7 Month Old with Diarrhea

Hi there,

Just went through that last Saturday with my 1 year old and it lasted til this past Tuesday. Sat., Sun, Mon severe leaky stinky watery poops. I took him in on Tuesday. Dr. said he was fine, he was drinking Gatorade and we switched his milk to Lactose Free and he loves it, he just switched from formula around the 20th and I thought it might be the whole milk but also there is a very bad bug going around and he is teething so not quite sure what it was but he is now doing better. as long as he is taking fluids and he is not sleepy and he does not have dark circles around his eyes the Dr. told me he was OK.(Not Dehydrated) He was still very active and happy for the most part. I would call just to check but my Dr. told me there is really nothing you can do except let it runs its course. I am married (10 years) and have 2 handsome boys 81/2 and 1 yr. I call the Dr. just to be on the safe side even though I have already gone through these things with my first son I want peace of mind. Good Luck. Try bananas and do not give any apple juice.

Keep feeding him lots of formula (as much as he'll eat) and don't worry about the baby food until he's feeling better. I'd double diaper to try to keep the poo as wrapped up as possible. If he's acting fine and has no fever you probably can hold out without a doctor visit, but if he gets lethargic or cranky he may be dehydrated, so watch him closely. Make sure his skin and eyes look healthy and bright.
After gut problems like that you both need some yogurt with active cultures to get the good bacteria back in your intestinal tract, or probiotic supplements of some kind. I can't remember when my babies started eating yogurt,but if he doesn't need special formula (soy) or anything, a natural, unsweetened yogurt would probably be fine for him.

Hope you both feel better soon!
P.

My 1 year old had the same problem. My babysitter is great.
She made her some rice water. Problem solved. First, you boil
about 2 cups of water with 1/2 cinnomon stick. Then, you add
about two fist full of rice.Add about a teaspoon of sugar and
refrigerate until cold. I also gave her a lot of gatorade
(lemon flavor).

No diaper remedy here other than catching it early and laying down asap. Bananas!!! Rice cereal!!! Fluids!!!! Crackers. It will pass. Diarrhea = BRAT diet for all ages: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast

I agree with some of the other responses...get in with your doctor today! Especially considering it is Friday, you would not want it to take a turn for the worse over the weekend and take the chance of not getting to see your doctor. Get some pedialyte and give him that until you can see your doctor. It is likely that the formula is upsetting his stomach more than what is going on.

Hi J.,

It probably is a virus, and if I were you, I wouldn't worry about dehydration if he is drinking enough pedialyte. Formula is milk based, and the docs always say to avoid any milk products during diarrhea. They do say to try the brat diet. I know you said he's not eating much, but try bananas/rice/applesauce/toast. I heard that if you let a banana sit out til it's dark, and then freeze it, it's really really good. Maybe he'll like that, since it's more like a frozen treat. Make sure you don't give him any juice or dairy products. I'd say that if he starts to act funny, and if he stops drinking pedialyte or gatorade, then I'd worry. It may take up to a week for it to get out of his system. If you do get too concerned, call the nurse line or schedule an appt with the ped. Good luck & God bless!

Your doc will probably just tell you to ride it out and watch for signs of dehydration because it is likely a virus that has to run its course.

My pediatrician had me get Florastor and put it in formula or applesauce or whatever. It is the "good" bacteria that gets over run when a virus takes over. The taste is pleasant and it helps get their little system on track. You do not have to have a prescription to get it, but they do usually keep it behind the counter so ask the pharmacist if you decide to try it. I have found it to be a life saver.

In my opinion I think you need to take him the doctor since it has been 2 days and his lack of appetite. I would take him to make sure he is not dehydrated and to see what type of bug he might have picked up. At that age they dehydrate quickly. Also, there is a virus going around that my children have had and there was no fever.

Married Full Time Working Mother of a fabulous husband and 2 very busy but loving kiddos ages 6 1/2 and 8.

