. Offering her bananas might help slow things down a little.

When my little guy had really bad diaper rash, putting baking soda in his bath water helped a lot. Lotrimin is good, too.

Good luck - I hope your little girl gets back to normal soon!

Make sure you give her pedilite so she does not dehydrate. My daughts allergies to food were at the high in. We would buy the pedilite by the case. Until she had the food shots she had this problem for years. However, diarrhea is also a systom of more serious problems and should be checked out by specialist if this continues. Also if she is not eating that will cause diarrhea also.

Lis.Take her to your baby doctor and see what he thinks the diarrhea is lasting so lomg?Corn starch is good for diaper rash.I have used it.Just enough to cover her bottom.It may smooth her as well.Hope that your daughter gets better.Have a blessed day!

Hi Lis,
It sounds as if the antibiotics have affected her bowel. I strongly suggest getting a really good probiotic for babies and give it to her. There are a lot around, but it is really important to give aprobiotic with the antibiotic. It will not hurt the antibiotic from working. Find a website that talks about babies and probiotics.
My son has had candida in his bowel for a long time and I wish I had know about probiotics when he was a baby.
W.

Have you tried the BRAT diet? Bananas, rice, apple sauce and toast. All bland, no added salt or seasoning. This should help! Bananas are my personal favorite - the kids love it, and it "Stops up" your problem.

If she still has any phlem or sinus issues her bowls will stay loose. The juices seem to be a problem at times too. The best diaper rash care would be Dr. Smiths which is about $6-$8 a jar but cures everything. Try letting her lay at times with no diaper on this also works wonders good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Signed...
Mother of 4 daughters, full-time teacher/wife/mother

Lis, I went through this last month. My 2 year old was on Omnicef (antibiotic) and it gave him the runs, even after they took him off the antibiotic his stomach never was the same, lose stools like every 3 hours.. Instead of switching to soy, I switched to rice milk and it made a world of difference. If you live near a Whole Foods, they sell an organic chocolate rice milk that is actually very good, it is called Good Karma. I go back and forth between the rice and almond milk. It really has made a world of difference. He had such bad diaper rash, he got 2 different prescription ointments for that.. it is no fun. good luck...

I can help with the rash part. My son used to get bad yeast infections on his bum to where the skin would be raw. We were finally turned on to Corona Small Animal Ointment Cream. This sounds funny, but we get it from the feed store and it comes in a yellow tub with a red lid. It has a ton of lanolin and an antiseptic in it and within two days of using it his bum was remarkably better. Try it for your baby. The worst that could happen is that it does not work as well for you as it did for us.

First of all, I agree with the probiotics. However, kids should be on bifidus (a lesser form of acidophilis). Do your research on the soymilk... I've found that soy is NOT good for kids under 3 years old. Also, a second opinion is definitely needed in this matter... and you might consider a Chiropractor or Naturopath that would give you MUCH better alternatives, without all the side effects/long term implications!! Good luck.

Have you tried pedialyte? A lot of times Doctors will tell you it can help with hydration, but I have found that it actually eases up the diarrhea. Also, for the diaper rash, the 2 best ointments are A&D and Boudreauxs Butt Paste. I worked at a Pediatric office while my 2 youngest were tiny and it helped tremendously! Good luck, I know how hard this is on a baby. As mothers, we want to do anything and everything to help our children. I hope she gets to feeling better soon.
PS Make sure the Dr. noted down the antibiotic in her chart so they don't give that one to her again. There are so many others that she may not have a reaction to.

Have you heard of a condition called Toddler Diarrhea? My first daughter had it (I think the result of a case of rotovirus) - she was temporarily lactose intolerant (we gave her soy milk) also. It started probably around 15 months and lasted until she was around 2. It was off/on - some days were good, some bad, but I knew she wasn't sick with a virus. Our ped diagnosed her with Toddler Diarrhea - I encourage you to look that up online. There are food recommendations to help.

Good luck!

Lis,
My only advice...get a second opinion. You need to see another doctor/nurse asap and explain everything in detail.
Good Luck, let us know when she is feeling better!
S.

The nurse was wrong...antiobiotics have the nasty side effect of causing the system to run low on a natural substance called acidopholous. Just purchase some otc and crush it into her milk and she should be fine in a day or so...I would however check with the pharmacist or pediatrician on how much to give her for her wieght/age...

Good luck...

try the mangosteen juice by xango it worked for my granddaughters. It is not a drug, it is a food, a natural alternative. check out www.dailyhealthjuice.com (this is not my website)click on the Dr's audios, they talk about diarrhea and how this helps.

good luck
Oly

I don't have much to add, but I would warn that soy often causes diarrhea on its own, so it may be making the situation worse. Unless your child has had lots of soy product in the past without any problem, I would suggest eliminating the soy from her diet.

I would definately go with probiotics and maybe go with a stronger one. Get the kind in the refrigerator at your health food store. They made a world of difference in my life. I'm a firm believer in the. No normal bowel movements for 20 years until I tried them and WOW! Life is great pooping. It took a month for me before the probiotics started working.

