Until the age of three, a complete digestive system is formed in babies. And it is during this period that the baby’s gastrointestinal tract often presents many surprises. From time to time, children have a stool disorder, so many mothers are interested in what white diarrhea in a child indicates. If the overall well-being of the baby has significantly worsened, then you need to seek help from a pediatrician. There is no need to self-medicate and apply alternative therapies to improve the patient's condition. Self-medication often provokes the development of serious health problems.
Main reasons
There are several reasons why the shade of feces may change. Only after examining the patient will the doctor make an accurate diagnosis. What are the causes of white diarrhea?
- Food. The stool in babies who are breastfed is always lighter than in those babies who eat the mixture. If the baby feeds on the milk mixture, then the color of the feces depends on its type. After introducing a new product into the baby’s diet, whitish loose stools may occur. This phenomenon indicates that the digestive system is difficult to digest a new type of food. After the introduction of complementary foods, the shade of the bowel movement is affected by the products that the baby consumes. A green vegetable will give a greenish tint to feces, pumpkin will paint it yellowish, tomatoes - reddish. All this is a normal physiological process. If the baby consumes foods that contain a lot of calcium, white diarrhea may appear in the child. Before you start to panic, mothers need to think about what foods the baby most often eats. White diarrhea often occurs due to the use of a large amount of carbohydrates, which the body of the crumbs cannot fully absorb. After eating sweets, feces can become light. If white lumps are present in the feces, then this indicates that the child has overeaten, and the body is not able to digest such an amount of food.
- During teething, babies often have diarrhea. Under such conditions, the baby is restless, sleeps poorly and eats. Often a tooth appears within three to seven days.
- Drugs can also affect the color and texture of feces. White diarrhea often occurs due to treatment with an antifungal drug or antibiotic.
Cause for concern
During antibiotic treatment, dysbiosis often occurs. Under such conditions, the intestinal microflora changes, which negatively affects the overall health of the baby. With dysbiosis, the following can be observed:
- sharp pain in the abdomen;
- weakness;
- diarrhea of white color;
- constipation
- sleep disturbance;
- weight loss.
If one of the symptoms appears, you should consult a pediatrician, as dehydration may occur. Under such conditions, the shade of the skin of the child changes - it becomes gray and dull. The kid is usually lethargic and eats poorly.
Rotavirus infection
In the process of developing rotavirus infection, light diarrhea often also occurs. In addition, there are:
- heat;
- nausea;
- sweating
- pain in the abdomen;
- symptoms of a common cold - cough, migraine, body aches, nasal congestion.
Signs of hepatitis
Hepatitis is a serious disease in the process of development of which the color of feces often changes. There are several symptoms based on which you can determine the presence of the disease, namely:
- dark color of urine;
- body temperature rises systematically;
- there is pain under the ribs;
- rashes appear on the skin;
- the child eats and sleeps poorly.
You should know that at home it is impossible to diagnose and identify those diseases that provoked the occurrence of white diarrhea in a child. Assessing eye sclera, it is often impossible to see yellowness, but jaundice after some time still begins to manifest itself. Only a pediatrician is able to make an accurate diagnosis based on the results of a child’s examination and prescribe appropriate therapy.
With intestinal candidiasis, white diarrhea with lumps is also observed. Such an infectious disease develops with reduced immunity.
Diseases of the gallbladder and intestines
In the process of developing gallbladder disease, there is a difficulty in the outflow of bile. Feces gain a grayish light. If an inflammatory process has occurred in the pancreas, then the following symptoms appear:
- feces smell unpleasant and have a light shade;
- stomach ache;
- body temperature rises;
- feeling of nausea;
- the work of the cardiovascular system is disrupted.
In this condition, the overall health of the baby is significantly worsened, so self-medication is strictly prohibited. You can not give a child drinks medications without first consulting a pediatrician - this can trigger the development of health problems.
With intestinal inflammation:
- there is a loose stool of a white hue;
- body temperature rises;
- the child is thirsty;
- he is moody, crying and sleeps poorly.
Treatment and actions of parents
You should be aware that diarrhea often provokes dehydration. For this reason, it is necessary to give the baby to drink a warm liquid. It is best to offer mineral still water, homemade compote, chamomile broth. If the child is older than 11 months, then you must follow a diet that the pediatrician will recommend.
