icky toddler poo question

Just wondering if I should be worrying at all - DS almost never has solid poo, like maybe 10 solid poos in his life. He eats plenty of fruit & vegies, and is okay with meat, and it appears to be all digested (well, except for sultanas, corn & peas ;)), and he's a healthy weight, so I don't think he's missing out on nutrients, but it's just always sloppy. On bad days it's squirt out the side & back sloppy (sorry if TMI).

Just wondering if anybody else has this, or if I should maybe take him off to a dr...

This is the condition that my son had..... If it sounds like what your son is dealing with I can answe any questions you might have ;)

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What are the symptoms of toddler's diarrhoea?

Toddler's diarrhoea is also known as chronic non-specific diarrhoea. Affected children develop three or more watery loose stools (bowel motions) per day. Sometimes it can be 10 or more. The stools are often more smelly and pale than usual. You can often see bits of vegetable food in the stools (such as bits of carrot, sweetcorn, etc). These have come from a recent meal. Mild abdominal (tummy) pain sometimes occurs, but is unusual. Some affected children develop constipation which alternates with diarrhoea.

A child with just toddler's diarrhoea is otherwise well, grows normally, plays normally and is usually not bothered about the diarrhoea. An examination by a doctor is normal. No further tests are usually needed if the child is otherwise well. Symptoms usually go, with or without treatment, by the age of 5-6 years.

What is the cause of toddler's diarrhoea?

The cause is not clear. The small bowel (small intestine) digests and absorbs food into the body and works normally in affected children. The large bowel (colon) normally absorbs any excess water and forms stools.

It is thought that the balance of fluid, fibre, undigested sugars and other undigested foods that reach the large bowel (colon) may be upset in affected children. This can increase the amount of fluid (water) that is kept in the large bowel rather than being absorbed into the body. In young children, even a slight increase in fluid left in the large bowel can cause stools to become more frequent and runny than normal.

As the child grows, the large bowel becomes more efficient and the condition goes.

Toddler's diarrhoea is not due to malabsorption (poor absorption) of food or to a serious bowel problem. It is also not due to an intolerance of a type of food.

What is the treatment for toddler's diarrhoea?

The child usually does not need any treatment, particularly if symptoms are mild. The child is usually not concerned. Reassurance that it will ease in time may be all that is required. However, in many cases the diarrhoea will go if the child changes certain eating and drinking habits. Many toddlers develop eating and drinking habits that are not ideal and these may contribute to causing the diarrhoea. One or more of the following may be relevant. They are the 4 'Fs' - fat, fluid, fruit juices and fibre.

Fat
Toddler's diarrhoea is more common in children who eat a low fat diet. Although a low fat diet is good for adults to help prevent heart disease, it is not good for young children. The diet of pre-school children should have about 35-40% fat. In general, this means drinking whole milk rather than semi-skimmed or skimmed, and to include foods such as yoghurts, milk puddings, cheeses and dairy products.

Fluid and fruit juice
Do not give children too much fruit juice or squash. Some children only drink fruit juice to quench their thirst. It is best to give water to children for most drinks and keep fruit juice as a treat. Too much juice or squash is not good for the following reasons.

* Fruit juices contain various sugars (carbohydrates). Some types of sugar are not digested or absorbed and so get to the large bowel. Here they may act to keep water in the bowel and cause watery stools. Clear apple juice seems to be the worst as it contains a lot of certain sugars. Cloudy juices that contain some fibre are not as bad.
* The sugar in juice and squash contains a lot of calories. This can reduce the appetite for normal meals. Therefore, the child tends to eat less fat and fibre at normal mealtimes. Some children seem to get most of their daily calories from juice and don't eat very much solid food.

Fibre
A diet with plenty of fibre such as fruit, wholemeal bread and vegetables is best. Fibre has an action like 'blotting paper' and absorbs water in the bowel. This causes bulkier stools which are less runny.


In summary

Toddler's diarrhoea is not serious and will go as the child becomes older. The diet of young children is often not ideal and is thought to contribute to the cause. The diarrhoea will often stop if the child:

* Has a good amount of fat in the diet (whole milk etc).
* Does not drink too much fruit juice or squash.
* Has meals that include enough fibre.

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My son also suffered from this condition. Apparantly it is really common. Sarah you have given some great advice!

ETA- He is now 3.5 and has normal bowel movements.

I think Zander was just over three when he grew out of it too :)

Sarah, thank you so much for that info, I've never heard of toddler diarrhoea before, and hadn't been concerned about things until I had a conversation with a couple of gf's, who thought it was a little odd.

Sounds like we've got a bit of a wait before it clears up though :D

Did it have any impact on toilet training at all? Not that I'm in a rush for this, but was thinking that we'd be at least talking about TT by 2.5 - 3.

I was worried about toilet training too, but he was pooing in the loo by the time he was three so all good there ;)

Basically the paed said that some kids' intestines work too quickly (he said it's usually with very active kids) so the water doesn't have enough time to be removed from the waste & so the poos are runny. When you add the extra fat to their diet it slows the intestines down giving the water more time to be absorbed.... The paed told us to therefore increase the fat in his diet, so we started adding more butter to his sandwiches & giving him hot chips for lunch or with dinner at least once a week. We also introduced Nutella as a spread for his sandwiches. It helped, but wasn't great for a long time.

The other thing is food allergies... DD1 never did a formed poo until we did allergy testing and found she was allergic to cows milk protein. She did 4-5 runny poos a day prior to taking milk out of her diet. Once we took milk out, she started poo'ing properly :)

We have a hard time adding fat to the diet because of not having dairy, but we use nuts and seeds ground up in a lot of food to increase the fat content. M will not eat avocados :rolleyes: but we try to get some hot chips into her every once in a while...