Diarrhea occurs in people of all ages. It occurs even more often in children, because their digestive system is more sensitive to all negative influences. Loose stools in infants are generally considered normal. But when mucus appears, you need to be wary. Even if it is a little, this is evidence of irritable bowel.
But irritable bowel in itself is not a disease. Most likely, this is a reaction to unusual bacteria in the digestive system. Older children's bodies are calm about new foods. But children who have not yet reached 2 years of age can react strongly to even the most common complementary foods or to a change in the number of meals. What to do if a child has diarrhea with mucus?
Main causes of diarrhea
Eating disorders can lead to diarrhea
There are several very common causes of diarrhea that cause loose stools. They are harmless and do not require treatment. Such reasons include the following:
- power failures;
- an abundance of eaten fruits and vegetables;
- climate change;
- excited state;
- ARVI;
- taking medications to lower the temperature;
- teething
The leading indicator that special treatment is not required is the child's good condition. If a baby is breastfed and develops diarrhea, it is likely that the mother is eating unwanted foods or her milk is not sterile. In this case, an examination of the nursing woman is required.
There are other causes of childhood diarrhea. They require specialist consultation and comprehensive treatment. This type of reasons includes the following:
- gastroenteritis;
- intolerance to gluten, cow's milk, enteroclitus;
- lactase deficiency;
- binge eating.
What does white mucus in stool mean?
When the mucous membrane is injured and inflamed, mucus secretion increases. In its normal state, mucus is not noticeable in feces; it mixes evenly with feces. In case of irritation of the mucous membrane, an increased amount of mucus can be easily determined by visual inspection of defecation products during a coprogram.
Coprogram is a stool examination that allows you to determine the state of the gastrointestinal tract, the presence of digestion and absorption processes, diseases of the stomach and intestines.
Parameters determined by the coprogram:
- Color and consistency of feces;
- The presence of epithelium, starch, mucus;
- Number of red blood cells and white blood cells;
- The presence of connective tissue, muscle fibers;
- Volume of iodophilic flora, fatty acids.
The color and structure of mucus found in feces depends on the cause of its hypersecretion and the nature of the damage:
- Yellow and green mucus - the presence of a bacterial process, an admixture of pus;
- Transparent mucus - catarrhal inflammation;
- An admixture of blood, a pinkish tint of mucus - the presence of an ulcer of the mucous membrane, hemorrhagic inflammation.
When is medical attention required?
Diarrhea is dangerous due to dehydration
If an infant receives only breast milk, the normal amount of stool may vary. Even if the baby does this after every meal, there is nothing to worry about. But if the child is artificial, then he should walk no more than 2 times a day.
Babies who have reached the age of 6 months have stool about 3 times a day if they are still breastfed but are actively receiving complementary foods. If a baby has stool more than 2 times a day, then we can talk about diarrhea. There is a list of cases when you cannot delay with the help of doctors. These include the following:
- stool more often than 6 times;
- watery stool;
- fetid smell;
- green color of stool, the presence of a flaky mass of orange shades;
- red shades of stool, presence of blood;
- diarrhea is accompanied by an increase in temperature or regurgitation in the form of a fountain.
If loose stools have become a common occurrence, the child often spits up, and weight gain leaves much to be desired, a comprehensive examination is necessary. It is quite possible that there is a serious illness. First, the following tests are prescribed:
What are the diagnostic measures?
Mucus in the stool in adults is a nonspecific symptom, and in order to establish the nature of its occurrence, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis. First of all, a physical examination of the patient is carried out with the collection of personal and family history and clinical picture. The general diagnostic program includes the following:
- blood sampling for general and biochemical analysis;
- general analysis of stool and urine;
- intestinal colonoscopy;
- coprogram;
- X-ray of the stomach;
- sigmoidoscopy of the rectum;
- sowing stool for the presence of helminth eggs;
- Ultrasound of the abdominal organs.
If, based on the results of the examination, it is not possible to make an accurate diagnosis and determine why there is mucus in the stool, that is, it is impossible to prescribe treatment, then additional diagnostic measures and differential diagnosis are carried out.
Features of tests for diarrhea
It is necessary to monitor the general condition of the child
To determine the causes of stool disorders, several tests are performed. Each of them is fundamentally important, helping to create a complete picture of what is happening in the body and make the right prescriptions.
- A CBC is needed to determine the severity of inflammatory processes. If diarrhea is infectious, there will be significant changes in leukocyte counts and ESR.
- Coprogram. This examination reveals malfunctions in the enzymatic system, shows the functioning of the pancreas, helps to find out what the nature of the problem is, how severely the intestinal function is impaired. If diarrhea is in the acute stage, you won’t get the full picture. Therefore, it is necessary to first stabilize the condition, and then conduct an examination.
