>Baby boy born early February,1998.... Mom smokes 8 or less cigarettes per day.<
Could explain a great deal. Some babies have many problems when motehrs
smoke, and mothers often underestimate what they smoke when telling health
professionals. Have seen colic and blood in stools and other allergy
sympptoms resolve once mother reduces or quits. A couple of studies showed
up to 90% of 3 month old babies of smokers (dad or mom) have colic, ie the
gut is affected..
>Began fussiness and exhibited "high need" behaviors, also began having
>some small specks of mucous and blood in bowel movements. <
Did stress, activity, smoking increase around this time? Diet change?
>MD said give Mylecon gtts.<
Some babies with damaged guts get worse on these artificially preserved and
often coloured, flavoured "remedies".
>Parents also began giving sips of water occasionally. Well water has been
>tested positive for colliforms (not fecal). Water was not boiled before
>giving to baby.< Why not, at this age, when there is no absolutely safe
>well water anywhere in the world? What are nitrate levels in wells? Other
>possible contaminants? Algal toxins, amoeba...
>Began having trouble passing stools, mom used rectal thermometer on advice
>of MD to help baby pass stools.<
How exactly is the mother supposed to do this? I'd consider this assault,
and dangerous, and was not surprised to read the next bit...
> Began having bright red stools. MD said was from moms bleeding nipples
>(mom wasn't having bleeding nipples)<
Even if she had been, it wouldn't be bright red after digestion! but black.
> LC encouraged mom to remove dairy from diet<
What evidence was there to suugest dairy was a problem, before this was
suggested?
>and to only breastfeed to give baby a break from the solids. Baby began
>8-10 loose stools per day.<
Could be lactose intolerance given sudden increase of lactose after a
period when it had been less, into a damaged gut. Or concomitant and
coincidental anything else, from well water bugs such as giardia or
cryptospiridium onwards. Unless you test, you don't know they're in the
water, as Sydney has discovered after privatising its water supply.
>More mucous and blood in stools. Mom took dairy out of her diet, which she
>does not feel has helped.<
She may be right. Or she may not have done it well enough. Or it may be
another food not dairy. Or it may still be the 4000+ chemicals from
tobacco. Proper allergy history needed.
>Five months.. MD dilated rectum with finger to "rule out fissures".<
Or create one? Is all this how an adult with a painful sensitive gut and
bleeding from the lower bowel would be treated in the US? If not, why is it
happening to babies? Adult fingers are pretty big compared to babies
bottoms, so scale that up for adults.
>Bleeding increased , diapers "alarming", and by 6 months baby having very
frequent bms every time he eats [??sphincter damage??]
>Baby has become very fussy, acts like he is having stomach pain, continues
>to wake at night with screaming and does not accept the breast at times.
>Bowel movements explosive, seems very unsettled when nursing.<
I bet he's having pain. The mother must believe that or she'll go demented.
In my experience, only the knowledge that the child is in deep pain (not
just "difficult") can keep you sane through this. Is this by now naturally
very stressed mother smoking more to help herself cope with the distress of
her child? What about other household members?
>Visit with gastroenterologist last week. MD said baby is allergic to
breast milk and that mother is making him sick. ,
Not breastmilk, maybe something in it. Allergy investigations to date sound
less than ideal, and smoking is not being mentioned.
> Stated that baby is having starvation stools, that mother must stop
>breastfeeding and baby must go on special diet. <
This problem needs to be resolved while baby still has access to
breastmilk. For every such baby who improves dramatically on expensive
hypoallergenic and smoke-free formulas there are others who break down
completely.
>MD wants baby to undergo sigmoidoscopy this week.<
What is he looking for, and what will it tell him to do? Unless he can tell
teh motehr this clearly, I wouldn't say yes at this stage. Say he finds
evidence of inflammation and allergy, we still have the problem that we
have to discover what's doing that, and changing diet before we know can be
catastrophic (they're the babies who end up on TPN after multiple formula
changes).
>Mother very concerned, wants to continue breastfeeding, wants to find out
>what is going on.< Good on her. So would I.
>No stool cultures have been done.<
???????
>Mom wanted to let me know today that baby has been having frequent sweats
>and soaks his clothing<
Whatever the other causes of this may be, some allergic kids do this. read
Doris Rapp's work.
I'll be interested to read what the list makes of this one. Get the mother
to read my smoking article from JHL 1991 and see what she thinks.
Maureen Minchin, IBCLC. Christ Church Vicarage, 14 Acland St., St.Kilda,
Vic. 3182 Australia. tel/fax: 61 3 9537 2640
"Taking paths of least resistance is what makes rivers - and people -
crooked." poster in Palmerston North NZ bookshop...
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