I use Resinol cream for my son's diaper rashes and any other rashes. It has calamine, lanolin, corn starch and zinc. It's the next best thing to breastmilk. Check with your pharmacist on getting it. It's kind of hard to find.

Good luck!

she may just have drainage from the infection and did you look at the sideficts of the meds. that may be a reason too. and for the rash goto walmart and where the meds are look for doc smith its daper rash cream its great its in a little jar white with a baby i think my son had major skin probs. and i used it all over it was great would heal up the next day so try and if you cant find it let me know jennier w killeen tx

My pediatrician said kids this age can get "toddlers diarrhea" b/c of eating too many carbs & fruit.....basically all that my son liked & would eat - crackers, animal cookies, apple sauces, strawberries, bananas. She said if we introduced more protein it would help......and it did. My husband can tell from changing our son's diapers whether or not he got enough protein the day b/f. We actually had to send a doctors note explaining this to his pre-school b/c they kept calling me saying he was sick.....but no fever, still eating fine & playing hard.....just running diaper. Hope that helps.

You need to have her seen. If she is having such loose stool, it can actually be a sign that she has a bowel obstruction and that the only stool that can pass the obstruction is the watery loose kind. She may have developed some kind of food allergy too, that can be contributing and it doesn't sound like it is a milk allergy if you stopped the dairy. Either way, make sure she is still gaining weight. If not, it means she isn't absorbing any nutrients...this can indicate a problem with her pancreas.

Aww! Poor baby! :(
I have quite a bit of experience in this matter hehe
I have severe food allergies and both of my children also have some allergies, tho my daughter is much worse than my son.
It sounds to me like there's been some changes in her intestinal bacteria due to the anti-biotics. The bacteria change can cause new allergies to foods. I would get her on a VERY simple diet. No dairy of any kind, no soy, no wheat, no corn, artificial colors or preservatives. (these are the major foods that can cause problems) Get her on a diet of fresh veggies, fruit, water and 100% pure juice, steamed brown and white rice (all organic if possible since this also reduces the chance of a reaction to pesticides found in foods) Wait and see if she improves over a week or so. If she does, gradually bring in 1 suspect food at a time, waiting 4 days between each one so you can tell if she has a reaction. It's possible to have more than 1 new alelrgy so keep working your way through the foods to be on the safe side.
As far as her rash goes. Tinactin works the best. Apply it 3-4 times a day--particularly before bedtime. It WILL get better. It jsut might take a week or more. Inbetween teh tinactin--use Aquaphor ointment (that stuff rocks!) Be generous with it. It will help protect her bottom from any further irritation.

Good luck!! :)

M.

Loose stools are not the same as diarrhea, though it sounds like she might have diarrhea. Antibiotics will cause the rash. Probiotics are essential after antibiotics, but they are known to cause loose stools! Any drainage (ear infections/teething, etc.) can cause loose stools because she is swallowing so much more fluid than usual. Start giving her some bananas, etc. Keep putting cream on her rash. If at all possible, let her go without a diaper at all. I would put a bunch of cloth diapers (or you could use towels) under her at nap time and have her lay on her stomach to air out her bottom / no cream. (You might try this and put on a video while she lays on her stomach.) Her bottom needs air. Or if you have a privacy fence, let her run around in the backyard. Whatever, makes it an easy clean up for both of you if she has an accident. Put vinegar in the rinse cycle of her soiled clothes/sheets, etc. to disinfect them (as you would bleach but w/o the bleach). Make sure she is getting plenty of fluid, small amounts at a time, to avoid dehydration. Watch her stools carefully as to avoid going too far with the bananas, etc. and to then have constipation. If it doesn't start improving within a few days, then call the doctor again. You might also try stopping the probiotics to get control of the stools. Then put her back on it later. Antibiotics destroy all bacteria in her body which isn't good most of the time. Probiotics put that good bacteria back in her system. If she's not acting sick (stomach cramps, fever, etc.), then I wouldn't get too worried. Just get control through her diet.

Have you tried the BRAT diet? THis worked very well when my kids had this problem when they were younger. For the next few days just give her Bananas (B), Rice (R), Applesauce (A) and Toast (T)- dry toast- and this will totally make it go away. Water or Recharge (not Gatorade or juice) more water than anything else- liquids with very low to no sugar.

I got creative with the combos like mixing the bananas or applesauce with the rice or putting the applesauce on the toast, etc. I worried that they would have not enough nutrition for the days I was doing the diet and my doc told me not to worry. When they have diarrhea they are losing most if the nutrition, so the primary objective is to make it go away.

Hope this helps!

Sounds like she might have a yeast rash. You might try rice milk instead of soy. We had a similar problem with a yeast rash that would not respond to the lotriman, but we tried something from Whole Foods store. It's called violet something, can't remember the whole name. It's a purple liquid in a small bottle, I applied it with a q-tip, it will stain, but it worked like a champ. The antibiotics probably killed the good bacteria in the intestinal tract, so that's why it's important to give the pro-biotics. Plain yogurt (no sugar) is helpful too. We also give our kids Xango juice, a great all around health supplement. It helps support the immune system. Tastes great too, we all love it. You can't get it at stores, call me it you want to try it ###-###-####) and you can visit my website at www.tryxjuice.com.