Try giving him some lactobacillus. If you go to People's pharmacy and ask for that, they will be able to help you. Good luck.

Starches (flower, rice, etc.) are good for curbing diarrhea, but you've got to be careful how and when you do it because it's also important that it run its course. Diarrhea is generally your body's response to flush something out that shouldn't be there, and it stops when it's done. When you stop it prematurely, you keep inside what should be expelled. For his little system, though, he might need a break.

I know that it's awful to deal with the mess, but maybe you should ride it out for another day or so before adding the starch to his diet. Keep the Pedialyte coming, and stay away from fruit!

Hi J., yep, its starting to be "that time of the year". It takes only 24hrs of vomiting/diarrhea to create dehydration in these little ones. Even though he is drinking formula and pedialyte, I would run him in to the MD and have a stool sample checked. Does it smell like the raw sewage? Is it bright green? You mention that you have some gastro symptoms as well. Could always be something like rotavirus. Is he having good wet diapers through the day as well? I mean solid wet diapers. Rule of thumb is 6-10.

J.,

Get him to the pediatrician today! Cut out formula altogether until you get there. Pedialyte only and try bananas or applesauce. They can dehydrate easiyl. Don't give him any medicine for the diarrhea unless the doctor tells you to.

Good luck!
C.

This is about the time in his life that he is getting his teeth, that will make some kids have this problem, thus no fever, just the not wanting to eat, hurts their mouth. Hope this is the problem because it will past with the teeth coming in. Good luck

It sounds like your son is teething. My son would have extreme diarhea for a week at a time. As long as he is drinking fluids he should be fine. I could not find a solution to keep the diarhea in except for change it as soon as he went. My doctor told me it is not safe to give kids anything to stop their diarhea.

My son had rotavirus when he was 3-4 months old (for a total of 6 weeks!). Though there is really nothing they can do to treat it, the doc told us to be sure to keep him hydrated with Pedialyte. As someone else said, be sure you pay attention to the number of wet diapers. Also sunken, dark eyes, and lethargy are other symptoms of dehydration. With rotavirus, a lot of the info I've seen online just shows it involves diarreah & vomitting (including anything I've found regarding a vaccine for it). For Phoenix, this was very SERIOUS diarreah & vomitting- he would barely get an ounce of formula (or even Pedialyte) down and it'd be back up again. I agree with the other moms to get it checked out just in case.

My hubby had minor symptoms at the time (nausea & minor diarreah), but I didn't have any the whole time.

Honestly, I wouldn't fool around with trying to estimate dehydration in a 7 month old, especially if his consumption of formula is now poor and its been going on for 48 hours... If it was my baby, I'd have him checked at the pedi's tomorrow morning. (Admittedly, I'm also a worry-prone kind of mom... and I don't mean to freak you out and keep you wake worrying tonight. But really, I'd take him in as soon as possible.)

FYI, some articles:

http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/medicaldepartments/ped...
"Signs of dehydration include urinating less frequently, dry and sticky gums and inside of the mouth, dry skin, lack of tears when the infant cries, and a slightly sunken fontanel--the soft spot on top of the infant's head... "If diarrhea is severe, you should avoid feeding an infant milk products that contain milk sugar," Bell says. "Severe diarrhea, especially if prolonged, may impair the infant's ability to digest milk products.""

Also,
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-treat-diarrhea-infants-chi...
http://digestive-disorders.health-cares.net/infant-diarrh...
http://smartmomma.com/Baby/diarrhea.htm
http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/infant-diarrhea-an...

GO TO THE DOCTOR TODAY! They will ask you how many wet diapers so be ready. It sounds like he is a little dehydrated and that is not good.

Try night diapers. My son is 6 months and wears number 4 nighttime for bed.

After you go to the doctor, you can get him to eat bananas and rice cereal mixed together. It is a binding agent. Poor guy. Good luck.