Green stool in a breastfed baby with a liquid consistency (up to 2 years)

Causes

Common factors that provoke diarrhea in a newborn baby are:
Celiac enteropathy or celiac disease. Some children have congenital gluten intolerance. The villi in the small intestine are damaged by foods containing protein, resulting in diarrhea. If parents suspect such a disease in their child, they need to see a doctor and undergo an examination.

Intestinal dysbiosis. Babies face this problem in the first month of life. Immediately after birth, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is adjusted and the intestinal microflora is formed. In case of the slightest malfunction, the body can react by disrupting the digestion process.

Changing the mixture. Any changes in diet can cause gastrointestinal problems in the newborn. If the problem does not go away in the first days after switching to a new formula, parents should contact a specialist.

Overfeeding

The more often and more abundantly a child eats, the more actively the digestive system has to work.

ATTENTION! Often, when overfeeding, the body simply cannot cope with the task and eliminates undigested food.

Early introduction of complementary foods. When adding new foods to a child’s diet, stool disturbances may occur, so do not rush and start complementary feeding earlier than the period recommended by the doctor.

Allergy

May be caused by intolerance to any food products. It manifests itself as a characteristic symptom - a rash near the anus.

Colds. ARVI, otitis media, runny nose and other viral or inflammatory diseases can affect a child's stool. In some cases, diarrhea may occur after or during antibiotic treatment.

Teething. Starting at six months, when children's first baby teeth begin to appear, parents may notice changes in their bowel movements. As a rule, diarrhea during this period does not pose serious concerns, however, you should definitely show the child to a pediatrician.

Gastrointestinal diseases. The baby’s digestive system is still imperfect, so cases of the development of diseases such as astroesophageal reflex, enthorocolitis, diarrhea or dyspepsia are not uncommon.

Poisoning. Sudden onset of diarrhea along with vomiting can cause poisoning in a child. In this case, you must urgently consult a doctor.

Acute surgical pathology. Diarrhea in a child can be a symptom of diseases such as peritonitis, volvulus, and even appendicitis. In addition to intestinal upset, restless behavior and an increase in body temperature to 38-39 degrees are observed.

In addition to all of the above, diarrhea in a child can serve as an uncharacteristic symptom of a number of other diseases, therefore, in any case of problems with stool, parents should consult a doctor.

Greens in children on mixed and artificial feeding

If a bottle-fed baby has green stools, perhaps the mother should reconsider the baby’s diet. This can happen due to a change in the adapted mixture, due to taking antibiotics or iron-containing dietary supplements. And if you consume a mixture enriched with iron at the same time, the green color of the stool is guaranteed.

In addition, hypoallergenic artificial mixtures with complete breakdown of cow protein during digestion always produce brown-green stool. If you are satisfied with the mixture in everything else except the color of the stool, then it is not advisable to change it.

It is important to rinse and sterilize bottles well before each feeding to avoid intestinal infections. It is not recommended to store the prepared mixture for longer than an hour; it spoils and can cause digestive upset in the baby.

When complementary foods are introduced, the baby's gastrointestinal tract can react in such a way that the feces become thick and may have a greenish tint. However, during the process of adaptation, the baby's intestines will adapt to new foods and over time the color of the stool will become normal.

Mixed-fed babies eat mother's milk and formula, so green stools are even more common in them. The cause of greenness can be either mother's milk or formula. Therefore, before drawing any conclusions regarding the baby’s well-being, watch him; perhaps there is no reason to worry.

Features of diarrhea due to rotavirus infection

Such diseases pose a great danger, especially for newborns.

Penetrating into the body, bacteria cause irreversible reactions in the body. This condition is characterized by frequent green stools mixed with blood or mucus, fever and chills, nausea, lethargy and vomiting.

In some cases, death is possible.

Such diseases include ulcerative colitis, enterocolitis and ulcers. The first sign of these ailments is white, foamy stool. If you do not pay attention to this, the disease will begin to progress.

The highest incidence of rotavirus occurs at three years of age. The younger the child, the more severe the consequences can be. There are cases where death occurred due to severe rotavirus infection.

The rotavirus itself is an RNA-containing cell. It is the causative agent of most intestinal disorders. This infection spreads very quickly. Since it is transmitted by airborne droplets and the fecal-oral route, the main source of infection is another, already sick person.

With rotavirus, loose stools in a child are accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms:

• general intoxication;
• dehydration of the body;
• runny nose;
• cough;
• a sore throat.

Having contracted rotavirus once, a baby is not protected from this disease for life. Unstable immunity may persist for several months, and then the risk of suffering from rotavirus increases again.

Signs of penetration of rotavirus infection are as follows:

• body temperature up to 39 degrees;
• brightly light stool;
• severe weakness;
• nausea;
• vomit.

Often, symptoms of rotavirus develop very quickly. The condition is accompanied by yellow foamy diarrhea only in the first days of the illness. Then the color shades of the stool change. The stool becomes a pale light grayish color.

With rotavirus, diarrhea becomes watery, which is due to the characteristics of the virus. Once in the digestive tract, it penetrates the intestinal wall and causes an inflammatory process in it. This not only causes light yellow diarrhea in the child, but also causes severe dehydration.

When a child's loose stools are accompanied by an increase in temperature, and the stools are liquid and yellow in color, experts most often suspect a rotavirus infection. Treatment of the pathology is usually symptomatic. There are no drugs that have a direct effect on this virus.

Fever is usually brought down with antipyretics, such as Paracetamol or Aspirin.

When choosing a medicine, it is important to take into account the patient’s age and well-being.

In order to help the body remove toxic compounds from the blood, sorbents are used:

1. "Smecta";
2. "Polysorb";
3. "Atoxil";
4. "Activated carbon";
5. "Entheosgel".

To accurately determine the causative agent of the infection, you can purchase a mouth test, which is sold in pharmacies. This will help you quickly and correctly decide on treatment.

With any intestinal disorder, no matter what causes it, normal digestion is disrupted and the intestinal microflora changes. To help the body recover faster, bifido and lacto bacteria and various probiotic complexes are used

It could be “Linex” or “Hilak-Forte”.

To improve the processes of digestion and absorption of nutrients from the intestines, enzyme preparations can be used. Doctors usually recommend Mezim or Creon.

The appearance of loose stool in a child, especially when it has a yellowish tint, should not go unnoticed by parents. If you take good care of your baby's well-being, you can preserve his health.

