3 Year Child Having Very Smelly Frequent Dark Bowel Movements. Is It Normal?

Posted on Sun, 1 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 1 Jul 2012 Answered on

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : My three year old grandaughter has very smelly frequent dark bowel movements from time to time. Could you tell me if this is normal. Many thanks.

Answered by Dr. Ram Choudhary (1 hour later)

Hi XXXXXXX
Dark stool in young child might be caused by dehyration,
Body tries to conserve water so gut absorbs more water from diet and the stool contents become more dry, pellet like, dark and foul smelling.
If stools stay in for long due to constipation then also the same things may happen
If her stool is soft and still dark then it may be due to altered blood in it, children may have polyps in gut that can bleed chronically.
Cause of foul smell per say may be due to indigestion and gut infection also.
Good hydration with frequent water and liquid diets intake will improve consistency and foul smell.
Get a stool examination done and that will provide valuble clues if other factors that I mentioned are involved.
I hope that aswers your query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar