Poop Issues Rant

[Momboss]

DCG age 2.5 has been having pale/white poop for a few days and it was orange/yellow today. Does anyone have any rules about poop concerns? This doesnt seem normal and if its a virus i dont want ir here. This was the text i got “Just called the doctor. They said the mandarin oranges and the little bit of carrots she had last night could have changed the color to orange. She said to keep monitoring it and he if she is favoring her stomach or patting her stomach that could be an indicator her stomach hurts. They said the big colors to watch out for are white, black, or red stool. She didn’t seem concerned at this point. So I guess we will continue to monitor her the next day or two .”
First of all ..just no..Little bit of mandarin oranges & a little bit of carrots isn’t going to turn poop bright orange. This child has had oranges and carrots many times before in my daycare and her poop wasnt orange afterwards. I’ve had issues with this child in the past with diarrhea and the parents telling me they give her a ton of fruit and milk. Even if the diarrhea can be “explained” i dont want to have to deal with leaky poops all the time in care and wonder if its a virus. They need to change her diet or get her colon checked.

[Michael]

As per this chart it could be too much calcium and an allergy to food such as milk. Maybe too much milk that she is allergic to?

[Alwaysgreener]

Lol this chart is for dogs. It might still apply but most humans do not eat too much grass.

[Michael]

haha, here is another chart!

[GirlMomma]

I send home immediately after one diarrhea diaper. I’ve ticked off a lot of parents, but like you, I don’t want to deal with it/spread a possible virus. They can return after 24 hours of being symptom free.

As far as the color goes, I posted about this a few weeks ago. A child had very pale/almost white stool for days. The doctor didn’t want to see the child because the child’s eyes weren’t yellow. Roughly 3 days later, the child was confirmed to have RSV and an ear infection.

[Michael]

Here are some other threads on white stools from our archives: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=white+stool

[Pestle]

Unless it's white or black, I don't consider it worth a trip to the doctor. But I don't care what explanation they or the doctor gives me for diarrhea. No diarrhea in the daycare.

[Momboss]

Ok another question! What do you consider Diarrhea? Anything mushy? Watery?
my thought is poop is supposed to be firm, log-like, there should be a shape- not smeared all over the rear/wet. Not muddy. But maybe im wrong?

[Snowmom]

Defined: Anything not contained in a diaper OR frequent, watery stools which is normally not seen in the child.

When I say frequent, I mean two or more. Stools contain SO much nasty, communicable nastiness. I will not mess around with "well, maybe it's nothing".... no, get it diagnosed or wait it out at home.

[Pestle]

What Snowmom said. Newborn poop is liquid, so you have to look for changes and discomfort, but in babies on solids, it's watery feces. I make a note in Brightwheel for constipation and stools that are looser than they should be. I text for pickup with full-blown diarrhea--either a slurry, or feathery chunks in a watery matrix. In potty-training kids who usually make it to the toilet on time, they DON'T make it to the toilet a lot of times with diarrhea, or they have urgency throughout the day.