Greenish stool with breastfeeding

Typically, the feces of a child who feeds on mother's milk are pale brown in color, liquid in shape, with an admixture of small white grains and a sour smell. It is considered normal for a baby if particles with mucus or blood veins are visible in the stool (this is a burst blood vessel)

Sometimes the stool becomes foamy or green in color. Green stool can be caused by various factors:

• If a child has pooped recently, the stool may acquire a greenish tint as a result of oxidation with air.
• This shade can be given to babies by their mother’s food. These are green vegetables.
• Greenness may occur due to the use of certain drugs. This color is given to the stool by iron and antibiotics (which generally disrupt the intestinal microflora).
• Dysbacteriosis. Bacteria in the intestines, which supposedly should be small, currently exceed the normal amount. Children who are breastfed alone may well suffer from dysbiosis as a result of drinking boiled water, because even this already disrupts the natural balance of intestinal bacteria. In fact, the intestines and its flora in a baby are imperfect, this is normal, since the intestines are at the stage of formation.
• Greenish, foamy stools are often perceived as a symptom of lactose deficiency. This happens rarely. Usually the issue here is an imbalance between the foremilk and the hindmilk. As you know, foremilk is thinner and more watery, while hind milk is fattier, thicker and more nutritious. When a mother changes breasts more often than necessary or takes the baby's breast before he finishes eating, the baby may not receive nutritious hind milk, only fore milk. In addition to green, foamy stool, the child usually also has underweight in this case.
• This is the secretion of bilirubin. Quite natural in the early stages of life.

Review of remedies for diarrhea in newborns

For diarrhea, doctors prescribe drug therapy for young children under one year of age to eliminate and relieve the symptoms of the pathological condition. With diarrhea, the risk of developing dehydration is high. The main task of parents is to provide plenty of fluids that restore fluid loss during frequent bowel movements. If the disease is caused by intestinal bacteria, antibiotics are recommended. To cleanse toxins and allergens, sorbents are prescribed. With the help of biological products, microflora is normalized. You can improve digestion with enzymes. For non-infectious diseases, medications are recommended that reduce the peristalsis of the infant’s stomach.

Sorbents

Drugs that have a sorbing effect are prescribed immediately. The action is aimed at cleansing the intestines of toxins and waste leaving the body through the excretory system. These drugs are not absorbed into the blood and work locally. It is recommended that infants take medicine for diarrhea separately, not in combination with other medications. The interval between doses is two hours. Often prescribed:

1. Smecta. To prepare the solution, mix one sachet of powder and 50 ml of water. Give in small doses throughout the day.
2. Enterosgel – for infants from one month of age, 1 tsp, 3 r/w.
3. Polysorb. 1 tsp of powder is mixed in 50 ml of water and taken up to 4 times a day, half an hour before meals.
4. Polyphepan – stir in a small amount of liquid, based on the dosage – 1 g/kg of the baby’s weight. Use the resulting mixture in four doses throughout the day.
5. Filtrum STI - just dissolve half the tablet in water. Take up to 4 times a day.
6. Activated carbon is available in the form of capsules and powder. The dose per 1 kg of a child’s weight for diarrhea is 1.5 g. Dilute in water, give up to 4 times a day.

The sorbents have a pleasant taste; there should be no problems with intake. If there is no desire to swallow the medicine, mix with breast milk or the patient's favorite drink. If you develop an allergy to medications, it is recommended to stop taking activated charcoal for diarrhea.

Rehydration preparations

Rehydration products allow you to restore the water-salt balance in the body after diarrhea in an infant. Solutions and milk are used in treatment. If the condition worsens, vomiting occurs, therapy continues intravenously. To normalize intestinal function, the following are prescribed:

1. Regidron is a powder containing a complex of salts. Method of preparation: dilute 1 sachet per 1 liter of water. Give the resulting mixture to the baby throughout the day. You can mix the liquid with milk or decoction.
2. Glucosan is a preparation containing glucose, sodium bicarbonate and chloride. Available in the form of powder and tablets. Dosage 15 mg/kg of child's weight. Dissolve the composition in 1 liter of water and feed your baby throughout the day.
3. Hydrovit – contains dextrose, potassium salt, sodium. Dosage – 15 ml/kg body weight. Dilute the required amount of medicine in 200 ml of water and give throughout the day.

Saline solution, rheopolyglucin, glucose, and Trisol are administered intravenously. An IV for diarrhea in an infant is placed only in a hospital setting under the supervision of a doctor.

Other

To normalize the intestinal microflora and increase immunity from the negative effects of antibiotics and pathogenic bacteria, it is recommended to give biological products containing fermented milk prebiotics. The group of safe drugs for diarrhea in infants includes:

1. Bifidumbacterin - contains bifidobacteria that restore the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Available in powder form. To prepare, dilute a third of the bottle with warm water, divide the resulting solution into 2 doses.
2. Linex in capsules containing lactobacilli. Open the capsule, mix the product with any liquid, give the baby 3 times a day.

The duration of taking biological products is prescribed by the doctor.

Diarrhea causes disturbances in the synthesis and secretion of enzymes. To improve health and normalize the digestive system, infants are prescribed enzymes that promote a speedy recovery.

It is not recommended to use folk recipes at home; only specialists should treat children in their first year of life.

As the condition improves, the number of urges decreases, the feces become hard, and the child begins to recover. After completely getting rid of diarrhea, it is recommended to focus on strengthening the immune system, after consulting with a doctor.

How to deal with bowel problems in a baby

Although it is impossible to understand all the disorders of the gastrointestinal tract of babies without the help of a specialist, I will try to talk a little about them and what specialists should be contacted and what examinations are advisable to do for constipation and diarrhea in newborns and infants.

About norm and deviations

A child receiving breast milk has a bowel movement frequency of up to 6-7 times a day. In this case, the stool should be yellow, mushy, homogeneous. When bottle-fed, stools are usually less frequent and may have a brownish tint. Stool less than 1-2 times a day, especially if it is accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the child, is considered constipation in infancy.

All the numerous causes of stool disorders can be divided into several groups.

1. Disorders of digestion and absorption of food components. The absorption of both macronutrients (these are the main components of food - carbohydrates, proteins, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, microelements, etc.) may be impaired. In this case, the child not only does not receive enough of some component of food and does not gain weight well, but undigested remains affect the nature of the stool and intestinal motility, causing discomfort in the child. Undigested food components serve as a breeding ground for bacteria, some of which may be pathogenic.
2. Disturbances in the biocenosis (that is, in the number and spectrum of bacteria) of the intestine. This includes both intestinal infections and hidden processes associated with an excess of any opportunistic or, conversely, a lack of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. It should be noted that disturbances in the intestinal biocenosis, or dysbiosis, as they are more often called, are never primary. They usually arise as a result of taking medications, previous infections, or feeding disorders.
3. Intestinal motility disorders. The sequential movement of the food bolus through the gastrointestinal tract is regulated by very complex mechanisms, for which the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system and the intestinal own nervous and endocrine systems are responsible. In newborn children, the mechanisms of interaction between these regulatory centers and parts of the intestine are not yet fully formed, and intestinal motility disorders are quite common in them.

Children who suffered during the perinatal period (that is, in the last trimester of pregnancy, during childbirth and in the first month of life) from hypoxia, infection, etc., may subsequently be prone to various motor disorders. Breast milk contains hormonal substances that regulate intestinal motility in the baby, as well as substances that stimulate the restoration of cells in the intestinal mucosa; But artificial mixtures do not have such properties.

Since all of these factors are closely related to each other, in each individual child we, as a rule, see a combination of deviations in the biocenosis, disturbances in digestion and intestinal motility, but for proper treatment it is very important to identify the main cause. Let's look at each group of reasons in more detail.

