How to stop diarrhea in babies fast
Do you want to know what’s giving your baby diarrhea? In this article, you will learn how to stop diarrhea in babies fast, including common causes and what you can do. Even when illness affects cute tiny newborns, we would like to avoid dealing with diarrhea. However, everyone has diarrhea every now and again, and infants are in no way an exception.
Baby diarrhea occurs occasionally and is quite natural. Your new baby is still getting acclimated to digestion and is just starting to investigate food. But for a little infant, excessive diarrhea might result in excessive water loss. Here is some information on runny poop in babies and when to call your physician.
Baby poop colors
What does typical baby poop looks like? The ideal appearance of baby poop is not predetermined. A rainbow of colors and textures could be seen when you open a diaper. This is due to the fact that at various ages and stages, newborns might have various types of diarrhea or watery poop.
In fact, there’s even a color baby poop chart to help parents and caregivers figure out what’s going on with a little one’s poops. A rule of thumb for poop: Any earthy color is just fine!
Your newborn’s very first poop is called meconium and doesn’t even smell bad. That’s because it’s not really poop, but just a baby’s way of cleaning out their intestines from all that time in the womb.
Meconium poop is black to green and looks greasy or tarry. You might see a bit of it mixed in with other poop for a day or two more.
After a few days, your baby’s poop will turn into a yellow mustard color. It might be watery and loose, but it’s still not diarrhea unless your baby is passing more poops than normal.
Green baby poop
Excess bile can cause green poop. A breastfed baby’s poop, as it transitions from meconium to mature milk, may look greenish. Green poop may indicate a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance in breastfed babies, which results in your baby is getting a larger portion of foremilk (watery milk) than hindmilk (thicker, fattier milk)
Does green poop in babies mean infection? If your baby has green poop that’s more in the form of diarrhea and less solid, it may be a time to call your pediatrician, as it could be a sign of an infection. Diarrhea in babies and children occurs because the intestines can’t absorb enough water from food, often because of a virus.
Baby poop white
In most cases, white curds in your baby’s poop are just undigested bits of milk fat. This is pretty typical for babies who drink breast milk, but can it happen with formula-fed babies, too. It’s not a cause for concern and you don’t have to do anything differently.
But if you suspect that your infant has white, chalky grey or pale yellow stools, you must contact your child’s pediatrician right away. The most common cause of these stools in infants is a disease called biliary atresia can be found on our website.
Dark green baby poop
Most dark green stools are caused by bile. Green stools are more common in formula fed than breastfed infants. It can be normal with both. Green stools are more common with diarrhea.
Food may be moving through the large intestine too quickly, such as due to diarrhea. As a result, bile doesn’t have time to break down completely. Green leafy vegetables, green food coloring, such as in flavored drink mixes or ice pops, iron supplements.
Mucus in baby poop
If there are no other symptoms, a tiny bit of mucus in a baby’s poop probably isn’t something to worry about. However, excessive amounts of mucus, mucus that comes in several stools at once, or concomitant diarrheal symptoms might all be evidence of an allergy, an infection of the digestive tract, or another condition.
How to help baby poop
How to make baby poop instantly: Give your baby a warm bath to relax their bowel. Gently massage your baby’s tummy in a clockwise direction. Make firm but gentle circular motions from the belly button outwards. Lie your baby on their back and gently move their legs backwards and forwards in a ‘bicycle’ motion.
What about baby diarrhea?
Newborn babies normally have soft, squishy poops, especially if they’re breastfed only. They also poop a lot — sometimes several times a day. So it can be hard to know if they have diarrhea or not.
However, if your infant has stools that are very runny or larger in size — maybe even leaking out of their diaper — and are more frequent than usual, then they have diarrhea.
Your baby may have less watery or loose stool if they are partially or entirely formula-fed. Infants who drink formula milk typically have lighter tan, harder feces. Infants who are given formula will still experience some watery diarrhea, albeit the color may fluctuate just as with regular stools.
How To Stop Diarrhea Fast – Types, Causes & Symptoms
Causes for baby diarrhea
Baby diarrhea can have a variety of reasons. The majority of these are typical and disappear on their own. Baby diarrhea often subsides quickly. In rare cases, diarrhea might be a sign that something’s not quite right, and your baby may need treatment.
Causes in breastfed babies
A medical study on 150 babies found that infants who are breastfed only have less diarrhea than babies who are partly or completely formula-fed. About 27 percent of breastfed babies got diarrhea often while almost 72 percent of babies who were on formula exclusively got diarrhea often.
There are still plenty of reasons why your baby might get diarrhea even if you’re breastfeeding them. These include:
Changes in your diet
A change in your diet might cause diarrhea in your infant if you are nursing. For instance, eating a lot of spicy food or sugar desserts one evening may alter your breast milk. This may cause your baby’s stomach to grumble and cause milk to move too rapidly, which may result in diarrhea.
Medications
Antibiotics, for example, can enter breast milk and cause diarrhea in the baby if you’re taking them. Vitamins and protein powders are two examples of dietary supplements that may seep into breast milk and upset your baby’s stomach.
It’s reasonable to believe that almost anything you eat while breastfeeding can alter your breast milk. Even a small alteration can cause diarrhea in a newborn with a sensitive stomach, though this seldom happens.
Causes in breastfed or formula-fed babies
Stomach bug
If your baby suddenly gets diarrhea, they may have a “stomach bug.” Also called the stomach flu and gastroenteritis, the stomach bug is a common culprit in baby diarrhea. It can also cause other symptoms like a vomiting and a slight fever.
