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Suggest Treatment For Frequent Bowel Movement And Fluid Discharge In A 2-month-old Who Is Cranky Off Late?
Posted on
Mon, 26 Mar 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Mon, 26 Mar 2018
Answered on
Tue, 9 May 2023
Last reviewed on
Question : My two month old baby boy has been passing a small amount of stool quite a few times in a day for the last one week. It usually, but not always, happens whenever he passes gas. The texture too doesn't look like the 'normal' stool he's had so far which was uniformly pasty. Now there seem to be whitish spots and some times, it appears watery too. For the last two days, there have appeared some spots between his eyebrows and upper region of eyelids. Today, he did not keep quite active either; was cranky throughout the day. Another thing that we have noticed in the past few days is that he sweats quite a lot on his face and head. While his head is mostly hot, his hands and feet are generally cold. Kindly let us know what might be wrong.
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The stool is yellow, with small white particles, almost of the texture of split milk. The baby was on both formula and breast feed right from day 1 as the mother's feed wasn't sufficient. For the last 10-15 days, he's almost completely shifted to breast milk. The frequency of urine is more than 6 times in 24 hours but still sometimes he doesn't seem to be content after feed. Earlier, he would often get colic and cry for the same. Shifting to breast milk has indeed given some relief there. Could colic also be the cause of his stool trouble? An image of his rashes is uploaded.
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The stool is yellow, with small white particles, almost of the texture of split milk. The baby was on both formula and breast feed right from day 1 as the mother's feed wasn't sufficient. For the last 10-15 days, he's almost completely shifted to breast milk. The frequency of urine is more than 6 times in 24 hours but still sometimes he doesn't seem to be content after feed. Earlier, he would often get colic and cry for the same. Shifting to breast milk has indeed given some relief there. Could colic also be the cause of his stool trouble? An image of his rashes is uploaded.
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Brief Answer:
Is the child formula fed? Proper burping is important
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
For a baby of this age, it is normal to pass stool several times a day or even after each feed. Alternatively, the child may pass stool once in 10 days and that is normal too. Unless the stool is hard and pellet like, you need not grow concerned. It is also normal to pass green stool or a combination of yellow stool. The green color occurs due to rapid transit through large intestine where the bile pigments do not get adequate time to convert to the yellow color of the stool. It is okay for some mucus to be present in the stool.
I would insist you to upload an image of the facial rashes and spots that you have mentioned. Based on that, I could guide you further.
Most formula milks are cow milk based and hence difficult to digest. Formula milk can lead to change in stool consistency and can also be the cause of diarrhea. Mother's breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. It is produced on the demand of the baby. The hungrier the baby, more vigorous the suck. The more the suck, the more the amount of breast milk produced.
Giving formula automatically reduces the demand of the baby and thereby the production of breast milk. All you need to do is to switch back to exclusive breast feeding and the production will increase automatically. All you need to do is to monitor the urine output. If the frequency is more than 6 times in 24 hours, you would know that the amount of feeding is adequate. If the amount of passage of urine is less or if the child is lethargic you would need to take the child to a doctor without delay.
Babies often get colics especially when on formula feeds. In such a case, switching back to breast milk should provide relief. You should burp the baby for at least 15-20 mins after each feed. All you need to do is to hold the baby's head end elevated for this duration. The extra air taken causes distention and hence colics. Proper burping will ensure it escapes and the milk will not regurgitate back from the stomach to the food pipe, thus providing relief. You can otherwise give Coliaid when needed.
Hope I have answered your query. Feel free to write back.
Regards,
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Pediatrician
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Brief Answer:
Try to switch back to breast milk. This is the best thing that can be done.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
The undigested milk residues are possibly due to formula milk. Formula milk will only depress breast milk production. You can still opt for exclusive breast feeding. On switching, the breast milk production will increase on its own. Just monitor the urine frequency and if it is fine, you need not worry about anything else including whether the baby seems not content.
I would strongly insist on switching to exclusive breast feeding. Colics are a sign that the gastrointestinal tract is protesting against formula milk. Colics are not the cause for stool trouble, the cause of colic is formula milk.
I could not find the image of rashes.
Hope I have answered your query.
Thank you.
Regards,
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Pediatrician
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Is the child formula fed? Proper burping is important
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
For a baby of this age, it is normal to pass stool several times a day or even after each feed. Alternatively, the child may pass stool once in 10 days and that is normal too. Unless the stool is hard and pellet like, you need not grow concerned. It is also normal to pass green stool or a combination of yellow stool. The green color occurs due to rapid transit through large intestine where the bile pigments do not get adequate time to convert to the yellow color of the stool. It is okay for some mucus to be present in the stool.
I would insist you to upload an image of the facial rashes and spots that you have mentioned. Based on that, I could guide you further.
Most formula milks are cow milk based and hence difficult to digest. Formula milk can lead to change in stool consistency and can also be the cause of diarrhea. Mother's breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. It is produced on the demand of the baby. The hungrier the baby, more vigorous the suck. The more the suck, the more the amount of breast milk produced.
Giving formula automatically reduces the demand of the baby and thereby the production of breast milk. All you need to do is to switch back to exclusive breast feeding and the production will increase automatically. All you need to do is to monitor the urine output. If the frequency is more than 6 times in 24 hours, you would know that the amount of feeding is adequate. If the amount of passage of urine is less or if the child is lethargic you would need to take the child to a doctor without delay.
Babies often get colics especially when on formula feeds. In such a case, switching back to breast milk should provide relief. You should burp the baby for at least 15-20 mins after each feed. All you need to do is to hold the baby's head end elevated for this duration. The extra air taken causes distention and hence colics. Proper burping will ensure it escapes and the milk will not regurgitate back from the stomach to the food pipe, thus providing relief. You can otherwise give Coliaid when needed.
Hope I have answered your query. Feel free to write back.
Regards,
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Pediatrician
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Brief Answer:
Try to switch back to breast milk. This is the best thing that can be done.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
The undigested milk residues are possibly due to formula milk. Formula milk will only depress breast milk production. You can still opt for exclusive breast feeding. On switching, the breast milk production will increase on its own. Just monitor the urine frequency and if it is fine, you need not worry about anything else including whether the baby seems not content.
I would strongly insist on switching to exclusive breast feeding. Colics are a sign that the gastrointestinal tract is protesting against formula milk. Colics are not the cause for stool trouble, the cause of colic is formula milk.
I could not find the image of rashes.
Hope I have answered your query.
Thank you.
Regards,
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Pediatrician
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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