Bright feces in children indicates someproblems in the body. Violations of the activity of organs can be immediately noticed by the color of the stools and their consistency. But you shouldn't panic right away. Sometimes the light color of feces is a consequence of the foods eaten.
Feces newborn baby
Need to start with the fact that children have a shadefeces may be different depending on age. When a child is just born, his feces are called meconium. It is almost black in color, and viscous in consistency. This situation persists for four days. Then instead of meconium appears bright feces. In children who have just been born, the stool may have white or yellow blotches and a small amount of mucus. This is the norm.
Feces of babies up to three months
Why can there be light feces in a child, Komarovsky Е. О., a practicing pediatrician, tells in great detail. 7 days after the birth, the color of the stool of a baby becomes light brown or yellow. The consistency of the chair becomes liquid. If the child is healthy, then the feces will be uniform, with the smell of fermented milk products. Such feces persist up to three months of age. At the same time in the feces sometimes appear mucous or green blotches. For babies, this is the norm.
What determines the color of feces?
The color of feces primarily depends on the amountcontained in the feces of the enzyme bilirubin. This substance produces the liver. Bilirubin is released from the body along with feces or urine. Light-colored feces in a child may indicate improper production of a substance. In this case, a urinalysis should be done. And if it has a dark color, you will need the help of a pediatrician.
Also the color of feces depends on the products thatwere used. Babies who are not yet one year old eat breast milk. Therefore, their bowel movements are light and liquid. The more milk - the whiter. Over time, the diet of the child begins to change, so the feces will gradually solidify and darken.
It is necessary to know that the stool of the baby, the dietwhich is based on mixtures, will be denser than the norm. And the color can vary from yellow to gray. The same thing happens when entering into the diet of new products. When a child turns one year old, he can already use small amounts of beets. In this case, the feces immediately take a darker shade.
White feces
Why does the baby have light feces, almost white?Eaten foods can affect this. Especially if they contained a lot of calcium. For example, a young mother, worrying about the strength of the baby’s bones, begins to include in his diet a lot of milk, cottage cheese, etc. As a result of eating white foods, the color of the stool changes, respectively.
Light, almost white feces are often caused.products that contain a lot of carbohydrates. And it can also change color when teeth are cut in a child. At this time, the stool becomes not only lighter, but also liquid. White feces are the result of hepatitis. But only a doctor can determine this for sure, since the symptoms of the disease are manifested not only by the color of feces.
What should I look for when changing the color of feces?
Most often bright feces in children - a consequenceimproper nutrition. Especially if the baby is overnourished with fat cottage cheese, milk and sour cream. But nevertheless, when a child's color of feces changes, you need to carefully consider the attendant factors. Analyze the food, see if the teeth are cut, and assess the general condition of the baby.
Be sure to check for temperature.or vomiting. It is important to know whether the child has an appetite and whether sleep is disturbed. If there are any deviations from the norm, then the lightening feces may be an indication of the disease. Therefore, in this case, the baby should be examined by a pediatrician.
Causes of light feces
Why did the light feces appear in the child? The reasons for this may be different:
- Flu.In this case, the bowel movements will not only be light, but will additionally acquire a gray tint. Changes in stool color occur on the 3rd or 4th day after the onset of the disease. In some cases, stool brightens even after complete recovery. This is the reaction of the body trying to remove the remnants of drugs.
- Rotavirus infection. The child has a fever. Then begins diarrhea and vomiting. The feces first turn yellow, and the next day it becomes like clay.
- Stagnation of bile.Due to its presence in the stools, they acquire a dark color. Therefore, when the shade becomes lighter, gallstones can cause this. This should take into account the anatomical features of the body. Sometimes the bile ducts can be twisted or bent.
- Inflammation of the pancreas.Most often, this disease affects adults. But the child who is 3 years old is not immune from inflammation of the pancreas. Although mostly the disease affects children from 4 years. When inflammation is not only lighten the stool, but there are additional symptoms.