Lactase deficiency

Speaking about digestion and absorption disorders, I would like to first of all talk about lactose intolerance. Lactose is milk sugar, making up about 99% of all carbohydrates in any milk, including human milk. Lactose is broken down by the enzyme lactase, located on the surface of small intestinal cells, into glucose and galactose, and then absorbed. Being the main source of glucose, lactose is necessary for the child as the main supplier of energy, and small amounts of galactose are necessary for the formation of the central nervous system and the retina. An infant receives so much lactose that even in healthy children up to three months it is not completely broken down. Undigested lactose enters the large intestine. This does not happen in adults, but for infants it is necessary. There it becomes a breeding ground for beneficial lactic acid bacteria (bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, lactose-positive E. coli). These bacteria break down lactose into short-chain fatty acids (hence the sour-smelling stool in infants), gases and water. These acids are important for regulating intestinal peristalsis (contractions), absorption of salts and water; Also, putrefactive bacteria do not reproduce well in an acidic environment. Therefore, if you immediately deprive a child of lactose (for example, feed him only soy formula), there will be no food for beneficial bacteria, the acidity of the intestinal contents will decrease, and the intestines will be colonized by pathogenic microbes.

However, if the activity of the digestive enzyme is reduced, there is too much lactose that is not digested in the small intestine, and there are not enough bacteria fermenting it, then the undigested lactose “pulls” water into the intestinal cavity due to an increase in osmotic pressure, and the child develops diarrhea. The breakdown of lactose can be disrupted either due to low activity of the enzyme of a congenital nature, or due to any infectious or allergic process that affects the intestinal wall; in this case, the entire cell producing the enzyme dies.

Congenital disorders most often occur in families where adults have milk intolerance. For many nationalities (for example, for 80-100% of the adult population of the Far North, the Mari, for the peoples of North Africa), milk intolerance is practically the norm. This is the so-called “adult-type lactase deficiency.” Among the Russian population, this feature (precisely a feature, since phylogenetically more ancient peoples do not have the habit of drinking milk in adult life) is about 10%. In such families, the baby is more likely to be born with initially low enzyme activity.

Case from practice

So, recently Svetlana S. came to me with her one and a half month old Denis. Svetlana had enough milk from the first days after giving birth, and she breastfed Denis. He always started to eat greedily, but after a few minutes he would give up his breasts, begin to kick his legs and cry. The boy did not sleep well. At first, every time he woke up, Svetlana tried to feed him, but the baby did not calm down. Denis's stool was frequent, watery (although Svetlana did not immediately notice this, since the liquid was easily absorbed into the diaper), yellow, with a sour smell. The baby gained only 200 g in the first month. Upon detailed questioning, it turned out that the child’s father, an Azerbaijani by nationality, does not like and does not drink whole milk at all, since it causes increased gas formation in him. Typically, parents (especially dads) try to hide such symptoms, and they are revealed only through careful questioning. After determining the amount of carbohydrates in the stool, the assumption of lactose intolerance was confirmed, Svetlana began adding a special drug to the milk, and after a few days, the stool returned to normal and Denis began to gain weight well.

But much more often you have to deal with secondary disorders of lactose digestion - for example, after an intestinal infection.

Case from practice

I once counseled a three-month-old abandoned child. Elizaveta (that was the baby’s name) received the Agu-1 formula from birth, and in the second month of her life she suffered an intestinal infection. But after the end of the course of therapy, the stool still remained liquid, mixed with mucus and greens. At the hospital, the girl was tested for carbohydrate content in her stool, and the values ​​were 3 times higher. In this regard, the girl was prescribed soy formula. The stool became less liquid, but unstable, and pathological impurities remained. The girl was prescribed biological products containing beneficial bacteria, and two feedings of the usual adapted formula “Agu-1” containing lactose were returned, as a result of which the stool returned to normal. In this case, the disturbances in the digestion of lactose were clearly secondary to the disturbance of the biocenosis, and, first of all, it was necessary to restore the normal biocenosis and provide conditions for the engraftment of bacteria, that is, to provide a small amount of lactose.

Allergy

Separately, I would like to talk about secondary lactase deficiency, which occurs against the background of allergic inflammation in the intestines. When a child begins to receive a foreign protein too early (most often cow's milk protein or soy protein contained in formula feeding), the first place of contact of this protein with the cells of the child's body is the intestines. Allergic inflammation develops in the intestines, and enterocytes that produce lactase are damaged. In this case, allergic inflammation in the intestines, as a rule, precedes changes in the skin, and outwardly the child may not have any signs of allergy. In addition to digesting lactose, in such children the absorption function of many substances in the intestines is also impaired and diarrhea develops. Therefore, it is always necessary to conduct an allergy examination in a bottle-fed child with diarrhea.

Other reasons

Children with deficiency of other enzymes (sucrase, isomaltase), as well as with impaired absorption of monosaccharides (glucose, fructose), have symptoms similar to lactase deficiency, although these disorders are much less common. The first symptoms of sucrose intolerance appear when regular sugar is included in children’s diets (many try to sweeten complementary foods), and fructose intolerance occurs when honey, juices, etc. are included. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding, before visiting the doctor, try to remember that did the baby develop diarrhea immediately after starting feeding, or after changes in your diet or the introduction of some new foods.

Necessary examinations and nutrition

So, if a child has frequent, watery, foamy stools with a sour odor, he may have lactose intolerance. The simplest and most accessible study is to determine the amount of carbohydrates in the stool. For proper treatment, it is necessary to find out the cause of intolerance, consulting with a pediatric (!) gastroenterologist and, possibly, an allergist. During the examination (and even longer if the diagnosis is confirmed), the lactose content in the diet should be reduced. If the child has received breast milk, then there is no need to deprive him of this wonderful product, you just need to express about 1/3 of the volume of one feeding and add the enzyme “Lactase”* (available in capsules) to the expressed milk, and then feed the child according to his appetite. The dosage of the enzyme is selected by the doctor individually. If the child is bottle-fed or mixed-fed, then the adapted milk formula is replaced with a low-lactose or lactose-free one (it is also better to consult a doctor about the selection of a medicinal formula). You should not independently select therapy to relieve diarrhea in a child because an excessive reduction in lactose in the diet can lead to constipation.

Lipase deficiency

The second group of diseases with impaired digestion and absorption (impaired absorption of fats) can occur with both diarrhea and constipation. Lipids are digested by the enzyme lipase, which in adults is produced mainly by the pancreas. Sometimes congenital lipase deficiency occurs, but in newborns we are more often faced with the fact that the pancreas is simply not mature enough and lipase synthesis is reduced. This is typical for premature babies and children with intrauterine growth retardation. For such children, nature has created a reliable “safety rope”: breast milk contains lipase, which facilitates the digestion of breast milk lipids. But if a child receives artificial nutrition, then the immaturity of pancreatic lipase can manifest itself clinically. In addition to the enzyme for digesting fats, a certain composition of bile is required, which emulsifies fats and breaks them into small globules. Therefore, disturbances in the absorption of lipids may also occur in children with diseases of the liver and biliary tract. Such children are characterized by the appearance of not just fatty, but also lighter-than-usual stools.

