Let’s Talk about…Diarrhea

Diarrhea can be defined as a child having anywhere from 1-6 or even more liquid stools per day.  They can be explosive, foul smelling, and have a variety of colors.  Some pediatrician may call it “toddler’s diarrhea” and say it should be ignored, but diarrhea is never normal unless associated with a passing viral infection.  These children with recurring diarrhea tend to be in pain, have bloated tummies and are commonly very uncomfortable after eating.  They also tend to have a lot of self-injurious behaviors.  Many would rather not eat and thus have muscle wasting in the extremities.

Initial laboratory studies for your doctor to consider:
STOOL For:
•    Stool for culture and sensitivity
•    Stool for fungal cultures
•    Stool for blood/occult blood
•    Fecal leukocytes
•    Stool for ova and parasites
•    Stool for quantitative fecal fat
•    Clostridia toxin A and B
•    Stool lactoferrin
•    Stool calprotectin

BLOOD
•    Complete blood count
•    Comprehensive metabolic profile
•    Inflammatory Bowel Disease Profile
•    Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate
•    C Reactive Protein
•    Quantitative IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE levels

Miscellaneous testing:
•    Sweat Chloride skin test (evaluating for Cystic Fibrosis)

Sources of diarrhea that must be addressed first and foremost:
Dietary: removal of dairy, gluten, and then consider removing fruits and juices.
Enzymes: add digestive enzymes, we use MENDING NATURALLY ENZYMES at our clinic
Antibiotics: if considering the diarrhea to be of bacterial origin
Antifungals: if considering the diarrhea to be of fungal origin
Anitparasitics: if considering the diarrhea to be of parasitic origin
Zinc: adding 20-60mg per day may be very helpful
Fiber: a must to be added to the diet of children with chronic diarrhea, in our clinic we us KARTZINEL HEALTH FIBER
Probiotics: The importance of these helpful pills cannot be stressed enough.  They can really help the bowel function.  There are many   very good probiotics.  In our clinic we use the Kartzinel Health Probiotics.  Many studies have been published affirming the positive outcomes when using probiotics.
Gastro-intestinal (GI) Referral: This step may be considered if the child continues to have chronic diarrhea.  The child may then undergo an endoscopy where the physician can look at the GI tract from the mouth down to the end of the stomach and then look at the large bowels.  If the child is diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, then your GI doctor can institute medical interventions that may dramatically help.

And that’s my approach to diarrhea.