Smelly Nappies & lots of them!!!

[Lou C]

This may seen like rather a strange question, but Zachary has several dirty nappies in a day and they smell like nothing I've ever smelled before, (foul is the word that comes to mind!) and believe me I've changed a heck of a lot of nappies in my time(I was a nursery nurse for 9 years and have 2 other children of my own) Is this just the soya or could it be that he has an intolerance to something else as well as the dairy allergy.

[tigerlily]

This sounds A LOT like Gluten Intolerance/Coeliac Disease!!! We've been there and the smell is foul, there is not other word for it! I have heard of one mother whose child had to have the nappy changed 20 (!!!) times a day because of this problem!!! Sometimes the poo is green in color as well, or bloody with mucus (SORRY TO BE SO GRAPHIC).

My daughter has gone from 1 to 3 (average day) poo nappies a day with her gluten intolerance.

If you would like to PM me, I could recommend some useful book titles on the subject.

Vanessa.:)

[Lou C]

Hi Vanessa, Thank you for that. I have cut out wheat/gluten from today will keep him off it for a few days and see how things go. At the moment he has on average about 4 dirty nappies a day and they are full! and very loose.
If this makes a difference I can then go to GP and ask for a test. Thanks again.

[Zarina]

Full smelly nappies is quite a common thing with my son, just when I think everything is o.k. and i'm quite sure he hasn't eaten any dairy he then has a day with about 3-4 runny nappies and sometimes I don't know what caused it and then it takes about a week to get over it and back to normal. And then it goes and happens all over again.

[matt]

if it's wheat then it'll take a bit longer than a couple of days as it needs to get out of the system. give it two weeks. if no improvement then it's not that.

[Lou C]

Well Zachary's been off wheat/gluten for a week and day by day there has been a definate improvement, we're now down to one nappy a day and it smells "normal" although still qiute loose, but I guess given that soya is a bean and his diet mainly consists of fruit, veg and soya milk it's hardly surprising. I've kept a diary and will now reintroduce the wheat so I can record the change before I go see the GP. Any tips on how to approach it with her would be greatly appreciated. Looks like the breadmaker's definately on the shopping list!!! Lou xx

[matt]

should be a simple matter of pointing out the results of your test. assuming that the nappies get bad agian when you reintro the wheat.... it's the return of bad results that prove the problem not lack of them... so unfortunately you have to bite the bullet and feed stuff that you know will make them ill. not the end of the world though.:o

if the gp doesn't believe you then ask to see different one.

[cnc]

The other thing to remember is that even if the GP doesn't believe you- he's your son, it's up to you what you feed him.
It is useful to get a GP to believe you, and if you have documented evidence it should help a lot. Do you already have a dietician??

[Lou C]

Yes Claire, yes he is under the dietician for the Dairy allergy, and the paediatrician for the dairy allergy and the asthma.
I gave him a "goodies" bar last night which is oats but says "contains gluten" by 10.30 this morning he had done 2 sloppy nappies and the smell was back although not as intense as previously, but then the amount of gluten is considerably less than he was having. Will go to GP next week. I have a good relationship with my GP, she is quite good and readily admits if she doesn't know much about something, she usually refers me for whatever I ask for, but you just don't want to come across as being some neurotic mother, and I don't want to waste her time either. At the end of the day he is very healthy and happy, so I find it hard to believe he may have coeliac, I associate it with failure to thrive. Lou xx

[cnc]

As far as I understand you can have gluten/ wheat intolerances without having coelic disease. My brother is wheat (possibly gluten, I never remember) intolerant- IBS related, but was not offered coeliac tests. Coeliac can be diagnosed with a blood test- was one of the many things I was tested for recently, but my brothers problems, were done the same way mine were- reintroduction tests.
Copper I'm sure will tell you that I'm speaking a load of rubbish....

[Copper]

Now come on Claire I have never said you talk rubbish - Matt maybe :D

My eldest daughter (in her 20s) was diagnosed with various food problems last year. She is gluten, wheat and dairy intolerant amongst other things. She is not coeliac. It sounds like your little one has a problem with gluten at the moment. Once you have an intolerance even a small amount will make you feel ill. It is possible that he might grow out of it but for now I would try and keep gluten out of his diet and see how he gets on. The only way to tell if he has grown out of it later is to introduce a small amount into his diet.
My daughter (PA) is on this list so she might post a reply when she is not busy at work.

[cnc]

No I know you never have, but I don't fully trust myself to make sense when I post!! So I know you will correct technical stuff, if you think it's wrong!!