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Child Passing Green Coloured Sticky Stool Frequently. Tried Medicines Of No Help. Suggest?
Question: my son is 18 mnth old and he is passing stool many times a day .it is green in colour n sticky ........8-9 times a day.is it normal i have tried so many medicines but there is no benefits.what should i do
Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic
The brown colour of stool is normally related to changes that occur to bile in stool as it passes through the intestine.
Green colour, in your son's case, is likely related to how quickly he is passing stool. Because he has diarrhoea and is therefore passing stool out so frequently the bile does not have the chance to change from its original green colour to the brown colour you would expect.
This is common in diarrhoea and would resolve when the diarrhoea stops.
Green colour can also be related to foods used and some medications but this is not as likely in your son's case.
The most important aspect of management of diarrohea is fluid management, it is important to prevent dehydration which can occur in children.
Diarrhoea is most commonly caused by a virus leaves the body in the stool , in some cases it can be caused by a bacteria but in if a bacteria is present there would be blood in the stool and high fever.
Your doctor would have likely taken a sample of the stool to find out if there are any abnormal organisms present, in most cases there is not and no antibiotics are necessary. The antibiotics may actually worsen the diarrhoea because diarrhoea and vomiting are side effects of antibiotics.
You may want to find out if he needs to continue them.
As mentioned treatment normally only involves managing his fluids. This means he is to hold off eating solid food till his intestines are ready to absorb food again.
He needs to drink- the best fluid would be the oral rehydration fluids like pedialyte which are available at any pharmacy.
Each time he stools he is to be given fluid to replace the fluid he would have loss in that stool- at least 4 ounce of fluid for each stool.
He also need other fluid- 500ml of fluid at least
Monitor how often he passes urine to assess for dehydration.
Other signs of dehydration are increased pulse, no tears when crying, dry skin, excess drowsiness.
At this stage- monitoring for dehydration and giving him fluids are the most important things. If you think he may be dehydrated then he should be reassessed quickly be his doctor.
The green stool will stop in a few days when the diarrhoea stops,he will be ok once you monitor his fluid status. This is key.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
The brown colour of stool is normally related to changes that occur to bile in stool as it passes through the intestine.
Green colour, in your son's case, is likely related to how quickly he is passing stool. Because he has diarrhoea and is therefore passing stool out so frequently the bile does not have the chance to change from its original green colour to the brown colour you would expect.
This is common in diarrhoea and would resolve when the diarrhoea stops.
Green colour can also be related to foods used and some medications but this is not as likely in your son's case.
The most important aspect of management of diarrohea is fluid management, it is important to prevent dehydration which can occur in children.
Diarrhoea is most commonly caused by a virus leaves the body in the stool , in some cases it can be caused by a bacteria but in if a bacteria is present there would be blood in the stool and high fever.
Your doctor would have likely taken a sample of the stool to find out if there are any abnormal organisms present, in most cases there is not and no antibiotics are necessary. The antibiotics may actually worsen the diarrhoea because diarrhoea and vomiting are side effects of antibiotics.
You may want to find out if he needs to continue them.
As mentioned treatment normally only involves managing his fluids. This means he is to hold off eating solid food till his intestines are ready to absorb food again.
He needs to drink- the best fluid would be the oral rehydration fluids like pedialyte which are available at any pharmacy.
Each time he stools he is to be given fluid to replace the fluid he would have loss in that stool- at least 4 ounce of fluid for each stool.
He also need other fluid- 500ml of fluid at least
Monitor how often he passes urine to assess for dehydration.
Other signs of dehydration are increased pulse, no tears when crying, dry skin, excess drowsiness.
At this stage- monitoring for dehydration and giving him fluids are the most important things. If you think he may be dehydrated then he should be reassessed quickly be his doctor.
The green stool will stop in a few days when the diarrhoea stops,he will be ok once you monitor his fluid status. This is key.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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