13mo ate wild animal poop!!!

[asmmommy]

any advice? my 13mo ate some sort of wild animal poop while we were camping 4 days ago. ped said not to worry. she has been fine until today she is having diarrhea. also, she may have had oranges which have given her a diaper rash in the past, so not sure if that would have anything to do with the diarrhea. any thoughts appreciated.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Can you tell us what the poo looked like, was it round or nearly round balls? If it was then odds are it was rabbit or deer and eating it shouldnt cause any issues since they are vegetarian.

I actually watched on man vs. wild the other night where he was eating deer poo and talking about what a good source of nutrition it was. (That is where they said that eating the poo of deer wouldnt cause issues)

[asmmommy]

It looked like black pond muck. Wet and I guess kind of like toothpaste consistency. Not dry pellets unfortunately. There were some wild turkeys around, not sure what their poo looks like?

[just_lily]

Gross!

I don't think there is much you can do about it now though.

I remember an MDC post a while back about a toddler who found a used condom at the park. And licked it! Blerggg!!

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

Can you tell us what the poo looked like, was it round or nearly round balls? If it was then odds are it was rabbit or deer and eating it wouldnt cause any issues since they are vegetarian. I actually watched on man vs. wild the other night where he was eating deer poo and talking about what a good source of nutrition it was.

OMG this is 100% not true. Eating feces is a health hazard no matter what land animal it comes out of. If you are starving and you have no other choice that is one thing, but in general people should always avoid eating raw feces. I am not really up to date on the risk of aquatic feces, but rabbits and deer can both harbor salmonella in their gut and their feces should not be consumed. The feces in question sound like bird feces, which definitely can harbor salmonella and e. coli

If the diarrhea persists, I would def follow up with the doctor, perhaps even insisting on a stool culture.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Originally Posted by rhiandmoi

OMG this is 100% not true. Eating feces is a health hazard no matter what land animal it comes out of. If you are starving and you have no other choice that is one thing, but in general people should always avoid eating raw feces. I am not really up to date on the risk of aquatic feces, but rabbits and deer can both harbor salmonella in their gut and their feces should not be consumed. The feces in question sound like bird feces, which definitely can harbor salmonella and e. coli

If the diarrhea persists, I would def follow up with the doctor, perhaps even insisting on a stool culture.

I am just repeating what was said on the show he went into great detail about the benefits of eating the deer poo because it was vegetarian. Since it is how to survive in extreme conditions I guess the risk of eating the poo was less than the risk of starving to death

In no way was I advocating eating any kind of poo :Puke but obviously in extreme survival training that is something they are taught to do.

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

I am just repeating what was said on the show he went into great detail about the benefits of eating the deer poo because it was vegetarian. Since it is how to survive in extreme conditions I guess the risk of eating the poo was less than the risk of starving to death

In no way was I advocating eating any kind of poo :Puke but obviously in extreme survival training that is something they are taught to do.

Yes. Extreme survival training is a totally different ball game. In that case, eating rabbit poop could save your life. But at that point your choices are starvation or rabbit poop. So totally a different choice.

In general though, don't eat poop.

[katmann]

Originally Posted by asmmommy

It looked like black pond muck. Wet and I guess kind of like toothpaste consistency. Not dry pellets unfortunately. There were some wild turkeys around, not sure what their poo looks like?

I know raccoon poop can carry a fatal parasite, but this does NOT sound like what your LO ate. Turkey isn't a bad guess, though. Definitely not deer or rabbit either. But if your ped isn't worried, then you're probably okay. And it sounds like it's been several days, so I would guess you're in the clear.

But eww!

[luv-my-boys]

if anything im suprised your ped. didnt suggest checking for parasites in a few days/weeks via your dd stool sample. There are quite a few nasty things like giardia and worms that can be transmitted to humans via animal feces. Thats the first thing other than just digestive upset that came to mind especially since it was from wild animals.

[dalia]

maybe I'm just too laid back or something but if I were you I would just keep an eye on her and not worry about it too much. stay in contact with your ped and remember that human beings have been around for a long, long time and that since the beginning babies have been putting all kinds of gross things in their mouths! try not to obsess about the worse case scenario. I imagine there are tons of kids out there that have eaten far worse things (dog poop, their own poop) and were fine. try not to freak out and keep us updated in case it happens to us!

[goldingoddess]

I am very laid back. Like to the point that I have never brought my 2 yeat old to a pediatrician.

However, in this case I would be getting my child's stool sampled and seeking out a health care professional who can diagnose parasites or bacterial infections. I would be doing these things especially if the animal poop looked like you describe and even more especially if my DC had diarrhea after the incident.

[goldingoddess]

Originally Posted by dalia

maybe I'm just too laid back or something but if I were you I would just keep an eye on her and not worry about it too much. stay in contact with your ped and remember that human beings have been around for a long, long time and that since the beginning babies have been putting all kinds of gross things in their mouths! try not to obsess about the worse case scenario. I imagine there are tons of kids out there that have eaten far worse things (dog poop, their own poop) and were fine. try not to freak out and keep us updated in case it happens to us!

I could see having this view, but from the way she described the animal poop, it sounds like it could have been a sick animal having diarrhea. Or dog poop, which is surely a very unnatural thing. And children did still get sick way back when.

[dalia]

here is a link that might be helpful.

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wi...ntify_scat.cfm

[dakotablue]

please go back to ped and insist on getting checked for parasites. There was a scary mystery diagnosis about a child who ate (I think it was raccoon) poop. It really freaked me out.

If its nothing then you'll really know and not worry every time anything happens over the next few months.

[Bubblette]

I don't mean to be a scaremonger but if there is any chance is was raccoon poop your child NEEDS to be treated for a fatal parasite they can carry. Once symptoms show up it's basically too late - a vet would probably be a better resource that your Ped.

[asmmommy]

stool sample negative

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and suggestions. Well after a couple of weeks of hemming and hawing we visited the ped. Since my daughter was having on and off mucous in her stool, she went ahead with a stool sample and ran the parasite/ova/microbiology screens and all came back negative. So I;m feeling better and we are attributing her stool problems to food allergy which we have dealt with in the past, but thought was over. Milk and eggs or maybe both I felt deep down that it was not anything serious from this event, but knowing for sure is really great and now I don't have to worry about it!