Raw Milk- tummy trouble

[hdeering]

I just started my 19 month old on raw milk- certified raw milk from Texas. I drink it myself, but she drinks probably around 2.5 cups a day (maybe a little less). She had been doing fine with it, but now I notice her poop is runny and there was a slight bit of bloody mucus when she was wiped (TMI, I know). We do EC, so it's on the potty.

Should I back off on the raw milk and switch back to store bought organic for a while? I had some diarrhea myself for about a week, and I thought hers was related, but now with the bloody stuff, I'm worried.

Other than that, she's fine and happy.

Thanks!

[hdeering]

She's been drinking it for 2 or 3 weeks now.

[tallulahma]

i think its normal to have those symptoms when switching to live milk, however, 2.5 cups might be too much too quickly.

i would slowly build her up to raw milk.

[cocobean]

I, DH, and DS didn't have these symtoms. But we started out a little slower as the last poster suggested. Maybe you could contact someone from your local Weston A. Price chapter. Also, are you sure it's from a good source? 100% grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free, clean environment? Check with your farm maybe?

[hdeering]

Thanks ladies.

Yeah, when we started a few weeks ago, I tried just a 4 oz cup per day or so to see, and things were fine. Today things looked completely normal. I talked with the main office of Weston A. Price and he said that if a person was fine on commercial dairy, they should be fine with raw (as long as the source was good). We'll be going out to the farm on Tuesday to do a pick up for the co-op (and I emailed the co-op to be sure no one else had any weird symptoms).

I did have some diarrhea when I first started drinking it a month ago, but I had made eggnog with it and I think the raw fresh eggs and milk together were a little much... I was drinking a lot of it because it was so good!

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[tallulahma]

Ok, well whatthey told you is a little irresponsible.

Raw milk is nothing like commercial dairy.

I you are speaking about true allergy, sure. But there are very natural wonderful things about raw dairy that could give you bowel upset.

Here is a link to organic pastures site- the part about ideas To go slower speaks to why...making on my phone... Sorry so choppy

http://www.organicpastures.com/faq.html

[hdeering]

Yeah, I had to kind of cut the poor guy off because she woke up from her nap and was mad about it while I was on the phone.

The original slight bit of blood was on Wednesday. Next day it was a little soft, and a little mucousy when wiping, but no blood. Friday was fine and completely normal.

Today she seemed to have some trouble going and said "ow" afterwards. There was a little blood the first time I wiped- more than on Wednesday, but no diarrhea at all. It seemed much more like she was straining too hard and that caused it.

I'm planning on buying some milk at the store and giving that a try for a few days and if we see any more blood I guess I'll call the pediatrician to make an appointment.

It's just strange.

[velcromom]

Some kids just aren't ready for dairy that early. For mine that would have been way too early, even for raw. You might consider starting fermented dairy (raw yogurt or kefir) in small amounts before you go to unfermented, I think it's easier to digest. But still nowhere near 2 cups a day, that is an awful lot. I hope your ped is ok with hearing you fed your dd raw milk! Otherwise you'll be getting the whole scary lecture. I made the mistake of just mentioning the words raw milk around a veterinarian the other day and she kinda had a cow. No pun intended. So I can only imagine what a typical pediatrician would say!!:lol

[Evergreen]

I don't drink milk but I asked some of my friends who do consume raw milk and they said they'd never gotten bloodly diarrhea from it.

Personally I'd stop feeding it to her or try with another supplier.

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by tallulahma 

Ok, well whatthey told you is a little irresponsible.

Raw milk is nothing like commercial dairy.

I you are speaking about true allergy, sure. But there are very natural wonderful things about raw dairy that could give you bowel upset.

Here is a link to organic pastures site- the part about ideas To go slower speaks to why...making on my phone... Sorry so choppy

http://www.organicpastures.com/faq.html

I'd really like to know what you expect to be in raw milk that would give you bloody diarrhea that would be ok with.

You should never have bloody diarrhea. That's one of those things that without a doubt you should never have, and if you are having it, something is definitely wrong. What that something is I can't really say in this case, but I wouldn't think milk allergy since you could do pasturized milk. I would be extremely cautious about that milk supplier, because it could be any number of pathogens or spoilage organisms. Beneficial bacteria aren't the only ones that live in raw milk, the bad ones live there too.

[tessie]

Originally Posted by rhiandmoi 

Originally Posted by tallulahma 

Ok, well whatthey told you is a little irresponsible.

Raw milk is nothing like commercial dairy.

I you are speaking about true allergy, sure. But there are very natural wonderful things about raw dairy that could give you bowel upset.

Here is a link to organic pastures site- the part about ideas To go slower speaks to why...making on my phone... Sorry so choppy

http://www.organicpastures.com/faq.html

I'd really like to know what you expect to be in raw milk that would give you bloody diarrhea that would be ok with.

You should never have bloody diarrhea. That's one of those things that without a doubt you should never have, and if you are having it, something is definitely wrong. What that something is I can't really say in this case, but I wouldn't think milk allergy since you could do pasturized milk. I would be extremely cautious about that milk supplier, because it could be any number of pathogens or spoilage organisms. Beneficial bacteria aren't the only ones that live in raw milk, the bad ones live there too.

I would add that a toddler with bloody stools warrants investigation asap.
 

Edited by tessie - 11/15/10 at 3:28pm

[MrsBone]

My 23mo DS can't handle raw dairy. He can eat yogurt and butter(pasteurized) but nothing else. I've tried aged parmesan and he seems to do okay with that, so I think it's a lactose issue for DS. He just gets a tummy ache after a few days of consuming raw milk.

[aihley]

Milk is traditionally considered a good laxative.  Mare's milk especially b/c of the higher lactose content.  It could be an adjustment period, but it could also be that the amount of lactose she's getting from that amount of milk is a little much for her system.  Good news is that cultured & fermented milk causes the lactose to be converted to lactic acid and means it's much more digestible as well as a great source for healthful enzymes and gut-enhancing bacteria.  Look up real buttermilk, kefir, or clabbered milk (all starting with raw, of course) as options to replace some of the raw, sweet milk she's drinking.

The bloody diarrhea does worry me, though, if it is truly the diarrhea that's bloody and not just the wiping.  Definitely get her checked out if it is a significant amount and doesn't seem to be from any visible fissure on her anus.  E. coli, while present and persistent in our daily lives, can cause bright red, bloody diarrhea if your body has not built up significant immunity to it (hence why farmers' families can usually drink unpasteurized, grain-fed raw milk and we don't get sick from small amounts of it that live in our mouths).  Err on the side of caution when consuming raw dairy that isn't from your animals.