- A stool test for dysbacteriosis identifies bacteria living in the intestines. The resulting list of pathogenic microorganisms will help prescribe adequate therapy. After all, Staphylococcus aureus is susceptible to the effects of some drugs, and Klebsiella – to others. Timely detection of enterococci and Proteus is important. The same analysis shows whether there are beneficial bacteria. As a rule, with diarrhea they are present in minimal quantities and may be almost completely absent. This type of examination has its drawbacks. It is not done quickly: at least 5 days. And in most cases it is offered to be done at the paid services department.
- A stool/worm test is necessary to rule out helminth infection. After all, the vital activity of worms often provokes attacks of diarrhea.
- Stool culture. Such an examination gives a picture of infection with infectious diseases. The analysis takes about a week. Moreover, they can prescribe cultures for dysentery, typhoid group, staphylococci, etc.
Diseases
List of diseases that cause mucus from the anus:
- The main disease is, of course, hemorrhoids, in which accompanying symptoms also appear, such as burning and itching in the anal canal, the appearance of bloody discharge;
- Mucus from the anus can be released if there are polyps and genital warts in the body;
- This symptom of proctological diseases can also affect the development of concomitant ailments, such as anal fissure (due to constant irritation in the anal area).
Treatment options
A child may experience diarrhea with mucus during teething
The younger the child, the more dangerous diarrhea is for him. Even slight dehydration for a small body can lead to dire consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to take urgent measures, trying to correct the condition. What should you do first?
Restore lost fluid and salts. If we are talking about a baby, you cannot stop breastfeeding. The same rule applies to artificial people. You just need to try to feed more often, but in smaller amounts. When diarrhea in an infant is accompanied by vomiting, it is necessary to seek help from a medical facility in order to restore water-salt losses with the help of a dropper.
If there is no fever or vomiting, you can perform a number of manipulations yourself that will help stop diarrhea. To do this, increase the amount of fluid entering the body. The volume of additional fluid should correspond to the volume that came out with diarrhea. Special solutions are used as such additional liquid. These are Regidron, Oralit, Acesol.
It is imperative to organize the supply of glucose. You can just give sweet tea. Depending on the situation, liquid is given between feedings through a bottle, from a spoon or from a syringe (without a needle). If the child refuses, you need to drink at least 1 teaspoon every 10 minutes. If it doesn’t work out, you need to go to the hospital; you can’t leave the baby without help.
Dehydration can be identified by the following symptoms: dry lips, palms, feet, weakness, sunken eyes. To control, you can grab the skin from the abdomen with your fingers and look. How the resulting fold will behave. If there is dehydration, it will return to its original position slowly.
Taking medications as recommended by a doctor. For example, Enterofuril, Furazolidone, Stop-Diar. If diarrhea occurs as a result of the action of pathogenic microflora, then it is treated with special bacteriophages. There are Staphylococcal bacteriophage, Klebsiella bacteriophage, and others.
What is mucus?
Mucus is a clear or yellowish jelly-like substance that is normally mixed with stool and passed during bowel movements. It is almost impossible to notice it with the naked eye. Normally, mucus performs a number of functions in the body in adults and children:
- envelops the intestinal walls, allowing feces to leave the body freely and painlessly;
- provides protection to the intestinal walls, because if the stool is very hard, it can lead to cracks or ruptures in the intestines, but we previously wrote how to soften the stool;
- The mucus that is in the lungs, nasopharynx or other organs in which it performs its functions comes out along with the feces.
Mucus in the stool can be of pathological or non-pathological origin. Non-pathological mucus usually has a whitish or yellowish tint, sometimes clearly white, and with pathology it can be pink, yellow, brown, black, orange, red, bloody, or simply mixed with blood in the form of clots or veins, or in the form of a thread. With pathology, a lot of mucus will come out or even just mucus will come out instead of feces. This phenomenon cannot be ignored and you should immediately consult a doctor for advice and treatment. Only a specialist will determine why feces and mucus leave the intestines and how this can be corrected.
It turns out that the presence of a moderate amount of mucus in the stool is completely normal. It is always present in the stool, as it performs a very important function: it helps stool pass through the intestines painlessly, without causing you discomfort or pain.
What could be the reasons for green stool with mucus?
Sometimes green stools, especially those with mucus, can indicate various pathologies. But it is always important to pay attention not only to the color of the contents of the diaper, but also to the condition of the child as a whole: his behavior, activity, weight gain. If the only thing that bothers you is the color of the stool, most likely there is nothing wrong with your baby.
For example, frequent, too loose, sometimes watery, foamy green stools mixed with mucus can occur in children with low weight gain. This phenomenon occurs in infants who receive more foremilk, while hindmilk, which is more nutritious and high in calories, is received in smaller quantities. The child’s general well-being does not suffer.
A child with allergies may have green stool with mucus. In this case, blood streaks may additionally be present in large quantities in the baby’s stool; in addition, the child himself will be more irritable, capricious, sleep may be disturbed, and various rashes may appear on the skin.
Unfortunately, babies are not immune to intestinal infections, and then frequent, watery green stools with mucus will be combined with a disturbance in the child’s general well-being, weakness, elevated body temperature, weak sucking, and vomiting.
