blood in stools

[macsmum]

 ds went onto cows milk last week, on saturday i noticed quite a bit of blood in his stools, it was more of a mucousy bloody thread but there was a little actually in the poop, i am wondering if this could just be because he has been constipated,as it had took a week to show, it is a liitle hard to tell wether he is out of sorts because he has been ill on/off for 3 months and now has another ear infection???
any advice would be gratefully recieved
Emma

[Mom to M&M]

Sounds like an issue with the cow's milk to me. What was he drinking before this? Cow's milk intolerance/allergy can also lead to frequent ear infections...

[macsmum]

oh have u seen my post re the constant ear infections!!!!!
he was on aptamil forwrd before the cows milk, but had 3 ear infections whilst on this milk too?

Emma

[Mom to M&M]

How is he with Soy? If that isn't an option, rice milk? Have you discussed with your doctor and/or seen an allergist?

[macsmum]

no haven't discussed with gp but will do and no haven't seen anyone regarding allergies, he has reflux too which i know can sometimes be a factor re ear infections.

have never noticed blood in stools before or since, only once on saturday but am keeping an eye out it is just so hard to tell what is wrong as he keeps getting the ear infections and bronchialitis!

Thanks for the info
Emma

[Mom to M&M]

Yes, reflux can lead to ear infections - however milk intolerances can aggravate both reflux and ear infections. What is he on for his reflux? I would strongly suspect a milk problem, personally... Big hugs to you - hope all clears up soon

[macsmum]

he is on ranitidine

Emma

[macsmum]

if he has an allergy to cows milk, would he be ok on the aptamil growing up milk age for 1 to 3 yrs i have got some of this in thinking i would try it? what do u think?

Emma

[Mom to M&M]

Ranitidine (Zantac) is not a very effective medicine for reflux - babies quickly develop a tolerance to it and need jumps in dosage very quickly. I would suspect that he may also have a problem with Aptamil as he had so many ear infections on that too and that is still milk-based. It's more likely an intolerance than a true allergy...

[macsmum]

ok so what should i give him!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i will try to get to see health visitor on thursday, but the reflux seems under cotrol apart from the ear infection saga

[Mom to M&M]

If he's OK with soy you can try soy milk. If not, rice milk (making sure to supplement other fats and proteins in his diet). I would definitely speak with your HV first though. FYI, milk intolerance can also lead to constipation.

[macsmum]

well yep he is constipated since the cows milk was introduced

[motherof3]

Totally know what you are going through!  With my first dd as soon as we intro cow's milk at 1yr she started getting consitpated.  I never noticed any mucous in her stools but I do know that this is a sign of a milk intolerance b/c Abby's GI mentioned this to us b/c she has a milk/soy protein intolerance.  What formula was he on prior to intro the cow's milk?  If he was doing okay on this I would put him back on it till you can get in to see a dr.  It might be good for his system b/c it is probably irriated from the cow's milk. 

I left other dd Payton on formula until 18 months b/c of the issues we had with switching Jackie.  She didn't have as much of a problem but still has a slight allergy/intolerance to milk that consitpates her. 

I am assuming that you are in the UK and I know that it is harder to get an appt with a pedi GI but it might be well worth it.  They just have loads more experience with the reflux and milk intolerances.  Zantac isn't really effective for reflux.  Is he been doing good on it?  It didn't do much for Abby so the GI started her on Prevacid solutabs.  They are working great for her.  She takes them twice per day.  I think they are available in the UK.  Might be worth a mention if the reflux is still bothering him.

Good Luck

Andrea

[macsmum]

we have just rentroduced the zantac as since a bout of gastro the reflux seemed to be bothering him, seems to be under control again now(fingers crossed), he was on aptamil follow on milk and i will put him back on this tommorow to see if this helps too, we had seen a paed that was totally not interested regards the reflux and just told us to stop the meds which we did bt now back on.

Thanks for the help
Emma

[First Time Mom]

My dd had blood in her stool when she was 6 weeks old and it continued until we went to an allergist and discovered she had a milk protein allergy. With the protein allergy their intestines get very irritated until they bleed. Often, I was told, there will be blood in the stool but it will not be visable so a stool sample is required to confirm blood. After that, they do blood work before and after milk is given to see if there is actually an allergy. My dd is now getting over her allergy at 14 months. At 13 months we gave her yogurt and cheese and she was fine but she couldn't take any milk. We finally started her on 2% milk which she was fine on, then we gradually cut it with whole milk and I will be doing a complete switch next week. Maybe try yogurt (high fat and plain, I use one that is 6% fat) and cheese to see if there is still a reaction?