6 Month Old Baby Diarrhea for 2 Weeks

Baby Diarrhea: A Parent's Guide to Causes and Treatments

Are y'all noticing actress watery poop in the diaper? Learn what causes the runs and how to terminate diarrhea in babies fast.

It's normal for babe stools to be soft and loose, especially during an babe's get-go few months. Simply when your infant has diarrhea, chances are that yous'll know it. "The poop will accept a watery consistency and bowel movements will occur more frequently," says Shaista Safder, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. Babies with diarrhea may also have a fever or seem disinterested in eating. Learn the potential causes for runny stool and how to finish baby diarrhea fast.

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Credit: Garnet Photograph/Shutterstock

What Does Infant Diarrhea Look Similar?

Bottle-fed babies tend to have tan-brown poop, while breastfeed infants have loose, xanthous, and seedy stool. So how tin you tell the divergence between babe diarrhea vs. normal poop? Outset past examining the frequency of their bowel movements—not just the texture.

• RELATED: Breastfed Baby Poop: How It'south Different and What's Normal

When a babe is very young (less than a month) it's typical to come across a bowel motility every time they consume or fifty-fifty more often. After a month, the dirty diapers should irksome downward to about three or four per day; later on two months, they tin exist as exceptional equally one per 24-hour interval to i per calendar week. But if your baby has diarrhea, they'll poop 2 or iii times more than normal.

In addition, baby diarrhea looks watery, and it commonly comes in high volumes. The colour tin range from yellow to green to night chocolate-brown. Babies with diarrhea may also act agitated and fussy, and they might accept trouble feeding. These side effects tin can occur with bottle-fed infant diarrhea and breastfed baby diarrhea.

Causes of Diarrhea in Babies

Diarrhea in babies has many potential causes. Here are some of the nearly mutual ones.

Viral infections. A rotavirus is the virtually common cause of diarrhea in children ages 2 and younger. Fortunately, the number of children who get this intestinal infection has dropped significantly since the introduction of the oral rotavirus vaccine in 2006. "Vaccinated children can still get rotavirus, but they tend to have milder symptoms and recover faster," says Dr. Safder.

Antibiotics. Virtually ane in 10 children who take antibiotics develop diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain. "In addition to targeting bad bacteria, antibiotics impale off good for you bacteria in the gut, which can lead to tum upset or diarrhea," says Iona Munjal, M.D., manager of the Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Plan at The Children's Infirmary at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. If y'all recollect antibiotics are causing your baby's diarrhea, talk to your doctor before stopping the medication. Stopping antibiotics early can lead to antibody resistance and cause a bacterial infection to return.

• RELATED: The Baby Poop Guide: What'due south Normal, What's Not

Parasites. Infants in daycare centers take a higher risk of contracting giardia, an intestinal infection caused past parasites. Exposure occurs when babies put fecal-contaminated toys, food, their hands, or other objects into their mouths. Nigh children get amend without special handling.

Milk allergy. Upwardly to 3 percent of children are allergic to milk proteins found in dairy products, including about formulas, and breastfed babies tin develop allergies to milk proteins in the dairy products their moms eat. A infant with a milk protein allergy may vomit and develop hives, as well as diarrhea. If your baby has a milk protein allergy, your pediatrician may switch them to a special formula. Nursing moms may accept to forgo dairy or foods containing milk poly peptide.

Baby Diarrhea Treatments

Considering diarrhea is the trunk's way of getting rid of germs, it's best to allow the affliction run its class without medicine. "You should never give antidiarrheal medication to a infant," says Dr. Safder, because the U.Southward. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved these meds for babies. Instead, you lot can ease your trivial 1's discomfort with these tricks.

Offering lots of liquids. "Infants with diarrhea are particularly susceptible to dehydration because, pound for pound, their small bodies lose liquids faster than [those of] older children or adults," says Rebecca Ruby, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist at Rady Children'due south Hospital in San Diego. Because your baby is losing fluids from the diarrhea and probably isn't eating as much, you should offer them the breast or bottle more oft, as well as a pediatric oral rehydration potable, if your medico says it's okay. "Don't switch formulas without your dr.'s consent and don't give fruit juice. Sugary drinks like juice can worsen diarrhea symptoms," says Dr. Red. That'south considering some kids aren't able to digest the sugars easily.

• RELATED: What Causes Green Baby Poop?

Serve healthy foods. Babies who are eating solids can continue with their normal foods. "There's no bear witness that the BRAT diet [bananas, rice, absurdity, and toast], ordinarily given for those with intestinal issues, is truly helpful. Plus, information technology lacks protein," notes Dr. Ruby. Instead, doctors now recommend lean meats, such every bit chicken, in improver to starchier foods like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and crackers, likewise as bite-size pretzels and crackers to help replenish lost sodium. "Probiotics constitute in yogurt or available in oral drops can help restore salubrious bacteria in the digestive tract," adds Dr. Safder.

Protect the bum. Acid in diarrhea, continuously soiled diapers, and frequent wipings tin can lead to skin irritation and diaper rash. Dr. Cherry recommends changing your baby's diapers frequently; using a soft washcloth and warm water, instead of wipes; and patting dry or air-drying your baby's buttocks. Apply a thick coating of diaper ointment or other wet barrier, like petroleum jelly or zinc oxide, at each changing. Let your doctor know if the rash doesn't ameliorate or if it worsens afterward a few days. This oftentimes indicates a yeast infection, which requires treatment with a prescription or an over-the-counter antifungal foam.

• RELATED: Signs Your Baby Has Gas and How to Treat It

When to Telephone call the Doctor

Does your baby have yellow watery diarrhea, green diarrhea, chocolate-brown diarrhea, or anything in betwixt? Depending on the cause, these bowel movements may last between v and 14 days. You should phone call your pediatrician if your infant has whatever of the following symptoms.

• Signs of dehydration (a sunken fontanel, few wet diapers, dry eyes when crying, dry out mouth, sunken optics or lethargy)
• Mucus or foul olfactory property in three or more diarrhea stools (for infants 1 month of age or younger)
• Claret in the stool
• Severe diarrhea while taking antibiotics
• Fever (higher up 100.four degrees Fahrenheit for babies younger than iii months; to a higher place 102 degrees Fahrenheit for ages iii months to 12 months)

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Source: https://www.parents.com/baby/health/diarrhea/diarrhea-101/

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