Green stool in children - possible causes and treatment features

Why does the child have green stools? This is a common question. We will understand it in more detail. Children's stool shows the activity of the digestive tract of the child in particular and the state of health in general.

Often, parents begin to worry about green diarrhea, which can begin at any age. In some cases, it does not affect well-being, but sometimes it is accompanied by many negative symptoms that make up the clinical picture of a disease. So, in what cases is such a chair an alarm, and in which cases is a consequence of the usual activity of the digestive tract?

List of possible reasons

What causes green stool in children? Its causes may be different, they are determined by the state of health, age and nutrition of the baby. If such an unpleasant phenomenon appears, it is first necessary to establish its possible causes. A number of provocative factors are normal and can reassure parents, while others indicate the presence of pathologies that need to be identified in the specialist’s office.

The reasons why you should not worry are:

• Meconium. The specific activity of the child’s stomach in the first ten days of his life determines the dark color of the stool.
• The formation of the digestive tract. The stool of a greenish tint during the first year during breastfeeding is explained by an underdeveloped gastrointestinal tract in the baby. Gradually, his activities will return to normal.
• Lactation. The fluid consistency of the stool is the result of absorption by the baby of non-fat, front mother’s milk.
• The specifics of the mother’s breast. If the stool remains green and fluid in the first year, it may be due to inverted nipples or tight maternal breasts. In such a situation, the formation of a child's chair can drag on.

And for what reason can a green stool with mucus appear in a child?

• The diet of a woman with HB. If the menu of a nursing mother has a large amount of greens and vegetables, as well as products containing carbohydrates, green diarrhea can be triggered in the child. It can be called broccoli, dill, spinach, parsley, green varieties of pears, cucumbers, apples.
• Artificial feeding. When using milk mixtures that contain a lot of iron: Nutrilon, NAN, etc.
• Introduction to the diet of the baby complementary foods. At the first acquaintance with a number of products (pear, broccoli, sweet porridge, apple), the color of the stool of the child may change.
• The specifics of nutrition. Older children, that is, from three to five years old, with a fully formed gastrointestinal tract, may have green stools due to malnutrition, which means: excessive consumption of green foods (pears, parsley, apples, sorrel, lettuce, onions, spinach) and carbohydrates (confectionery, sweets, chocolate, pastries).

Green stool in children is a common occurrence.

Dangerous reasons

But there are dangerous causes of the described disorder. These include the following:

1. Dysbacteriosis associated with improper introduction of complementary foods to the diet, as well as past somatic diseases and intestinal infections, which were treated with antibiotics.
2. Dysentery.
3. Intestinal infections - campylobacteriosis, yersiniosis, shigellosis, rotavirus infection, Escherichiosis, etc.
4. Salmonellosis due to intake of insufficiently processed thermally or raw fish, chicken eggs.

With the appearance of green stool in a month-old baby, this symptom should not be ignored. It is necessary to carefully analyze all the facts and draw primary conclusions about what reason could cause diarrhea. If it is associated with nutrition and age characteristics, fits into the normal range, then do not worry. However, if you suspect serious problems with the health of the child, you should immediately contact a specialist. The accompanying signs will help to clarify the situation.

Associated symptoms

If there are any health problems, then green stool in children will not be the only sign of pathology. The clinical picture is a combination of a number of symptoms. That is why you need to monitor the condition of the child and establish the presence of any other deviations from normal indicators:

• Temperature. If green stools are accompanied by temperature, then these are signs of salmonellosis or dysentery.
• The consistency of the chair. If it is foamy, then this is an indicator of intestinal infections and dysbiosis. Green stool with bloody clots and mucus is an alarming symptom of dysentery. Without blood, but with mucus - salmonellosis.
• Color. With the dark green color of the baby stool, one can judge the consequences of salmonellosis. If it is light, then this is an ordinary bowel disorder.
• Smell. Rotting and sour - a sign of dysbiosis, unbearable and fetid - intestinal infection.
• Vomiting and regurgitation. With green stool in young children, frequent spitting up is a sign of dysbiosis. In older patients, vomiting can become a symptom of dysentery, and persistent and profuse vomiting can lead to salmonellosis.