If your baby has a stomach bug, they may have diarrhea and other symptoms several times over a 24-hour period. This common baby illness usually goes away on its own as quickly as it began.
Baby meds
If your child is sick, they could occasionally require medicine. Some medications may induce diarrhea and loosen your baby’s intestines. These include treatments for parasite infections as well as medicines for bacterial infections.
Some babies may even be sensitive to over-the-counter fever and pain medications for babies.
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Changes in your baby’s diet
By the time your baby is about 6 months old, they’re probably very interested in what you’re eating. And you’re likely ready to introduce them to solid foods. This change in diet can throw a wrench into baby’s digestive system.
A baby’s tummy might take some time changing gears from digesting breast milk or formula to dealing with new, solid foods in addition. This can lead to diarrhea until the digestive hiccups are smoothed over.
Other causes in formula-fed babies
Added formula ingredients
Diarrhea in babies can be brought on by using a particular formula or switching formulas. Though it’s rare, some newborns just find that various formulae are more difficult to digest. They could need some time to adjust to a new formula. Gas, diarrhea, and stomach cramps may result from this.
Dairy allergy breastfed baby poop
Milk allergy mucus in baby poop: The most common sign that a baby is allergic to milk is blood in their stool. A baby’s poop may also become more runny and frequent, similar to diarrhea. It may also contain mucus.
Milk allergy or intolerance: Milk allergy and milk intolerance are two difference things, but they can both sometimes cause diarrhea in babies. However, an allergy is uncommon. Only about 7 percent of babies under 1 year old are allergic to cow’s milk.
This kind of allergy can cause diarrhea, vomiting, or other symptoms right after feeding, or even hours to days later. Most children grow out of this allergy around the age of 5 years old.
Milk intolerance happens when your little one’s stomach can’t digest lactose, the sugars found in milk. Your baby might get this temporarily after having a stomach bug. Your baby might get diarrhea right after feeding even though they were fine with this kind of formula before.
If your baby has trouble with milk-derived formulas, check the label for ingredients like:
- casein
- lactose
- whey
Rare causes for baby diarrhea
Very rare causes of diarrhea include serious illnesses. These causes aren’t common but can cause diarrhea and other symptoms that last for a long time, or don’t really go away at all.
Rare causes of baby diarrhea include:
- serious large bowel (intestinal) infections (like Shigella colitis)
- C. difficile infection
- cystic fibrosis
- neuroendocrine tumors
Effects of baby diarrhea
If your baby has a particularly bad bout of diarrhea, look out for serious side effects like dehydration. This can sometimes happen to babies because they’re so tiny. Dehydration is especially a risk if your baby has diarrhea and is also vomiting or has a fever.
Call your doctor immediately if your baby has any signs or symptoms of dehydration from diarrhea. These include:
- dry mouth
- dry skin
- refusing to feed
- feeding only a little
- more irritable than usual
- crying without shedding tears
- weak cry
- sunken eyes
- sleepiness
- not waking up easily
- floppiness
- dry diaper for 8 to 12 hours
How to stop diarrhea in babies fast at home
Treatments at home: You can’t always stop or prevent your baby’s diarrhea, but you can help make your little one more comfortable. You can also prevent dehydration and other complications at home. In most cases, baby diarrhea gets better on its own and your baby won’t need medical treatment.
Here’s what you can do at home when your little one has diarrhea:
- Keep your baby hydrated. Keep breastfeeding if you’re nursing. If you’re formula-feeding, make the formula as normal and feed your baby.
- Ask your pediatrician about electrolyte drinks for babies like Pedialyte. These can help replace lost fluids and salts when babies have diarrhea. But note: In normal cases of diarrhea, breast milk or formula is enough.
- Change your baby’s diaper often. Try to keep them as dry as possible to help prevent a diaper rash.
- If your little one is eating solid foods, give them bits of foods that may help soothe diarrhea. These include:
- crackers
- cereal
- pasta
- bananas
Avoid the following:
- foods that can make diarrhea worse, like:
- cow’s milk, other than the dairy in their formula (you should be avoiding cow’s milk until your child is 1 year old anyway)
- apple juice and other fruit juices (you should be avoiding these until your child is 2 years old anyway)
- fried foods
- spicy foods
- sports drinks that are made for adults
- antidiarrheal medication, unless your pediatrician tells you to give it
How To Stop Diarrhea Fast – Types, Causes & Symptoms
When to see a doctor
The two colors that a baby’s (and adult’s) poop or diarrhea should never be are white and red. Call your baby’s pediatrician immediately if you see these colors in your little one’s diaper.
Very light or white poop can be a sign of a liver problem. Red diarrhea or poop can mean there’s bleeding somewhere inside. Also call your doctor if your baby has severe diarrhea, or more than 10 watery poops a day.
Get medical attention if your baby has other symptoms or signs of illness along with diarrhea. These include:
- lots of vomiting
- forceful vomit
- skin rash
- fever
- weight loss
- not gaining weight
- red or white poop
Bottom line
Babies frequently experience diarrhea as well as other gastrointestinal problems, such as gas. Baby diarrhea can be uncomfortable for both you and your child, but it often goes away on its own. Diarrhea in infants usually doesn’t require medical attention.
Up till the episode of diarrhea passes, you may keep your baby at home comfortable and well-hydrated. Rarely, the diarrhea could last longer than usual. If your infant develops severe diarrhea or diarrhea that doesn’t improve within 24 hours, contact your physician.