Hi Doctor, My Daughter Is 3 Years Old And I

Posted on Sun, 20 Jan 2019

Question: Hi doctor,
My daughter is 3 years old and I am concerned with mucous in her stool. When she was on formula as an infant, her stool was army green with lots of mucus in it. Her Pediatrician just dismissed it. Now she is on Cow’s milk which she started at 1 year old. She suffers from constipation and is now on a stool softener to help. When her stools are soft I notice they are often shiny and if I look closely they have a slimy film on top. If I swish her poo I often see threads of stretchy mucus inside. I know some mucus is normal but am wondering if this is within normal. I will try to attach a picture for your review.

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (52 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Not concerning

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for using the Ask a Doctor service.

I have gone through your query and understand your concerns. Let me assure you that none of these seem concerning. It is normal to pass green stool or a combination of yellow stool. The green colour occurs due to rapid transit through large intestine where the bile pigments do not get adequate time to convert to the yellow colour of stool. It is OK for some mucus to be there in the stool.

Let me know if you have further queries.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Diptanshu Das (14 minutes later)

Thanks doctor but I am referring to her current stool. It is brown but has a slimy mucus film on top and streaks of stringy mucus inside when the poo is smooshed and pulled apart. Could this be an intolerance to milk?

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
The mucus is not a problem

Detailed Answer:
The constipation is due to milk. The mucus is unrelated and not a cause for concern.

Regards

Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Remy Koshy