- Whipple's disease.This ailment is little known, because it is very rare. But the main symptom of the disease - frequent stool. They can be from ten and more times a day. And the color of feces with a light gray. A stool consistency pasty or foamy.
- The reaction to drugs.Children are very susceptible to medication. Therefore, the color of feces may change due to the child taking antibacterial, antipyretic or anti-inflammatory drugs.
Yellow feces
Light yellow feces in a child are considered normalif the baby is of infancy. As it grows, the stool changes its color, becoming darker. Basically, the color of feces depends on the products that are included in the diet. If you feed the baby with pumpkin or carrots in large quantities, the chair will be yellow-orange. Saturated color may indicate a disease of the pancreas, kidney or liver. If they prevent the accumulation of bile from the body, the feces become yellow.
In some cases, it becomes so becauseA new brand of mixture, which is given to the child instead of the usual one. Feces while accompanied by an unpleasant odor. If after a few days the color of the feces has not changed from yellow to normal, then you should immediately show the child to the pediatrician. Especially if vomiting, nausea, dark urine, etc., appear simultaneously.
Dysbacteriosis
Bright feces in children may occur on the backgroundsome diseases. One of them is dysbacteriosis. It can appear even in very young children. Dysbacteriosis is an imbalance in the intestines. The reasons can be diseases that the mother of the baby suffered during pregnancy, or antibacterial drugs taken by the baby, antibiotics. An important role is played by the nutrition of the mother and the baby. Dysbacteriosis is characterized by a very light stool with an unpleasant sour smell.
Hepatitis
Light feces may appear due to hepatitis.But this disease is accompanied by other factors. The child becomes lethargic, his appetite is lost and nausea begins. But the first symptom is darkening of the urine. Then fecal masses begin to brighten. At first the chair will be light yellow, and then completely turn white. At the same time, it will also acquire a grayish tint.
In children up to a year, hepatitis B occasionally begins.Especially if the baby has become a carrier of viral infection. This type of hepatitis has a hidden period. The disease can develop slowly, up to half a year. First, the child darkens the urine and brightens the stool. Next, the appetite is lost and sleep is disturbed. Then vomiting appears and the temperature rises.
Bright feces in a child (2 years) can beA sign of hepatitis A. In this case, the baby's skin turns yellow at once. First, the urine darkens, then feces turn white. All other signs of the disease are the same as in viral hepatitis B.
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is an inflammatory process inpancreas. This disease can occur in children, even at an early age. The reasons are improper nutrition and the digestive system that did not have time to form. When pancreatitis feces becomes light in color, pain in the abdomen, it is marked bloating. The child is tormented by nausea and vomiting. The baby's temperature rises and begins to thirst. In children who have emerged from infancy, the cause of pancreatitis is most often the excessive consumption of sweets and confectionery.
What to do if the child has a light-colored feces?
Bright feces in a child (2 years) can become sobecause of the nutrition. In the two-year age, the kids are already given a variety of food. The body can react differently to a change in diet. And as a result, feces sometimes become light in color. If a child does not have fever, vomiting, or other symptoms of the disease, then you should watch him for a few days. At this time, pigmented products are excluded from the diet. If the changes have not occurred and the color of the feces remains light, then the child must be shown to the pediatrician. When the feces turn white and the urine turns dark, it is an alarm signal. And if there are no more symptoms of disease (nausea, fever, vomiting, etc.), then the baby should still be examined by a doctor.
Even a child who is 3 years old canget sick with hepatitis or dysbacteriosis. Your baby may have problems with the gall bladder. But only the doctor will be able to determine the cause of light feces. In the treatment of the baby, even sparing drugs are prescribed. They can also cause light stool. In this case, you need to analyze when the feces began to change color. If, in addition to this, no additional symptoms are observed, then just wait a couple of days for the stool to return to normal again. But if this does not happen, it is better to immediately consult a doctor.
