Need advice about a seasonally occuring stomach illness in ODS (2 1/2)

[barefootmama0709]

I thought about posting this in Allergies, but I'm not sure that's what it is yet, so I think it's more appropriate in a more general forum.

So, I need some advice. My son went to bed perfectly healthy on Saturday night, and woke up with diarrhea on Sunday morning. It is WARNING-TMI now green, mucous-y stool; he formerly had brownish-orange mucous-y stool that was nearly liquid. This is the ONLY thing that's wrong-he acts completely fine; not lethargic, cranky or feverish, and he is a very dramatic kid. If he felt really crappy, he would let me know for sure!
Now, here's the thing. He had nearly the EXACT same illness last year, in the beginning of June (last year he vomited a few times, but not many). It lasted approximately 2 weeks last time. This is an indication to me that something is out of whack in his body, since he is clearly having trouble handling the seasonal change (we live in VT and summer doesn't really start until June here).
My first theory: he has both food allergies that aren't severe and some other airborne allergies that occur in the spring/summer, and his body is reacting so strongly due to the multiple allergic reactions going on. That's the only thing I can think of though-I would love to hear other people's thoughts on the subject.

[kjbrown92]

So he normally has brownish-orange mucousy stool that is nearly liquid all the time?And now it's green instead of orange? Is it more liquid than the nearly liquid of the brownish-orange?

I'd say if he's got mucousy almost liquid stool all the time, then yes, he's got inflammation which is probably food allergy or intolerance. Is there some food that comes out now that he eats that he doesn't normally eat other times of the year? fresh strawberries? cherries? (trying to think what's in season now). Or it could be seasonal inhaled allergies on top of food intolerance, but it seems like he'd have sneezing, runny nose kind of things on top of the diarrhea if that were true. You could try keeping a food journal and see if you notice trends.

Of course it could also just be viral (the green). But mucousy almost liquid stools is still something to think about when it's all year round.

[barefootmama0709]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

So he normally has brownish-orange mucousy stool that is nearly liquid all the time?And now it's green instead of orange? Is it more liquid than the nearly liquid of the brownish-orange?

^^No. He normally poops once/twice a day and it's not liquid. He began with orange liquid-y stool on Sunday, and progressed to green liquid-y stool. I have only been feeding him foods that I know don't upset his tummy, too-plain yogurt, banana, oatmeal-nothing heavy.

[kjbrown92]

What about BRAT - bananas, rice, applesauce, toast? Rice is a good binding food. If it's once a year, it sounds like it could be viral.

[Llyra]

It sounds a lot like a rotavirus to me. Kids typically contract it multiple times in childhood, and each attack gets progressively milder as they develop immunities to the virus. By adolescence, infections will usually be asymptomatic. The normal course of the illness is 3 to 8 days, but the diarrhea can persist up to about two weeks. When they're younger, there's often vomiting, but as they get older, you'll often see only diarrhea. The virus also causes temporary lactose intolerance, due to damage to the intestine that takes time to heal. A lot of kids will continue to have diarrhea once the actual illness is over, if they're getting liquid milk, soft cheeses, or ice cream, which contain a lot of lactose.

Probiotics, and stopping milk temporarily, can help the gut to heal. And you'll of course want to watch his hydration.