Case from practice

Recently we had a girl in our department who had undergone surgery for intestinal obstruction. The obstruction was associated with a small pancreatic abnormality. The operation was successful, but after the start of feeding, the girl’s stools were pale yellow, once or twice a day (which is rare for a breast-fed child), left greasy stains on the diaper, and became “soapy” when washed. A deficiency of pancreatic enzymes was suspected and a coprogram was prescribed (stool examination revealing the amount and nature of undigested fats, starch, muscle fibers), which showed a violation of the digestion and absorption of fats. The girl underwent additional examinations and enzymatic preparations containing lipase were selected. As a result, stools became less fatty and more frequent, and the girl was discharged home.

Celiac disease

Diarrhea with oily stools is characteristic of another disease - celiac disease. This particular allergic disease is associated with a reaction to gliadin, a substance found in many grains. Fatty stools with a “window putty” smell appear; the stool volume is large. These changes usually occur some time after the introduction of cereals (semolina, oatmeal and other cereals) into the diet. Children grow poorly, become irritable, and later develop symptoms reminiscent of rickets.

Although the predisposition to this disease is of a hereditary nature, in any case, you should not provoke an allergy to gliadin and give your child porridge and bread products before 5 months: often attempts to “feed porridge” to a child who is not gaining weight well result in a worsening of his condition.

The list of diseases in which a child has fatty stools, of course, is not exhausted by the listed conditions, but if your child has such a problem, accompanied by constipation or diarrhea, this may be caused by impaired lipid digestion.

Necessary examinations

It is important to conduct a scatological examination (it is done in any clinic), check the condition of the liver and pancreas (do ultrasound, biochemical and immunological examinations). In difficult cases, this is usually done in a hospital, since traveling for examinations is a serious burden for a weakened child, and it is better to monitor the effectiveness of treatment in the hospital. Children are given a diet and medications containing pancreatic enzymes and bile acids. Your doctor will recommend a specific drug to you, since their composition and effectiveness are different and there is no universal drug that would be suitable in all cases.

Intestinal infections

The second large group of causes of stool disorders is associated with bacteria inhabiting the intestines. Intestinal infections are quite common in infants. Even the most careful and clean parents cannot always avoid the occurrence of intestinal infection in an infant. The fact is that the protective functions of the intestines (acidity of gastric juice, local immune factors) in infants are reduced. And some pathogens that are not dangerous for adults can cause serious problems in a baby.

Prevention

What should you focus on to prevent infections? First of all - on dishes that are used for food. First of all, it must be dry. Some mothers boil bottles for a long time, but then leave some of the moisture in them. Moisture promotes the growth of bacteria.

Secondly, you should not frequently pour food from dish to dish: the fewer the number of transfusions, the better. This is why modern breast pumps come with a feeding bottle attached right away.

Finally, avoid licking pacifiers, spoons, and baby utensils. The germs in your mouth are not always safe for your baby. Pathogenic bacteria are transmitted from person to person, so it is better to simply rinse a pacifier that has fallen on the floor with water (at worst, not even wash it at all!) than to lick it.

How to help your child before the doctor arrives

But if your baby does get an intestinal infection, you don’t need to reproach yourself endlessly; it’s more useful to focus on helping your child. The infection begins, in contrast to digestive disorders, usually suddenly - with abdominal pain (the child cries, kicks his legs) and diarrhea. Intestinal infections may be accompanied by a rise in temperature, but not always. Be sure to call a doctor, and before he arrives, try to alleviate the child’s condition with the following measures. With loose stools, the child loses a lot of water and salts, and he may become dehydrated. To prevent this from happening, the child must be given one of the saline solutions available in every pharmacy - Oralit or Rehydron. The drug enterodez, in addition to salts, also contains activated carbon, which adsorbs toxins from the intestines. Try to have one of these drugs in your home medicine cabinet. Usually the child does not drink very willingly during this period, but it is necessary to completely replace the volume of fluid that he loses through stool and vomiting (it is advisable to measure this volume). If the child does not drink from a bottle, liquid can be given from a spoon or even from a dropper. Small portions of liquid do not provoke vomiting as much as large portions.

Why can't you just drink water? Because a lot of salts are lost with intestinal contents and their deficiency will be aggravated if liquid without salts is given.

Nutrition and medications

In addition to solutions, to replenish fluid, a child can be given adsorbents - drugs that, like a sponge, absorb toxins contained in the intestines. These drugs are Smecta, Polyphepan, Enterosgel. But keep in mind that these drugs do not destroy pathogenic bacteria and are purely symptomatic. In large quantities they can lead to constipation.

Should I feed a child with an intestinal infection? Yes. But the amount of food per day is reduced by 1/3 - 2/3 (depending on how much food does not lead to vomiting). If you fed him breast milk, then let him receive it, and if with formula, then in such situations fermented milk formula is preferable. Feed more often, but in small portions. You can add ¼ tablet of the enzyme preparation Mezim-Forte to each feeding. Here, perhaps, are all the measures that can be taken before the doctor arrives. Never prescribe antibiotics to an infant yourself! Some of them, for example, chloramphenicol, used for some intestinal infections in adults, are contraindicated in newborns. Great care should be taken when using drugs such as Imodium and other symptomatic drugs in infancy. Consult your doctor!

Dysbacteriosis

Other disturbances of the intestinal biocenosis occur less noticeably and may not appear at all (this is called compensated intestinal dysbiosis) or lead to constipation, frequent bowel movements, the presence of mucus, greens and other impurities in the stool (subcompensated or decompensated dysbiosis). Dysbacteriosis occurs as a consequence of the use of antibiotics, digestion and absorption disorders, and disorders of the intestinal immune system. There are no absolute standards that are the same for everyone in the number and composition of colon bacteria. The stool test for dysbacteriosis used in most institutions reflects only the state of the microflora of the lower intestinal cavity. It does not say anything about what bacteria live on the intestinal wall (although this is much more important), whether there is a proliferation of bacteria in the cavity of the small intestine (which should not be normal).

In the practice of US doctors, instead of the term “dysbacteriosis,” the term “excessive growth of bacteria” is more often used. Since without the use of invasive examination methods we can only indirectly judge the composition of the intestinal microflora, only conditions accompanied by clinical manifestations require treatment. In other words, if a child has normal regular bowel movements and does not have stomach pain, then you should not give him bacterial preparations just because his analysis differs from the average statistical norm.

Treatment

If dysbiosis does appear, it is advisable to find out its root cause. Maybe the baby was put to the breast too late? Or did he receive antibiotics? Or is he lacking some kind of digestive enzyme? Maybe he has a food allergy? After answering these and other questions, the issue of correcting the intestinal biocenosis is resolved. Now doctors are trying to use drugs that specifically destroy any specific type of pathogenic bacteria and do not affect beneficial microorganisms. Such drugs include, for example, phages - viruses that destroy bacteria. There are phages against staphylococcus, proteus, and E. coli.

The second approach is based on competition between beneficial and pathogenic bacteria. There are drugs that create conditions for the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria and prevent the proliferation of pathogenic ones. For example, the drug hilak-forte is a complex of substances similar to those that are normally obtained during the fermentation of lactose by bifidobacteria. It acidifies the intestinal contents and imitates the enzymatic processes that occur in a healthy newborn. The laxative drug Duphalac (lactulose) also has a similar modulating effect.

