When Is Diarrhea Just Diarrhea?

[RainyZ]

My daughter had diarrhea this morning. Her regular morning diaper was full and she just had another one after eating breakfast. She and I are gluten free and our dinners are gluten free, so I am sure she hasn't had any. It didn't look like her gluten diapers. It wasn't fatty (gross I know) and there was no undigested food in it. Just brown mush. Could it just be some other stomach thing? She is her usual playful self and doesn't seem sick.

Couldn't happen at a worse time. Today is her follow up ped appt to talk about how the diet is doing.

She does play with the cat food if we don't pick it up before she wanders in the room... Can that have gluten in it?

[ptkds]

Cat food can definetly be the reason. It is usually full of gluten.

With my dd's, we usually decide it's gluten causing the diarrhea if they have at least 2-3 full, stinky diapers. The smell is usually worse after a glutening. One of my dd's gets a bloated tummy, too. If it is just 1 diaper, I don't blame gluten.

We have to keep our pet food in our kitchen, and the little ones have access to it. They love playing in it, too.

[gfgypsyqueen]

I look for the other symptoms before sayng my daughter has been glutened. Changes in mood, disposition, hunger, sleep habits, pee habits, etc. along with the diarrhea usually indicate she has been glutened. Finding the source is always fun. The cat food could easily be a problem. Then again, crumbs on the table, floor, etc cause problems too.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I was not diagnosed until High School and was sick the whole 17 years before. When I would be sick sick as a child I felt tired, had a fever, just was slow, and sick feeling along with diarrhea and/or throwing up but when I was just suffering from my Celiac Symptoms I was just having to go to the bathroom lots and other than that it did change my daily habbits. I hope that makes sense. Just try to keep the cat food away from her and watch what else she eats!

[Ursa Major]

Since you can't stop the child touching the cat (the cat eats and then grooms, leaving gluten all over her fur), just removing the cat's dish to where the kid can't get to it is useless.

You would do well to put your cat on a gluten-free diet as well (which is MUCH healthier for the cat) and buy gluten-free cat food (yes, it is available) to stop your baby from getting glutened.

And since it would 'only' be cross contamination, just diarrhea without other effects are quite possible.

Also, there is always a reason for diarrhea, it is not normal.

[RainyZ]

Thanks for the replies and ideas. I did think about putting the animals on gluten free diets. Especially after I read that malignancies in animals may be due to gluten. I love our pets and wouldn't want to give them anything that would hurt them.

She had a low grade fever at the dr's ofc, so I think it must have been something else. I've only fed her bananas and rice today as a precaution. No juices or dairy, just plain water. She hasn't had another diaper, so I think it wasn't gluten. She usually has 2 - 3 if it is gluten.

The dr was very pleased with her weight gain, but was bummed about the diarrhea. He mentioned she had probably gained even more weight. He also said that because she is walking, that will slow the weight so that fact that she gained what she did was huge to him. He said keep it up for a month, investigate family history and then go back.

I did tell him that no matter what he tells me, gluten will never pass her lips (nor mine) intentionally again. He was fine with that.

[JennyC]

My son has been gluten free for over a year and it is still hard for me to tell for sure when he gets glutened. I think he has other food issues, though not other common food allergies. I don't think he can tolerate artificial sweeteners and possibly some other food preservatives. It seems like when he gets glutened his diarrhea is very foul smelling. He also acts up a lot.

What brand of cat food is gluten free?

[RainyZ]

What brand of cat food is gluten free?

There are a few out there. If you search for gluten free cat food, some will come up. I also have seen a vet column in our local paper and he has recipes, so that prompted me to look for those. There is a website called healthyrecipesforpets.com that has some. I'll keep looking for that vet site. Buying it can be very expensive.

[purple]

Hm...could the diapers have gluten in them? I read that sanitary pads could have wheat in them. Does anyone know and which brands?

[slmprofesseur]

Have you considered cloth diapers? (100% cotton?) It really helped us get rid of what must have been DH, shortly after ds2's diagnosis. You don't even need pins anymore! (You could last try "mama cloth")- lol

My other ds had few runny stools while getting his molars. I can't be sure if it was molars with ds2 since I think the sitter was feeding him stuff he was allergic to. I noticed since I have been with him at home the stools have been firmer and there's no ring around the anal area (it indicates a food allergy).

[RainyZ]

Diapers never occured to me... I tried Kushies once and absolutely hated them. They were so thick that I was convinced my DD would become bow-legged! And they NEVER dried!

Any suggestions? I've heard of Snap... bumGenious... I will certainly do whatever it takes. I like the idea of cloth at her age, because I don't like the idea of putting a cloth cover over her disposable in this summer heat. I do so much laundry already though....