The child pooped mucus: causes, possible diseases, diagnosis, treatment

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Most young mothers, out of inexperience, discovering fragments of mucus in the baby's feces, start to think in a panic what was wrongly done by them personally. Or which of the ailments "clung" to the child. Experts are in a hurry to reassure - the presence of a small amount of mucus particles in the feces is considered the norm, especially if this is observed in the first days of a baby's life.

Reasons explaining the presence of a large amount of mucus

The small intestine secretes the right amount of mucus with the help of endothelium, but it is almost invisible in the total stool. If the inclusions of the substance are visible to the naked eye for a long period, most likely the child may develop serious he alth problems in the future.

There can be a large number of reasons why a child pooped with mucus, and this circumstance makes it difficult to quickly diagnose the disorders that provoked the manifestation. Primarily mucous secretionsenhanced by the activation of the endothelium. This usually occurs under the influence of active acids or alkalis that have entered the intestine. The intestine is forced to react, protecting the integrity of the walls of the organ by increasing the secretion of mucus. Mixed with food fragments and digested under the influence of enzymes, the mucus comes out with the feces, but at the same time it easily differs from them in appearance, color and consistency.

Music in feces in newborns

Increased amount of mucus in the feces can be observed in children from the first weeks of their life. And if a baby pooped with mucus, then there is nothing wrong with that. This is explained very simply: the digestive organs have not yet had time to adapt after being in the womb, so failures in their work are common. Together with food, bacteria of various effects simultaneously enter the intestines of the baby. Settling in the digestive organs, they provoke an increased production of mucous tissue. And when the situation becomes stable, excess mucus disappears.

Factors causing mucus

If the situation has been observed for a long time, and already at the age of 4 months the child pooped mucus, and the amount of mucus not only does not decrease, on the contrary, there are more inclusions and they are more clearly visible, which means that the following factors may be the cause of this:

1. Spoiled food. Young mothers often use expressed milk to feed their babies, but they forget that the product can easily spoil.
2. Reactionchild's body to other types of mixtures.
3. Failure to follow the diet of a nursing mother.
4. The negative impact of microorganisms that provoked the development of dysbacteriosis.
5. Lactose intolerance.
6. Fungal diseases transmitted by a mother to her baby at the time of birth.
7. Reaction to early transition to groundbait.

In children after a year, the main reason for the appearance of mucus in the feces is the effect of dysbacteriosis, provoked by any infection. Indeed, at this age, babies can put any objects they like into their mouths.

Other causes of mucus

If a child poops mucus at 2 years old, then dysbacteriosis may also be the cause. But even in older babies, who are already well distinguishing the objects with which they play, mucus particles (lumps) in the feces are not a rare occurrence. In this case, the manifestation may be caused by:

• malnutrition;
• allergy;
• side effects of medications;
• worms;
• colds and viral diseases;
• prolonged constipation;
• hypothermia of the pelvic organs.

In rare cases, the development of an autoimmune pathology or the presence of more serious diseases of the digestive tract can be observed. Severe illnesses in babies are considered rare. However, diseases such as cancer, bowel obstruction, colitis, cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease can cause an increase in mucus in the stool.

Stool norm for children

If monthlythe child pooped mucus, but his general condition is in order, then this is considered the norm. The stool norm for children, starting from the age of one, is as follows:

• 1-3 days postpartum. Stool resembles a tar-like mass, odorless, black-green in color.
• 3-4 days. The consistency of feces has liquid lumps with particles of mucus. The substance is more like a mushy mixture with various colors, in which there are dark green lumps with watery inclusions.
• More than five days. The chair becomes yellow with a greenish tint, mushy feces. The frequency of bowel movements usually corresponds to the frequency of feeding the baby. In the feces, lumps of a whitish color can be observed, giving off a sour smell.
• In the future, the presence of mucus should not differ much in volume and color from the total mass of feces.

Stool consistency tends to be thicker when artificially fed, but mucus may appear when changing bait. The color of the masses is also different, there is a greenish-brown or dark yellow mushy stool.

What can the consistency and color of feces indicate?

A feature of mucous inclusions is that they may differ in color. This factor is always taken into account by specialists when diagnosing the cause that created the appearance of a substance in the feces. Here is how you can determine the type of deviation by color:

1. Black or red-brown. These shades indicate that there is internal bleeding.
2. Red with blood impurities. If a child pooped mucus with blood,this suggests that the cause of the manifestation can be mechanical injuries of the digestive tract. This often happens with the inept use of enemas.
3. Pink. If, in addition, streaks of blood are observed, then the appearance of such mucus may indicate the development of Crohn's disease, the presence of erosive cracks, or the formation of ulcers on the surface of the digestive tract.
4. Green. If a child pooped green mucus, then this usually happens when there are colonies of fungal microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract that multiply rapidly.
5. White. In these cases, detachments of the epithelium become noticeable, which are usually observed during an allergic reaction that provokes irritation of the inner lining of organs.
6. Yellow. On the face, the presence of inflammatory processes. The reason for this is the presence of an increased amount of leukocytes in the mucus.