The third approach is based on strengthening local immunity - for example, using the drug KIP. Finally, there are numerous preparations of beneficial bacteria - both of one type and in combination. When using them, we should not forget that even these seemingly harmless drugs are not well tolerated by all children. And to obtain a positive effect, it is necessary to provide conditions for the engraftment of these bacteria. A specialist will tell you how to do this.

Difficulty in bowel function

All described conditions are most often accompanied by intestinal motility disorders - increased or decreased motor activity of the gastrointestinal tract. But motor skills disorders can also be an independent pathology. Of all the intestinal motility disorders, mothers are most concerned about constipation. Not all constipation has the same cause. But one part of the reasons leads to insufficient contractile activity of the intestine (such constipation is called atonic), while others lead to an increase in this activity (such constipation is called spastic). Naturally, they are treated differently. With spastic constipation, the stool is quite dense and usually looks like “sheep feces”. The child may experience pain when defecating. With atonic constipation, stool is very rare, often accompanied by bloating; when cleansing the intestines, the volume of feces is large. If your child has stool 1-2 times a day or less during the first 3 months of life, then you should consult a doctor. Diseases such as rickets and hypothyroidism can cause constipation as one of the manifestations.

Treatment

Should I have an enema? You should not overuse enemas, since frequent enemas suppress the urge to defecate and disrupt the normal formation of the reflex. But you can do it once. The enema volume for such a child is 30-40 ml (the smallest enema, and incomplete). It is very important to remember that an enema cannot be done with warm water! The water should be at room temperature. In warm water, toxic substances accumulated in the intestines during constipation quickly dissolve and are easily absorbed into the bloodstream. If it seems to you that the intestines have not been completely cleansed, do not rush, usually after the first portion there is independent stool. Large volume enemas (or many small ones) should be performed by a doctor even in a hospital, as this can lead to serious complications. Massaging the anterior abdominal wall clockwise, laying it on the stomach, and mild tactile irritation of the anus helps well with atonic constipation. It is not recommended to prescribe laxatives to children on their own; even the safest laxative, Duphalac (its action seems to modulate lactase deficiency, which was discussed above), can lead to increased gas formation and cause discomfort in the child.

Note to parents

So, be sure to consult a doctor if:

• When breastfeeding, a child has stools more than 7 times a day, and when feeding with formula - more than 4-5 times;
• the stool has a specific unpleasant odor or an admixture of mucus, greens, blood, if it is watery or greasy;
• stool less than 1-2 times a day;
• when defecating, the child cries and kicks his legs;

Well, in general, contact us, even if everything is fine with you! We will help you raise a healthy baby

_________

* The mention of any drugs in this article is not advertising or sponsored by any companies, but is based only on personal clinical experience and the author’s own scientific work.

Constipation in infants

Constipation is considered to be the absence of independent stool for more than a day (of course, except in cases of complete digestion of milk), as well as cases when bowel movements are difficult and accompanied by significant discomfort.

Constipation is quite rare during breastfeeding, and there are two main reasons for it: poor nutrition of the mother and impaired intestinal motility, including spasm of the anal sphincter.

Improper nutrition of the mother is expressed by a tendency towards foods rich in proteins and easily digestible carbohydrates, a lack of dietary fiber. Therefore, if constipation occurs in the baby, the mother should first normalize her diet: give preference to cereals (especially buckwheat, brown rice, oatmeal), whole grains bread, include boiled vegetables in the diet. Some products (peaches, apricots, prunes, dried apricots, figs, boiled beets, fresh kefir) have pronounced laxative properties. In many cases, they will normalize not only your own stool, but also the baby’s stool.

If such measures do not lead to anything, most likely there is a violation of intestinal motility (hypotension or, on the contrary, spasm) and/or spasm of the anal sphincter. When the sphincter spasms, the passage of gases from the intestines is also difficult, so constipation is often accompanied by severe intestinal colic. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to combat these conditions with home methods, since they are associated with a violation of the nervous regulation of smooth muscle tone and are consequences of birth trauma or an unfavorable course of pregnancy. If they are accompanied by other symptoms that force you to consult a neurologist (excitability or, conversely, lethargy of the baby, sleep disturbances, weather dependence, muscle tone disorders, etc.), then the treatment prescribed by him for problems with the central nervous system often helps to improve the situation with constipation. If, in the absence of stool, the baby is bothered by pain and/or bloating in the abdomen, you can try installing a gas outlet tube, which will gently stimulate the anus. With artificial feeding, constipation, unfortunately, is much more common, since the digestion of infant formula is a great difficulty for the baby's digestive system. In many cases, the situation can be normalized by replacing half of the baby’s daily diet with fermented milk formula (sour milk formula can be gradually introduced after 3 weeks of life). After 4-6 months of life, you can introduce decoction and puree of prunes into your baby’s diet, which help cope with constipation in most cases.

If the above measures do not help normalize the situation (both with natural and artificial feeding), the pediatrician may also prescribe some medications: suppositories with glycerin (in the first 6 months of life, a single dose is ¼-½ suppositories), Duphalac, microenemas "Microlax".

Here are the main “secrets” that your baby’s diaper may hide. We tried to teach you to recognize some signals of the infant body, but we want to remind you once again: any diagnosis, and especially the prescription of treatment, should only be carried out by a doctor.

The influence of breastfeeding on the formation of infant stool

The nutrition of an infant has a significant impact on the formation of stool. Breastfeeding is preferable for a baby, however, there are some nuances here too. During the first few months of life, yellow-green stool is normal for a baby, if there are no alarming symptoms. Why does a child's chair acquire this color? There are several reasons for this:

• The mother's diet directly affects the change in stool color. If the mother eats a lot of greens, fruits and vegetables, the stool becomes greenish in color.
• Including new foods in the mother’s diet that are not suitable for the baby. Therefore, during breastfeeding you need to adhere to a diet.
• You should not take hormones, antibiotics or other medications that can harm the baby’s gastrointestinal tract.
• Untimely introduction of the first feeding suppresses the growth of beneficial microflora of the children's intestines. Supplements should be introduced from 5 months, preferably based on probiotics.
• Poor diet also affects the color of stool. If you wean your baby off early, he won’t get enough to eat. After all, in order to be satisfied, the baby needs to receive hind milk, it contains enough useful elements and fat content.

Due to their deficiency, mucus appears in the baby's stool.

Causes of yellow diarrhea in a newborn

Yellow diarrhea can be caused by many factors. Some are nothing to worry about, others should be taken seriously. When a newborn has yellow diarrhea, several features should be taken into account:

1. This shade of stool in the first year of life can be quite natural if the stool is free of impurities.
2. Sudden yellow stools that last for a long time are a sign of the disease.
3. In an infant, loose yellow stool can cause dehydration; treatment of diarrhea should be timely and competent.

