1 Year Old with Diarrhea

Yes, try to get on State sponsored health insurance.

Here is the link, for California:
http://www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov/Home/default.aspx

http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/pages/default.aspx

3 weeks is a long time for diarrhea.
Make sure, he does not get dehydrated. That is not good.

Soy is horrible. I put it up there with cows milk honestly. I am bias though because I am allergic to both.

Have you tried adding a powdered Probiotic to his food? You can buy it in the natural section at most Kroger/Fred Meyer stores. I get the kind that is in the bigger tub..with the yellow lid. I cant think of the name of it right now.

They gave some to my kiddo at the hospital yesterday. He has been having non-stop bum blow outs now since Saturday. Once they got the Probiotics into him, it stopped.

I dont have any other advice on how to get it to ease up. If the doc is thinking he needs to see a gastro specialist, it may be worth the $$ to just get him checked out. You dont want there to be something serious going on and not caught.

Can you apply for state Insurance? The will normally cover any kid that has gone without insurance. You do have to meet certain guidelines $$ wise, but normally they will not turn a kiddo away.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, some of the advice you got from some of the moms is incorrect. The most important thing is to keep your son hydrated with an electrolyte liquid; if he doesn't drink pedialyte then use Gatorade, but avoid apple and pear juice. Put him on the BRAT diet -- that's bananas, rice, applesauce and dry toast (I found oatmeal helps too); and avoid high fiber foods and dairy products (don't know if that includes formula). And finally, give him a probiotic. The article also said that if it's caused by a bacterial infection then antibiotics are indicated; if it's a virus then it just has to run it's course. If it doesn't get better soon, I'd go back to your Pediatrician and let him know that you can't afford a specialist who charges $350 for a consultation. If that becomes your only choice then try to negotiate a lower fee with the specialist.

Cut way back on all liquids. Stop almost all liquids for a while.
A doctor once told me that the little kidneys can only process so much and
then turns the rest into poop. He even told the exact amount, but I don't
recall the number.

My son seemed to have continuous vomiting and diarrhea for the first 2 years of his life. We spent a fortune (also no insurance) on all the tests etc and nothing showed up. Meds and soy milk made him worse! What worked for us was to ensure he kept his fluid intake up and cut out formula (and dairy products) completely for a while. He would eat rice cereal, grated apple and mashed banana. He eventually just "grew out of it" and is now a perfectly healthy and strong 18 year old! :) The only thing to be really wary of is to ensure he drinks enough (although in our case it was vomiting and diarrhoea after every feed and not only once or twice a day!). Since he has no fever or vomiting its very unlikely that its an infection. It might be a difficulty in digesting dairy and / or gluten (found in all wheat products). Best of luck ... I know how hard it is, but hang in there. It DOES get better! :)

So did he have any vaccinations prior to this and do NOT get any while he is sick. If he did then he is having a reaction to the vaccine probably and you need to be very cautious next time around and be selective of which ones he really needs.

I would also add in a probiotic (not from yogurt) - go to Henrys/Sprouts or Whole Foods and have the person there help which one would be best.

Stay off ALL dairy/casein, soy and go to this site to look for hidden sources of it and what to replace with, recipes, etc.http://www.tacanow.org/tag/gfcf/

I do think I'd have him evaluated if you can afford it at all. You want to know if it's serious. In the meantime, I swear by powdered probiotics... both my kids take them regularly and they do wonders for their digestive and overall immune systems. Give that a try. Good luck! Other thought is that it could be milk protien (in the formula). Could try Enfamil's Nutramigen (already broken down milk protien). My son had this allergy and had very mucusy stools, but that was at 2 mos. Can't hurt.

Oh, and he couldn't have milk until about 2.5 when he tolerated it. SO, as a toddler he had rice milk (not flavored). You could try that.

Hello, That is a lot of money. However, three weeks with diarrhea is a long time for anyone, much less a baby. I would get it checked.
Good luck with your precious baby.
K. K.

fiber him up some that should help his stools get firmer.

My kids have a lot of GI stuff minor though.
Try culturelle probiotics for kids. It's a powder you mix into his food or drink with no flavor. You can buy it at any drug store. Just make sure it's the one for kids. It's the same as yogurt, but since he won't eat yogurt, it's another option.

My son had diarrhea for almost 6 months at about 2 yo. The doctor thought it might be a case of toddler's diarrhea, but just in case he had a full blood workup aneţsaw a GI specialist. he thought he might be constipated . sound strange but he recommended muralax. the idea being the constipation only lets the liquid pass through. we also used probiotics . nothing seem to help, but he was happy and not losing weight so I decided not to do more invasive tests.

he was a bit older than your son, but if your son is not losing weight might be some things to try. Hoped this helped. good luck.
K.

I'm surprised nobody thought of teething. When babies are teething, they get the runs sometimes, because their mouths are sore and they are making and swallowing more spit. Can you tell if he's teething? He might just have several teeth about to pop (my nephew sprouted six at once!) and they are working their way up. The molars and eye teeth are harder to erupt than the skinny teeth, too. Just a thought.