If the consistency of mucus has a density more like lumps, while the appearance of feces resembles jelly balls, these are signs of the presence of parasitic organisms. Liquid mucus indicates problems associated with pancreatic dysfunction, lactose intolerance.

Symptomatics

If a child poops clear mucus, but this phenomenon is rare, while the child is not bothered by pain in the abdomen, and he feels fine, there is absolutely no reason for concern. However, the frequent appearance of mucus with the manifestation of accompanying symptoms indicates that the child has he alth problems. Symptoms that are most oftenobserved in such cases, looks like this:

• frequent constipation and diarrhea;
• poor appetite;
• increased flatulence;
• baby worried about abdominal pain;
• baby often cries;
• fever, baby shivering or feverish;
• fatigue, lethargy, drowsiness;
• the child often asks to go to the toilet, but the urge to defecate is false;
• nausea, vomiting;
• permanent runny nose, in which the child swallows secretions, which leads to mucus entering the stomach;
• cough with sputum (the mechanism of sputum is the same).

Specialists warn: in case of profuse vomiting, fever, blood clots in the feces, the child should be immediately hospitalized.

Presence of mucus in various disorders of the digestive tract

If a child poops with mucus, then its presence can be observed with various malfunctions in the digestive tract. The most common ones are:

1. Diarrhea. In this case, the presence of mucus against the background of diarrhea can provoke dysbacteriosis. Especially often this happens against the background of the treatment of various diseases with the help of medicinal substances that destroy the microflora of the child's body. Antibiotics most often act in this way, not only disrupting the balance of trace elements involved in the assimilation of food, but also causing diarrhea.
2. Constipation. This condition is one of the symptoms indicating malfunctionsdigestive organs. In this case, the mucus may have either a transparent white color, indicating problems with the removal of hardened feces, or pale pink, which can occur with mechanical destruction of the walls of the digestive tract.

In both cases, the appearance of mucus is a kind of reaction of the digestive organs, preventing their rapid destruction.

What is required of parents

Having found unusual lumps of mucus in the feces, parents should carefully study the further behavior of the child, watching his appetite, sleep, periodically measuring body temperature. Any deviations indicating that the baby has he alth problems become a reason for parents to seek help from medical professionals.

Parents often make the mistake of starting to treat a child on their own, without being sure that they figured out the reasons for what is happening. In no case should this be done, since only the doctor decides what treatment should be prescribed to the child. This is done after the cause is diagnosed by examining the tests.

Diagnostic Methods

Abundant mucous inclusions are clearly visible on examination. Their consistency, color, quantity and other features are also determined. If the child pooped with mucus, then before going to the doctor, it is necessary to examine the feces for a more detailed explanation of the changes taking place to the specialist. In any case, the doctor will offer to study mucus secretions using laboratory equipment, so you need to be understanding of his requirements.

When examining analyzes in the laboratory, you need to provide the material to be studied, more precisely blood, feces and urine. If the specialists deem it necessary, a set of additional studies may also be prescribed: X-ray, ultrasound.

Medicated treatment

Medicine treatment is prescribed after diagnosing the causes of mucus:

• When diagnosing SARS, influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia and other viral diseases, the emphasis in choosing the right medicine is on antiviral drugs and substances that reduce the symptoms of a cold: nasal drops, rubbing, cough syrups, antipyretics, solutions for gargling.
• When exposed to infection, a course of treatment is prescribed, where the main drug substance is antibiotics and rehydrates. Medicines can also be used to treat various viruses.
• When diagnosing thrush, you need to use antifungal drugs, and the recommendation of specialists is an important factor here.
• Inflammatory processes and pathological changes are treated with glucocorticoids and sulfasalazines.
• Erosive destruction and ulcerative processes are treated with drugs that reduce swelling and have wound healing properties. Along the way, if necessary, painkillers are also prescribed.
• With complex diseases (such as pancreatitis), drugs are prescribed that contain enzymes - "Pancreatin", "Creon".

Folk methods

In some cases, doctors advise not to forget about traditional medicine. With the help of herbal teas, tinctures of honey with black radish, cough, runny nose, colds are treated.

In the treatment of dysbacteriosis, decoctions from oak bark, chamomile, shrub cinquefoil have proven themselves well. Honey, diluted with carrot juice, garlic works well against worms. With indigestion, frequent constipation, a tincture of chamomile flowers, dill seeds copes well.

Small conclusion

The presence of mucus in the stool is not a disease, as many believe, it is just one of the symptoms indicating the development of a certain kind of disease. It can also be a warning about malfunctions in the digestive tract and digestion. Specialist consultation and testing is necessary, especially if your child pooped blood and mucus.