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• Rules for providing first aid to a child with diarrhea and abdominal pain
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• Why green stool in newborns on breastfeeding or IV - reasons

The reasons why a newborn baby develops loose yellow stool with water may be the following:

• violation of the feeding regime;
• premature or incorrect introduction of complementary foods;
• nutrition for a nursing mother;
• infectious agents;
• diseases affecting the stomach, pancreas or liver;
• overfeeding;
• intestinal dysbiosis;
• teething;
• a consequence of antibiotic therapy - loose stools occur due to an imbalance of intestinal microflora, which is suppressed by antibacterial drugs.

It is important to monitor the regular nutrition of infants, especially at one month of age.

Breastfed

Yellow, loose stool in a healthy breastfed baby is quite normal, unless characteristic changes are observed: acid, foam and lumps. A one-year-old baby eats harder foods that make up his diet; harder feces will be quite normal. The newborn's diet consists exclusively of liquid mother's milk. Parents should be wary of excessive bowel movements and loose stools. Sometimes these symptoms may indicate the following reasons:

• intolerance to foods consumed by a nursing mother;
• eating dirty foods;
• infectious diseases;
• teething;
• reaction to the introduction of complementary foods.

Breastfed children tolerate intestinal adaptation more easily than formula-fed children. There is a risk of diarrhea if the mother's diet is poor. In such a case, it is enough to exclude the product that caused the diarrhea.

Artificially fed

Formula-fed babies are more susceptible to intestinal upset. This is due to the baby’s underdeveloped digestive organs. It is still difficult for him to digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates; the mixture is not completely absorbed. Diarrhea in a child can be caused by the following reasons:

1. The disease is celiac enteropathy. Characterized by impaired absorption in the intestine, the small intestine undergoes atrophy. The reason is gluten, a substance that babies do not always digest successfully due to the lack of the required amount of enzymes that break down the substance. Symptoms of celiac disease include foamy stools, decreased appetite, lethargy, and weight loss. In laboratory tests, pathogenic microorganisms are not detected, which is the main factor in the inability to digest gluten. Therapy involves a diet that excludes gluten-containing foods, including wheat, rye or oats.
2. Replacing the mixture. It is highly not recommended to suddenly switch from using one mixture to another. Baby food differs in composition, and the baby’s digestive system is not so versatile as to assimilate a new product. In addition to bowel dysfunction, the child develops a skin rash and excessive gas formation. These factors irritate the baby. If the transition is forced, you must remember to gradually add a new product to the artificial diet.
3. Intestinal dysbiosis. Together with breast milk, the baby receives beneficial bacteria that inhabit the microflora and contribute to the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Formula-fed babies do not have this privilege; an imbalance in the intestines may occur. Microbes begin to multiply at an accelerated pace, and the child simply does not have beneficial bacteria to fight them. It is necessary to treat dysbacteriosis with means that restore the microflora.

No matter how good the formula is, it will never replace mother’s milk. Breastfeeding remains a priority.

Parents' actions

The anxiety that arises due to the baby’s condition sometimes interferes with making the right decisions. Adults do not know what to do in a situation if it arises for the first time.

First of all, parents should call a doctor. Before the doctor arrives, it is possible to alleviate the child’s condition. Clean still water should be offered. It is better not to allow children who are one year old to eat temporarily. For breastfed infants, feedings are recommended to replenish lost fluids, but meal times should be reduced.

It is not recommended to give your baby medications without consulting a doctor. You can give Smecta if qualified help does not arrive soon. To bring down the temperature, if it exceeds 38.5 degrees, give ibuprofen. For intestinal infections, the use of antibiotics is mandatory, but you should not give medications to your baby yourself.

About dysbiosis

In a newborn child, with any type of nutrition, the intestinal microflora does not form immediately. But with breastfeeding this happens more easily and quickly. After all, the baby receives all the necessary enzymes and bifidobacteria from mother’s milk. And artificial babies often suffer from dysbacteriosis. They receive nutrition close to regular food, but they do not yet have enzymes to digest them. And the absence of bifidobacteria in the intestine leads to its colonization by pathogenic microflora.

As a result of these processes, dysbacteriosis develops. It is characterized by the following symptoms:

• frequent regurgitation;
• loose stools mixed with mucus or blood;
• change in the color of the stool, it becomes greenish;
• stool has a putrid odor;
• the child experiences abdominal pain, is tormented by flatulence, bloating, and colic.

With dysbacteriosis, the baby often suffers from abdominal pain and flatulence.

Symptoms of diarrhea in children

The main task facing parents and the doctor at the first stage is to find out the cause of the unpleasant symptom in order to avoid complications. Undesirable coloration of stool may be accompanied by other manifestations.

A high temperature in addition to greenish stools sometimes indicates dysentery or salmonellosis. Salmonellosis is characterized by dark green stool with flakes and severe vomiting.

Frequent loose green stools with foam without fever are a sign of dysbacteriosis. Mucus and blood in stool due to dysentery.

The parent should be aware of associated symptoms. Often observed:

• Whims, crying without tears, anxiety.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Refusal to eat.
• Urine is dark in color.
• Abdominal pain.

The worst thing with diarrhea is dehydration. Every parent should know the signs of dehydration in order to take timely measures to avoid severe consequences. Dehydration in children manifests itself as:

• Dry lips and tongue, skin, circles under the eyes.
• Rapid pulse, overheating.
• Lack of urine, urine in small quantities with an unpleasant odor.
• Body weight decreases.
• Retraction of the fontanel in an infant.

The appearance of signs should be a good reason to call an ambulance. The child's condition with severe dehydration is stabilized in the hospital.

When green stool is an alarm signal

If the child has become nervous and irritable, and the stool has acquired a green tint, dysbacteriosis is suspected.

You should immediately consult a doctor in the following cases:

• presence of foam and sour odor;
• strong stench;
• repeated diarrhea;
• blood and mucus in the stool.

Shade and consistency of green stool

A pathological process can be assumed by visual examination of the baby's stool.

The color and consistency of children's stool says a lot:

• deep green consistency of sour cream is normal, liquid is a symptom of lactase deficiency;
• light green - excess hind milk when feeding the baby with breast milk;
• black-green – indigestion, errors in the mother’s nutrition, and for a newborn – the norm;
• green, with admixtures of foam – low fat content of milk, lactase deficiency;
• green with mucus - disturbances in the digestive tract, dysbacteriosis.

If a characteristic symptom appears once, you don’t have to worry about the baby’s health. If you have repeated green stools, it is recommended to contact your local pediatrician.

Alarming symptoms

Changes in stool color and consistency are not the only symptom of pathology.

Along with green stool, the following signs of the disease appear:

• lack of appetite;
• presence of foam, sour odor;
• impurities of blood, mucus in the stool;
• frequent regurgitation, vomiting;
• flatulence, colic, increased gas formation;
• skin rashes;
• attacks of nausea;
• a sharp decrease in body weight;
• paroxysmal abdominal pain;
• frequent raising of the legs in the chest;
• moodiness, drowsiness of the baby;
• persistent diarrhea.

Green foamy stool in infant

Observation With such a symptom, there is a suspicion that there is an error in the infant’s nutrition, or that the feeding process is disrupted. There is no need to rush into a visit to the pediatrician; first, you should watch the baby. If symptoms do not disappear within 5 days, it is recommended to seek medical help.

