Hello moms,
My daughter is 9 months old and has had loose stools 4-6 times per day for the last 5 days. Her temps (rectal) have ranged from 99.7 to 100.4. Aside from the brutal diaper rash she has developed, she is seemingly unaffected by the diarreah. She has been in a fabulous mood, she has the same activity level as usual, she is eating her solids 3 times a day and continues to have 27-30 oz of formula and water on top of that. She also continues to urine, so I don't believe there are any signs of dehydration. She also seems to be working on some more teeth (she already has 4 but never had any loose stools prior to this).
My question is...how long can/does this go on before I need to get worried? I called her ped and the nurse told me that she probably has a virus and to wait it out. This is my first child so I am not sure how long I should be waiting before getting concerned. I do believe she has lost some weight too since her shorts/skirts are falling off now.
Boo!
I ended up taking her to the doc, twice...it was a virus (doc said from enterovirus family). Lasted 12 days...12 long days of frequent diarreah and horrid diaper rash. I ended up with it too (lovely)...which made a great case for a viral infection versus something else. We are all happy and healthy now!
if you are formula feeding, Similac has an anti-diarreah formula, Similac A-D, which we got at Walgreens. It's only in liguid form and my daughter didnt really like it, because it was thicker than her powder formula. We mixed some in with her regular and I dont know if she was almost done or if it helped, but it cleared up pretty quick and it was pediatrician recommended.
It can last a long time. My daughter was diagnosed with toddler diahrreah syndrome. It was a mess and was exactly what you describe and miserable for everyone except her!
Ask your pediatrician
Good luck!
Sometimes it takes a week or two for a virus to work itself out and as long as her temperament remains good and she shows no signs of dehydration and is eating/drinking well (though keep her on the BRAT diet, Bananas, rice, applesause and toast), you shouldn't worry. It's normal to lose weight when you have a bug - and if it's a virus, there's nothing the dr's office can give you anyway. That said, if you are really worried, you should always take your child into the pediatrician. Good luck!
My 18 month had it too and so did I. Pedialyte is good to replace what you lost. Last time my son got sick, his feet turned blue. Walgreens has their own version for a little less as I'm sure most places do too.
i have 4 kids and after 5 days i would take them to see the doctor no matter what a nurse said. better safe than sorry.
I would call the ped and ask this question. It is almost certainly a virus unless you're feeding her something new or she's eating an increased amount of fruits or drinking too much juice. There is nothing to be done for a virus except to wait it out. She actually doesn't have a fever. My doctor told me that they don't consider a temp to be a fever until it's over 100. A .4 probably isn't high enough to cause concern but ask.
As for giving her something to stop diarrhea, ask the doctor first. The purpose of the diarrhea is to eliminate the virus or bacteria causing the illness. Stopping the diarrhea may cause the virus to last longer. However, if she's losing weight, stopping the diarrhea may be the better way to go.
The same thing happened to my daughter when she was a bit older - somewhere around 18-20 months. I called the pediatrician after a week and she said to try sticking to a bland diet for a week (applesauce, toast, etc). I called at 2 weeks when things hadn't improved and took her in for a check up. The doctor decided that the bacteria in her gut was probably just off balance and had me feed her yogurt with live bacteria - that seemed to fix it!
My 2 year old had the same problem this week (thank god she is toilet trained).
My Dr said to put her on a BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple sauce, toast). Get rid of all the fiber you can. No fruit, save for banana!
