Why does a child have green feces: detailed information

Green feces in a child is something that parents often worry about. There are many reasons for such changes in stool: both normal physiological and pathological. Newborn babies are a separate topic, their chair can be very surprising for unprepared parents, so you need to figure it out in order to keep the situation under control.

Green feces in newborns

In babies, all the organs of the gastrointestinal tract finish forming in the womb. Until the children are born, they swallow amniotic fluid, their secretions, particles of their own peeled skin. All this, getting into their body, is processed, and as a result, the original feces - meconium - is formed in the intestines.

As soon as the baby is born, on the first day and several subsequent days, the feces come out, it has a marsh-green color, in consistency it can be pasty or mushy. This is the absolute norm.

When a child receives his first food, and most often it is breast milk, a portion of bacteria enters his stomach, and they already begin to establish the digestion process. The stool gradually changes color to yellow, and then, after a while, when the nutrition is getting better, to brown.

Causes of green feces in babies up to 1.5 - 2 years old

Since the gastrointestinal tract is initially immature and does not have enough enzymes to process food, there may be some disruptions accompanied by green feces.

The following factors can affect the color of the stool in a green tint:

• changing the diet of a nursing mother (if natural feeding);
• replacing the mixture with another;
• excess sugar in the mixture;
• an excess of iron in the mixture;
• indigestion in a baby;
• the introduction of the first solid food into the baby's diet;
• Teething, when a child pulls objects into his mouth and thus brings bacteria into the stomach.

Here it is possible to track the child's reaction and eliminate some of the reasons on their own, for example, choose the right mixture, adjust your diet, postpone the introduction of complementary foods.

If, after such changes, the feces still remain green, a specialist consultation is necessary, because, perhaps, the reason lies deeper.

For reference! If a breastfed baby is not properly attached to the breast and only sucks the front milk is liquid, and the back is not fatty, then his stool can be more liquid and have green coloring. Therefore, it is so important that the baby also drinks the nutritious back portion of the mother's milk.

Discoloration of feces in children over 2 years of age

Older children no longer eat formula or breast milk; they have a lot of foods in their diet. Feces can turn green when eating foods such as:

• green vegetables and fruits;
• Red beans;
• sea ​​fish;
• red meat;
• juices, gum and candies with dyes.

However, foods are not always the source of green stools, the reason may lie in:

• helminthic invasion;
• lactase deficiency;
• allergic reactions to certain food groups;
• enterocolitis;
• dysbiosis;
• infectious disease;
• taking specific drugs and vitamins;
• congenital pathology of the digestive tract.

If the stool is green, but the child is cheerful, cheerful and there are no additional changes, most likely there is no cause for concern. It is necessary to be wary when the following symptoms appear:

• temperature increase;
• chills, cold sweats;
• nausea, vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• poor appetite;
• the child's lethargy and moodiness;
• abdominal pain;
• the presence in the feces of impurities of blood, mucus, pus;
• the appearance of a rash;
• bloating.

Abnormal stool color in combination with blood and mucus in it indicates inflammation in the digestive tract. Fever, vomiting, and diarrhea indicate either acute poisoning or an infectious disease.

Therefore, it is necessary to immediately consult a doctor, since the child's body in this case begins to dehydrate, and the infection and toxins spread further.

Intestinal infections: classification

Class	Views
1. Bacterial	Dysentery; · Salmonellosis; Cholera; · typhoid fever; • yersiniosis; · Botulism.
2. Viral	Enterovirus; · Rotavirus; · Adenovirus; · Coronavirus.
3. Protozoan	Giardiasis; · Amoebiasis.

What to do if a child's feces are green

As mentioned above, if there are no additional symptoms, you can either take a wait-and-see tactic or try to cancel some innovations in the diet.

If alarming symptoms are present, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician, who, in turn, can refer to a gastroenterologist, allergist and immunologist.

In order to understand the cause of the child's condition, it will be necessary to pass tests:

• blood;
• urine;
• feces;
• swab from the anus.

In a conversation with doctors, it is necessary to tell in detail about the child's reactions to food, his diseases (if any), about what the baby has recently tried.

In some cases, children undergo an ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract, other procedures such as colonoscopy and endoscopy are prohibited for them.

Based on the test results, the doctor diagnoses and prescribes treatment.

Treatment

If the child's condition worsens, he starts vomiting and frequent diarrhea, it is necessary before an ambulance arrives solder it with special solutions, for example, Rehydron to normalize the water-salt balance in the body. You can also give any sorbents that are in the home medicine cabinet, for example, simple activated carbon, Polysorb or Smecta. They will absorb at least some of the toxins from the intestines.

Attention! It is dangerous to give any additional medications (especially to infants) without the agreement of a doctor, because the cause of the green stool and general malaise is unknown.

Parents before the arrival of the doctor highly discouraged to do following:

• give an enema to a child;
• give fixing drugs like "Loperamide", feces should leave the intestines, and not stay in it;
• give pain relievers, since the doctor, due to suppressed symptoms, will not be able to understand the exact picture of the disease and begin treatment.
  

  Do not give any medicine to your child until a doctor's examination

If a child is admitted to an emergency room with a diagnosis of green stools and vomiting, he can either be admitted to an infectious disease ward with closed boxes or to an intensive care unit.

Depending on each case, such procedures can be performed as:

• gastric lavage;
• installation of a dropper for dehydration.
  

  Dropper for dehydration with saline

The doctor may prescribe:

• antibiotics;
• antiviral drugs;
• absorbent agents;
• enzymatic agents;
• probiotics and prebiotics;
• antifungal agents;
• antibacterial drugs;
• anthelmintic drugs.

After stabilization of the condition, it is necessary to organize the nutrition of the child. Breastfed babies should be breastfed more often and boiled water from a bottle should be given to replenish lost fluid. Useful substances in mother's milk will help to establish the digestive tract.

Bottle-fed babies need to find the right lactose-free formula.

From a year old, babies need to establish a gentle diet, which will include vegetable purees and soups, low-fat dairy products, cereals on the water, unsweetened compotes, black tea, fruit drink.

Prevention of green stool in children

1. Food always comes first. It should be age appropriate and useful. For older children, foods with harmful chemical additives and dyes should be minimized in the diet.
   

   Nutrition should be appropriate for the child's age and natural

2. Cleanliness is the key to health! And this is not just a slogan from Soviet posters, but a guide to action. Small children are constantly pulling everything into their mouths. Of course, it is impossible to protect them from all microbes, but it is necessary to maintain cleanliness in the house and periodically wash toys that children lick. Babies after a year need to be explained how important it is to wash their hands. It is necessary that they learn this rule and do not put dirty hands in their mouths.
   

   Remember to wash your child's toys and hands.

3. In no case do not allow the child to eat on the street with dirty hands, as well as allow him to eat raw foods (for example, many parents give their children non-thermally processed homemade chicken eggs). It is fraught with such diseases as salmonellosis, cholera, yersiniosis, dysentery.
   

   The child should eat at home

Do not be immediately afraid of the appearance of green feces in a baby, because it often happens in adults. Monitoring the general condition of the child is the main task of the parents. Then, even in case of suspicious changes in the baby's body, it will be possible to promptly provide assistance.

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