Diagnosis and treatment

The doctor will determine the cause of diarrhea after talking with the parents and examining the baby. It may be necessary to undergo additional examination to clarify the diagnosis.

Diagnostics

It is difficult to determine the true cause of diarrhea based on the color and consistency of stool alone. Sometimes the doctor prescribes tests:

• Bacterial analysis of stool is an informative research technique that identifies pathogenic microorganisms.
• General blood analysis.
• Blood test for intestinal infections.
• General urine analysis.
• Stool analysis.

Ultrasound of the baby's peritoneum

Perhaps the reason lies in the pathology of the internal organs. In this case, the doctor prescribes ultrasound diagnostics of the abdominal organs.

Treatment

When the cause of green diarrhea is clarified, the doctor prescribes treatment. For dysbacteriosis, Linex, Bifidumbacterin, Enterol can be prescribed. The main task is to eliminate the disease that caused the symptom.

Intestinal infection requires complex treatment. First, the type of pathogen is identified using tests. Then a diet is prescribed. In difficult cases, antibiotic therapy is performed. The doctor prescribes bactericidal drugs.

To replenish the water-salt balance, Regidron may be prescribed.

If bowel movements are caused by poisoning, you will need to take adsorbent drugs: Smecta, Activated carbon.

It is not recommended to stop diarrhea with medications without a doctor’s prescription; harmful toxins are released with feces.

In the first month of life, the baby most likely will not need drug treatment, since the causes of green stool during this period are not pathological.

Children over 1.5 years old are recommended to have a strict diet, which excludes carbonated water, unprocessed plant foods and fatty foods.

Parents should not self-medicate; there is a high risk of complications if therapy is carried out incorrectly.

Can green stool of a baby be normal during artificial feeding?

There is a certain period when the green stool of a formula-fed baby should not cause any concern. This period is a natural process and lasts about five days after birth.

The initial stool of a newborn is always green in color. This is due to the fact that in the first days after birth the body tends to free itself from swallowed epithelial tissue, amniotic fluid, etc. This way the intestines are cleansed.

Gradually, around the fifth day, the baby’s stool should undergo noticeable changes:

• white curd pieces of undigested milk mixture may be found in the stool;
• The color of the stool changes to yellow-green, which should gradually become completely yellow or mustard.

However, there are exceptions to all rules. There are cases when a baby has green stool with mucus, indicating that the digestive system is not yet fully formed and there are not enough enzymes to properly process food.

Sometimes dark green stool can cause bilirubin to leave the body. This is also a fairly ordinary process that can be characterized by these changes.

In a formula-fed newborn, green stool may be a common reaction to the formula being consumed. This is especially facilitated by a diet with a high iron content in its composition.

In a five-month-old baby, a greenish tint to the stool may be a consequence of the introduction of the first complementary foods or the beginning of the eruption of the first teeth.

Newborn chair

Since the child himself cannot tell about his condition, parents have to build on generally accepted indicators of the norm. As for the norm for a newborn, there is no single option. During the first month after birth, the baby can have any stool, and if there are no other signs of deterioration in health, the mother does not need to worry.

The baby's very first stool, meconium, has a dark green color and a thick and rather viscous consistency. Subsequently, until the introduction of the first complementary foods, infants have loose stools. Representatives of artificial feeding have a thick and homogeneous stool. If it turns greenish, this always worries parents, but as a rule there is no reason for alarm.

Formula-fed and breastfed babies are equally likely to have green stools. This is due to changes in intestinal flora or a reaction to foods that have entered the body. But it is still more correct to consider this issue separately for artificial feeding and maternal feeding.

Disease or normal?

There is no need to immediately panic if the color of the stool changes, even if it turns green. This is not always a sign of a serious illness. According to doctors, there are some cases in which the “greening” of feces does not pose any danger to the baby’s health.

One of the reasons for concern is green stool in infants. There may be several reasons for its appearance, and not all of them are pathological

It is worth noting that during the first few days of a baby’s life, his body undergoes serious processes that contribute to his adaptation to a new way of life. At this time, the digestive system is also reconfigured. When the baby passed through the birth canal, tissue remnants entered his intestines and stomach, which after birth leave the body along with feces. This type of bowel movement is medically called meconium. Typically, meconium is green, but sometimes it can be black. In this case, there is no need to worry too much, since after a couple of days the feces will return to their natural color.

Green feces

Bilirubin in newborns

In the first weeks of a baby’s life, discharge of an atypical greenish hue may be mixed with white – these are undigested milk particles. The fact is that the baby’s weak digestive system cannot yet function fully, therefore there is a slight lack of necessary enzymes, which is why this phenomenon occurs.

Excess bilirubin can also lead to coloration of infants' stool in the first days of life.

What should it be like normally?

Not a single practicing pediatrician will tell you this notorious norm. Ideally, the stool should be yellow and mushy with a slight sour odor; this is even described in medical books. In fact, the color of feces depends on many indicators. And from the method of feeding (breastfeeding, artificial or mixed), and from the composition of the nursing mother’s milk, from what she ate. Even from the environment: the stool in a baby's diaper oxidizes in air and acquires a yellow-green or green color from the iron present in it.

And in the first two to three days after birth, the newborn’s stool is dark green or black; this is the original meconium, which consists of amniotic fluid, particles of bile and mucus, and epithelial cells. In this case, there is no need to panic, this only means that the child’s intestines are functioning fully, and as a rule, after a week, the feces begin to acquire the usual color - from light yellow to mustard. Therefore, the child has the right to any chair of many colors. Even feces with inclusions and lumps are allowed, only if this does not affect his well-being and development.

Treatment of gastrointestinal tract in children

After the doctor examines the results of the tests, he can diagnose the baby. Depending on the development of a particular pathology, various medications can be used. It is worth noting that most problems with the gastrointestinal tract can be solved with the help of a special diet and taking safe medications. But more severe conditions require hospitalization.

Medicines

If the stool is green or the child begins to be bothered by various problems with the digestive system, then you should immediately visit a doctor. Ignoring the symptoms will certainly lead to serious consequences. In such cases, medications are used to help normalize metabolic processes in the child’s body. Below are the most effective ones.

Table. Drugs to improve digestion in infants.

If the stool has a characteristic green color in a baby who is fed formula or breast milk, this phenomenon can act as both an indicator of normality and a sign of a serious illness. What exactly the change in color indicates in a particular case can only be said by a doctor after laboratory tests. You cannot judge the baby’s health only by the color of the stool, because an integrated approach is important here, which consists of taking tests, interviewing parents and examining the child with a doctor. Only on the basis of all the information can a conclusion be drawn.

Stool test results

Preventive measures

Preventing a disease is easier than treating it. Parents need to know the rules that will help avoid gastrointestinal disorders, as a result of green diarrhea.

