Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

So my almost 15month old has had diarrhea (6-8 bm's per day varying from extremely soft/no form to complete soup/sometimes watery) for the past 1.5 months(along with terrible bum rash that comes and goes depending on how often he is actually in a diaper . It is rediculous and we are not getting any closer to figuring out why. He is otherwise acting fine. He has a milk protein allergy and has been on silk soy milk since weaning from BFing @ 13 months. I have tried probiotics (dairy free of course), BRAT diet (to the bets of my ability, he is also allergic to bannanas). He has no fever, and stool tests run by the pedi have all came back negative for viruses/intestinal parasites/bacterial overgrowth. I am at a complete loss and feel totally helpless. We don't go out ever because I never know when he is going to have a diaper disaster and don't want him to sit in his stool at all as it gives him terrible bum burn. Now he has stopped gaining any weight and even lost a few ounces at his last visit (probably because he doesn't assimilate any food that he eats and is picky eater to begin with). Normal energy levels, eating the same as always no vomiting. He doesn't drink any juice so that isn't the issue. Is it possible he has become soy intolerant too? Has anyone had this issue? We recently switched away from Silk to soy dream as the silk is produced on equipment that handles dairy . Anyway, sorry this is so long but if ANYONE has any experience with this/and or food intolerances etc I would love to hear your experiences. I am so sad and frustrated for him.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

My son had a Milk Protein Allergy and soy allergy from birth... He never outgrew the soy allergy. It was worse then the dairy allergy.. They go hand in hand... Stop the soy milk ASAP!!!! There is no way to test for a soy allergy.... Is he still allergic to milk. We kept ds on Elecare until 15 months and switched to regular milk with basically no problems... IT took about 4 weeks to transition him fully. Have you tried regular milk? Most babies outgrow the milk allergy...


ETA- My son will be 4 in October and he is still allergic to soy flour and soy protein. He also has an intolerance to peanuts.. We had him tested right after his 3rd birthday and it showed on a skin test.. He goes for bloodwork this week...

Message edited 8/18/2013 10:39:36 PM.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Soy could be the problem. Also have they tested for h pylori?

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Many milk allergic kids are also allergic to soy. Try subbing it with coconut milk?

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

I know he's young but what does the doc think about only water. My first child was bothered by Cheerios. Sometimes nuts have bothered them. I hope you figure this out.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

DD was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy as an infant. At 1 year, we introduced dairy and she was fine, a few months later, I noticed she would get extremely bloated, always had loose stool, 6-8x a day, and stopped growing and gaining weight. Turns out she has "probable celiac", she's too young to diagnose, but we restrict gluten and all symptoms are gone.

It def. seems like your LO has a food intolerance going on, it's just a matter of finding out what it is. I was persistant to the point of switching doctors to diagnose this. I tried several elimination diets on my own bc the ped. wouldn't help me, stating "that's just how she is", and in the end I was right.

Message edited 8/19/2013 7:31:09 AM.

Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

I would see a GI, have testing for possible celiac, a pediatric allergist may be helpful as well to see if there are any other allergens in play. I would steer away from soy as well.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Thanks for your suggestions, I feel so alone in all of this (with the exception of my equally frustrated DH).We have a call in to set up an appointment with a GI doc. We have tried dairy in my diet while BFing after the age of 1 and he developed immediate excema again so Idon't think the milk allergy is gone. He never had an issue when I ate soy or initially with soy milk but I'm sure that could be the issue as well. He had blood test at 1 year for milk/soy/gluten/nuts etc allergies which all came back negative but my doctor said if they aren't IgE linked allergies like the type that causes histamine and anaphalaxis (ie milk protein intolderance is not) then it won't show positive. I don't know about the soy allergies or gluten. He has been eating gluten type foods from 8 months on, has had peanut butter but again I guess they can always develop an issue. I have no idea what the heck to feed this child anymore and I am so sad for him I feel like trying to do an elimination diet will take forever and be almost impossible at this point because the kid is so picky already. Do I try almond milk, what about nut allergies? I know coconut yogurt used to give him diarrhea before he even had is current issues.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Message edited 8/19/2013 11:57:29 AM.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Stop the soy and switch to rice milk... It can take a few weeks for the diarrhea to stop as his intestinal tract is very inflamed. Give a little bit of white grape juice watered down every day.. It will help heal the intestinal tract...

They make dairy and soy free yogurt. My son was on that at 8 months old... Soy milk is ALL soy... It has built up enough in his system now to cause trouble... It is hard when they have allergies...

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

I would stay away from soy. They say a lot of children with a dairy intolerance/allergy also have a soy intolerance/allergy. My son is 2 and had a milk protein allergy when he was an infant. Once he turned one, we tried whole milk. He was fine for about 2 months and then started having stomach pains, loss stools and mucus in his stools. We switched him to Almond milk and coconut yogurt. He is now doing very well. Good luck. I know how frustrating it is

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

I don't have any experience with this, but I think I would try seeing an allergist (preferably pediatric) or gastroenterologist. My first thought was...if you are doing the BRAT diet and he is still having sch a hard time, maybe it is something in that... Celiac? Etc. good luck, I hope it gets better and you find answers soon!

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

I don't have any experience with this but, if my toddler had everything you described I would be at a ped GI asap. ! Hope you get to the bottom of this and your DC feels better soon

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

We have an appointment in 2 weeks (that was the soonest they could fit us in) at Boston children's hospital. Hopefully they will point us in the right direction (even if it's to the allergist). For those that went with another "alternamilk" instead of soy milk due to milk/soy intolerance did you avoid all other types of soy as well (like in processed food) or could you get away with just subbing almond/hemp/coconut milk for the soy milk. Right now my DS eats no dairy hidden or obvious but do we need to go to the same extreme's to see if soy is the culprit?
Thanks again

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

So I tried some coconut milk starting yesterday and now things are worse. He started having green mucoid stools w/ bits in it and tons of gas. How is it possible I have a kid who is sensitive to coconut milk??? I'm at a total loss here and the EARLIEST GI appointment I could get is for sept 5th (3 weeks away). My poor baby boy I guess back to soy milk to see if I can get the status quo yellow liquid stools back.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Can't you call the GI and express the urgency? They should have emergency apts....good luck!

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Posted by petvet

So I tried some coconut milk starting yesterday and now things are worse. He started having green mucoid stools w/ bits in it and tons of gas. How is it possible I have a kid who is sensitive to coconut milk??? I'm at a total loss here and the EARLIEST GI appointment I could get is for sept 5th (3 weeks away). My poor baby boy I guess back to soy milk to see if I can get the status quo yellow liquid stools back.

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

What formula was he on? I would put him back on that until you see the GI...My son was on full formula until 15 months... Then I slowly transitioned to milk... He was 16 month by that point..

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

He was never on a formula...Just breastmilk and I adjusted my diet to exclude all dairy. Other then when we first figured out his dairy intolerance he never had any diarrhea issues on breastmilk. He basically self weaned around 13 months (hence we had weaned him onto soy milk). Thanks for the support from everyone, I am finding this extremely difficult to deal with and just want my baby back to normal (or as normal as he'll ever be hehe)

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Re: Chronic diarrhea in toddler (long)

Is his diet well balanced enough that maybe you can take him off milk for the time being until you get an appointment with the GI. I have many friends that once they weaned their kids off BM to regular milk at a year, they wanted nothing to do it with. Their doctors werent too concerned bc they were getting their nutrition from food. I hope you get some answers soon. That really sounds horrible.