The presence of problems

Vagaries, lack of sleep, anxiety, refusal of food when the child is a month old, green stools - such signs show that, most likely, he has some kind of health problem.

An older kid who can already talk will also complain of pain in the abdomen. And this means that he has serious intestinal pathologies.

With a green stool without temperature and a number of related symptoms, as well as with the continued activity and mobility of the child, you do not need to worry. Over time, such an unpleasant phenomenon will not bother, everything will return to normal. However, if there are multiple deviations from the usual state, you must urgently go to the hospital. And before the medical examination, some actions should be taken.

What to do before seeing a doctor?

Before contacting a medical institution with green stool in children, accompanied by vomiting, fever and worsening of the condition of the child as a whole, you can advise parents to take some manipulations:

1. To give the baby in small portions "Enterodesum", "Regidron" or "Oralit" - special salt solutions that are in any pharmacy and well make up for fluid loss.
2. It is undesirable to solder a child with plain water, as it can further increase vomiting.
3. Depending on age, choose one of the following sorbents: Enterosgel, Polypefan, or Smecta, which absorb toxins and help remove them from the body.
4. No other medicines, especially antibiotics, can be given to a child before medical advice with green stool. This can further worsen his condition.
5. Breastfeeding should not be stopped, but the daily dose of breast milk should be reduced by a third.
6. A hungry pause should be no longer than six hours.

Such actions temporarily alleviate the condition of a small patient. However, you should not delay a visit or call a specialist. An urgent need to establish a diagnosis and immediately begin appropriate treatment procedures.

Diagnostics

According to the results of research tests, doctors in a medical institution will be able to more accurately determine the cause of the green stool in a child, and also say whether this is a pathology or the norm. If necessary, the following diagnostic methods can be used:

• back sowing of vomit and feces;
• analysis of feces of the child for dysbiosis;
• urine analysis;
• sigmoidoscopy, that is, a visual analysis of the condition of the rectum;
• coprogram;
• Blood rnga for determination of antibodies to salmonella;
• general blood test.

According to the results - therapy

In the process of diagnosis, the cause of the green stool will be established, whether it is a sign of a particular pathology. If pathological deviations in health are found, the specialist will prescribe a specific treatment. In their absence, the doctor can only advise what to do in the future to bring the color of feces back to normal.

And how to treat green stool in an infant?

Treatment

What to do if a child has a green stool? It is determined by all diagnostic results. If there is a disease, a therapeutic course will be required. It usually looks like this:

• With a stool with green mucus, a special diet is necessarily prescribed for the child.
• If the baby has dysbiosis, probiotics are prescribed, bacteriophages - "Bifiform", "Enterol", "Bifilin", "Acipol", "Bifidumbacterin", "Linex".
• For intestinal infections, chemotherapy and antibiotics are prescribed (Ceftazidime, Nevigramon, Ciprofloxacin, Nergam, Meronem, Ercefuril, Tienam, Furazolidone, Rifampicin, Gentamicin, Anamycin sulfate ”,“ Kanamycin ”), lactoglobulins, enterosorbents, special bacteriophages, enteric issunoglobulins.
• Rehydration is carried out orally: “Gastrolit”, “Citroglucosolan”, “Regidron”, “Oralit”.
• Enzyme treatment - Mezim Forte, Festal, Pancurmen, Creon, Pancreatin, Digestal, Abomin-Pepsin.
• Antiallergic drugs.
• Antidiarrheal drugs: Imodium, Diarol.
• Mitropic antispasmodics for suppressing pain - “Spasmomen 40”, “Drotaverin”, “Papaverin”.

Prevention

As a prophylaxis with green liquid stool in a child, it is assumed that the following requirements are constantly met:

1. A nursing mother should follow a diet and not use antibiotics if possible.
2. With artificial feeding, choose the optimal mixture.
3. Gradually introduce complementary foods.
4. Normalize the nutrition of an older child (that is, after 3 years).
5. Adults are forbidden to lick baby's dummies and spoons, because together with saliva, you can bring the child an intestinal infection.

We hope you find out why the child has green stools and now know what to do in this case.