• A nursing mother needs to adhere to proper nutrition. Avoid eating allergenic foods. Do not eat fatty, spicy foods. Do not take medications without consulting your doctor.
• A newborn baby on artificial feeding suffers from diarrhea if the formula is not suitable. After consulting with your pediatrician, you can choose the appropriate diet.
• Greenish diarrhea may indicate intolerance to the product. Therefore, complementary foods should be introduced gradually and carefully in small portions in a puree state.
• Parents should not lick baby pacifiers or spoons. Thus, the infection spreads from an adult to a baby.
• The diet of preschoolers should be balanced.
• Older children need to be taught personal hygiene rules. Make sure that your hands are clean and that foreign objects do not get into your mouth.

Every responsible parent worries about the health of the baby. And such a phenomenon as green diarrhea worries caring parents. The main thing is not to panic, but to find out the cause of the symptom by notifying the pediatrician about what is happening. The doctor will definitely help to identify the disease that caused the symptom and prescribe treatment for the child in accordance with the age and characteristics of the body.

Source

Causes of foam in baby's stool and treatment

If a child is developing, not losing weight, but rather gaining weight, eating well and not being capricious, but at the same time you observe foam in his stool, you should not immediately run to the doctor and treat the child. This is a normal phenomenon that will disappear on its own with age. In this case, the condition of the child is a better indicator of health than his bowel movements.

Usually, foam is a consequence of fermentation processes occurring in the intestines, and anything can lead to this.

Foamy stools in breastfed babies appear mainly for the following reasons:

• milk imbalance during breastfeeding
• allergy to formula or mother's milk
• gaziki
• allergies to medications
• complementary feeding is early or incorrect
• dysbacteriosis
• intestinal infection
• lactose deficiency.

An imbalance of milk during breastfeeding means that the baby only sucks out the more watery foremilk and does not get to the nutritious fatty milk. The result is the appearance of green, foamy stool. Keep your baby on one breast a little longer so that he gets a full, balanced diet from your milk.

Foam in the baby's stool can also occur due to his transfer to other formulas due to allergies. You shouldn’t be surprised, but a baby can also have an allergic reaction to breast milk. Mom has no choice but to review the foods in her diet. Foamy stool in a breastfed baby may accompany an allergic reaction to overfeeding.

Colic in the tummy and gas disturb children very often and are also accompanied by foamy stools. This usually goes away when the baby reaches 3 months of age.

If the mother takes any medications, this can also provoke a child’s allergy in the digestive tract.

Liquid, foamy stool in a breastfed baby, and sometimes diarrhea, can be a reaction to early feeding of the baby (before 6 months) with vegetables, fruits and juices.

Dysbacteriosis is characterized by diarrhea with undigested pieces of food, mucus, and foam. It is not classified as a disease, and in the case of newborns, dysbiosis is a concomitant factor in the transition period of its digestive system. The normal microflora of a child’s intestines is formed with the help of mother’s milk: it contains substances that prevent the proliferation of bacteria in the baby’s body. There is no treatment for dysbiosis as such, and usually the intestinal microflora is supported by probiotics. If the baby is healthy, then dysbacteriosis is not scary for him.

Things get worse if foamy stools appear in a breastfed baby along with high fever, vomiting and diarrhea. This could be a sign of E. coli. In this case, you should immediately consult a doctor.

A deficiency of the enzyme that breaks down lactose can lead to the appearance of loose, foamy stools, flatulence and colic in infants. Transient lactase deficiency resolves with age. But if a child has congenital lactase deficiency, then it is treated by introducing the missing enzyme into the child’s body.

Causes of green stool in infants

Green stool in a baby is not always a cause for concern. Let us highlight the main factors that can cause “herbal” feces to appear in an infant in the first months of his life.

Causes of green stool

Sources of unnatural stool color in a baby:

• composition of mother's breast milk;
• use of complementary foods;
• deviation of the baby’s immunity;
• age-related changes.

When breastfeeding

The reasons for the appearance of greenish stool in a child during breastfeeding can be:

• mother’s food range: if the diet is rich in green vegetables and herbs;
• intoxication of the nurse's body due to poisoning;
• exposure to medications: for example, taking antibacterial agents;
• lack of nutrition: limited amount of breast milk, early refusal of breastfeeding. The feces become liquid and foamy, and the baby’s weight drops.

With artificial and mixed feeding

A green tint to the stool of a mixed-fed baby occurs depending on the composition of complementary foods:

• artificial mixture is enriched with iron;
• food causes an imbalance in the child’s body, allergic reactions occur;
• incorrectly selected or incorrectly prepared food;
• dysbacteriosis, immune system failure: complex components of complementary foods complicate the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

General sources

The basic factors for the manifestation of green stool in infants are:

• chemical oxidation processes under the influence of oxygen;
• inflammatory foci in the infant’s gastrointestinal tract due to difficult childbirth;
• natural removal of bilirubin (bile pigment) from the body;
• additional nutrition with a mixture with a high concentration of sugars and iron;
• lactose intolerance, bacterial imbalance;
• the impact of diseases, poor functioning of the endocrine system, malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract.

Dysbacteriosis

When the balance of vital bacteria is disturbed, the natural functioning of the intestines is disrupted in the baby’s body. The condition is characterized by an increase in body temperature, disruption of the process of excretion of feces, and psycho-emotional disorders.

If the course of the disease is favorable, the baby’s immunity copes with it on its own. If the disorder lasts, you will need to take foods enriched with bacteria.

Lactase deficiency

The condition is expressed by difficulty in processing milk sugar due to a small amount of lactase and, as a consequence, the development of dysbacteriosis. The stool is liquid, greenish-yellow with a pungent odor and foamy consistency.

The deviation goes away on its own after nine months of the baby’s life, less often up to a year. Sometimes there is a hereditary disorder. To restore the baby’s stool, it is recommended to adjust the diet of the mother producing breastfeeding, as well as the use of therapy to replenish lactase in a child at 2 years old.

By month

The stages of development of the baby’s body directly affect the appearance of green color in the stool:

• 1 month: green stool in a newborn is the norm, a consequence of the gastrointestinal tract adapting to nutrition, if the process is not accompanied by third-party symptoms;
• 2 month: dysbacteriosis is possible due to the unstable state of the intestines of a two-month-old baby;
• 3 month: due to slow development, green stool in a 3 month old baby may be an indicator of normality;
• 4 months: a common cause of green stool is untimely complementary feeding;
• 5th month: the color of the stool in a five-month-old baby depends on the administration of additional nutrition;
• 6-7 months: the baby eliminates discomfort from emerging teeth by biting foreign objects, so green stool in the child will become an indicator of disorder or infection;
• 8-10 months: bilirubin no longer affects the color of stool, discharge depends on the composition of complementary foods;
• 11-12 months: Green stool in a 1 year old baby is an indicator of food intake or an allergic reaction.

Green stool as one of the symptoms of the disease

Parents should take immediate action if their child's green stool is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• decreased mobility, drowsiness, moodiness;
• loss of appetite;
• foamy consistency of stool in infants,
• a sharp putrid odor of feces in a one-year-old child, green foam bowel movements;
• Green, liquid stool is passed out very often in infants;
• entry of blood as a cause of gastrointestinal damage;
• incessant diarrhea in a one and a half year old child;
• vomiting, frequent regurgitation of food;
• the child has green, loose stools with large quantities of mucus;
• flatulence, colic;
• skin rashes.