What to do if a child has white diarrhea, what should I do? Thanks to berry kissel and rice broth, the gastrointestinal tract can be improved. Fruits, vegetables and natural juices should be excluded from the diet. The kid is allowed to eat porridge on the water, vegetable or cereal soups, mashed potatoes without butter, milk and other fillers. Using Smecta or activated carbon, harmful substances and toxins can be removed from the baby's body. If diarrhea lasts more than two days, then you should immediately visit a doctor. This may indicate that a serious pathology is developing. An ambulance should be called immediately if, in addition to white diarrhea, the following are observed:
- heat;
- nausea;
- vomiting
- intense thirst;
- sleep disturbances;
- discoloration of urine.
It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of how to treat diarrhea in children. It all depends on the specific clinical picture and on the factor that provoked the appearance of an unpleasant symptom.
Diarrhea in adults
In frequent cases, white diarrhea in adults indicates that the intestines have not sufficiently processed the food masses. This phenomenon occurs in the process of squeezing or blocking the common bile duct with tumors or stones.
In addition to this unpleasant symptom, the patient's skin color changes - it acquires a yellowish tint, urine darkens very much. This pathological condition is not intense and occurs from time to time, while there is no pain and fever.
If one of the signs of the disease appears, it is important to visit a doctor immediately. Self-medication can trigger the development of serious health problems. If blood is present in the feces, then this may be a sign of an intestinal infection. Under such conditions, the mucous membrane of the intestinal wall is destroyed, which leads to the appearance of bloody discharge.
How to treat diarrhea in adults?
Only after a thorough examination of the patient, the doctor can determine the cause that provoked the appearance of an unpleasant symptom. Depending on the identified diseases, the doctor prescribes the appropriate therapy:
- With infectious diarrhea, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic, intestinal antiseptic, sorbent and enzymes.
- With bleeding, therapy is carried out with the help of antiulcer drugs, hemostatic drugs, infusions.
- Diarrhea after antibiotics is treated with antifungal drugs, sorbents, and probiotics.
Diarrhea Nutrition
If a person has white diarrhea, fever and weakness, then you need to balance your diet. In the process of treating a disease of the gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to eat properly. Should be included in the diet:
- crackers;
- biscuit cookies;
- lean meat - turkey, chicken, rabbit;
- fermented baked milk;
- cottage cheese;
- yogurt;
- buckwheat, rice, oatmeal.
This power scheme is indicative. Much depends on the form and severity of the disease. Depending on the physiological characteristics of the patient’s body, the doctor will recommend a specific menu.
Food is best cooked in a double boiler or oven. Boiled or stewed foods will not be able to harm, but rather, will accelerate the healing process. Upon completion of the diet, you must smoothly switch to a normal diet.
Note to patient
There are many diseases in the development process of which there is white diarrhea in an adult and a baby. Only after a thorough medical diagnosis and all the necessary laboratory tests have been completed, will the doctor be able to identify the factor that triggered the occurrence of diarrhea. Given the severity of the pathology, the individual and physiological characteristics of the patient’s body, the doctor will prescribe an appropriate therapy regimen. It is forbidden to self-medicate, as this can only exacerbate the situation. If the child systematically has white diarrhea, then you should consult a specialist, since dehydration may occur. Under such conditions, death is possible.
To speed up recovery, you must accurately follow all the doctor's recommendations and eat right. It should be excluded from the menu spicy and fatty foods - such products adversely affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and only worsen the general well-being of the patient. During therapy, it is important to drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration. It is better not to drink soda and natural juices. At the time of treatment, you need to give up alcohol and smoking.
First aid for poisoning
How to help the baby if white diarrhea occurs due to poisoning? It is imperative to call an ambulance. The appearance of the following symptoms should be cause for concern:
- drowsiness;
- the appearance of seizures;
- impaired coordination of movements;
- change in the emotional background;
- the acquisition of skin with a pale or cyanotic shade;
- disruption of the cardiovascular system;
- the appearance of breath holding.
First of all, it is necessary to ensure the baby a comfortable position. If the child has vomiting, then he should be put on his knees with his head down. If the baby has lost consciousness, then you need to put it on its side, clean the mouth of the vomit with a handkerchief and make sure that it does not interfere with breathing. You need to call an ambulance to get a doctor’s consultation and follow all his instructions. It is not recommended to self-medicate, as this can only aggravate the course of the pathological condition. Medicines should be prescribed only by a qualified health professional.