How concerned should I be about blood in almost 3 year-old DS's stool?

[shahjehan]

I am looking for some ideas before we ratchet the investigation up a notch.

For the past 10-14 days DS (who will be three in a couple weeks) has had small amounts of bright red blood in his stool.  Not every time he goes, but at least every other time. I have also noticed a small amount of blood in his diaper even when he hasn't pooped, right where it should be if it was coming from his anus.   His stool is the same texture and consistency as usual (not diarrhea but not formed), and he is (and has always been) very regular with stooling once or twice a day.   Despite having an upper respiratory bug of some sort right around the time this started, he seems healthy.  No changes in diet, although he is getting very close to weaning and may be drinking a bit more dairy and almond milk due to that. 

I took him to the Ped three days ago and brought a diaper with blood in it to show to her.  She agreed that it was indeed coming from his rectum (not foreskin beginning to retract or anything).  She saw no evidence of an anal fissure.  I came back later that day with a stool sample with a pretty good amount of blood in it.  It was cultured and came back negative for any bacteria.  Strep swab is still pending, but she didn't seem to think it was that.  That stool sample was the last time I saw any blood in his stool or diaper.  So it seems to have resolved itself for the past three days, but we still don't know what caused it.

Now I have noticed three times that he has been doing a burpy, hiccupy type thing (like he has indigestion).  Almost like he is sucking air in a couple times a minute for a bit.  DH thinks that just might be a behavioral thing, and that I am super attuned to it in light of the  blood in stool.   He seems to be in no distress or complain of his stomach hurting, and is eating/drinking/behaving normally.

The Ped wants to do an abdominal xray to rule out any physical obstruction or abnormality, as well as a blood panel to presumably test his iron levels and look for Celiac among other things.  Of course our health insurance through my husband's employer has been majorly downgraded in the past couple months, so we have to pay for all testing out of pocket.

Any ideas what is up with my little guy?  Do you think we should continue to pursue testing even if it seems to have resolved?

Thanks for reading this and contributing any ideas.

Jehan

ETA:  After posting this, he just had another instance of blood mixed with a little bit of feces/mucous in his diaper.  No actual poop in his diaper this time, after a normal BM with no blood this morning.  Kinda getting concerned.  Anybody?

[Redheaded_Momma]

Do you notice when he's pooping? Is he standing up or sitting down? If he's sitting when he used to be standing the pressure may be causing small fissures. When you wipe is there blood on the wipe/TP?

[shahjehan]

Originally Posted by Redheaded_Momma 

Do you notice when he's pooping? Is he standing up or sitting down? If he's sitting when he used to be standing the pressure may be causing small fissures. When you wipe is there blood on the wipe/TP?

Thanks for your reply Redheaded_Momma.  He his standing up or squatting when he poops, like always.  I don't notice blood when I wipe, any more than the blood that is mixed with the solid material I am wiping off of him.  His anus seems perfectly healthy and pink to me, and he says it doesn't hurt at all.

[ttcintexas]

My first thought would be food intolerance. I believe that mucous is a sign of that, and blood can be too. Dairy is a common one, so when you said he may be having more dairy right now that was my first thought. I hope you figure this out soon. I know how hard it is when things are not right with our loved ones.