Does this sound like a food allergy? (It's a poo post!)

[Attila the Honey]

I have an almost 14mo dd who eats anything and everything. We haven't had to deal with food sensitivities at all (yet), so I am pretty ignorant when it comes to this topic.

Thursday afternoon, out of the blue, she started screaming. She turned purple and cried big fat tears. VERY unlike her. I changed her diaper and her entire diaper area looked like a 1st degree burn, red and hot and raised. Very angry looking. She had had a BM that was very soft and anywhere it touched looked just like a burn. She was screaming! I tried to wipe her as best I could but she was crying and kicking, shaking her head 'no' and doing the sign for "all done".

So, I put her in the tub and threw in every skin remedy I could think of - some baking soda, some oatmeal in a sock, a couple drops of olive oil, and let the poo soak off. It helped, and it seemed to soothe her bum.

Then I coated her butt in burt's bees diaper creme (which has always worked great before) and everything was better - UNTIL THE NEXT BM. Same thing all over again.

It's now sat morning and we've had about 5 incidences of burning butt. 5 soaks in the tub. At this point she screams bloody murder whenever we change her diaper, even just pee, because she's afraid we are going to touch it (to clean it) again. She's in so much pain.

Another thing, may or may not be pertinent - her bms are soft but gritty. It's like she's been eating sand, but she hasn't. I have no idea what could be causing that.

The only thing new that she's eaten has been clementines (tangerines). I am assuming these are what is doing it, but the last one she ate maybe 3-4 days ago and she's still having this problem. And, she ate them for several days and had no problems. I am worried now maybe it's bananas? She's had bananas before but not for awhile, but I just bought a bunch and she's eating 2 a day. It's the only food she asks for by name, she loves them. (She does the sign for 'eat' and says "Nana!" and points to the counter. Too cute, but I digress :LOL )

Anyone have any thoughts? Advice? I am really dreading her morning BM, which is due any minute now. We can tell by the screaming when she's going.

[CallMeIshmael]

Hey there.

Yep, we deal we the occasional "caustic poo" as well -- your description of your suddenly-screaming daughter, her fat tears, and a nasty contact-burn butt is all very familiar.

In my kiddo's case, it's tomatoes. A small amount is fine, but too much at one time, or too many days of tomatoes in a row, and she gets major burning poo. I don't see it as a true allergy, since she has no other reaction (nothing around her mouth and lips, for example), but rather an acid overload. Her poo is always a bit acidic to begin with (courtesy of her gut flora, I believe), and my sense is that additional acidic food simply pushes it over the edge to the point at which it can burn her. And after one caustic poo, all subsequent ones burn as well (even if they're not particularly caustic themselves) because her skin is so raw.

So that may or may not fit with what's going on with your daughter. She may have reached a "critical mass" of clementine consumption and simply couldn't process all the acid (theorizing here...).

In my daughter's case, when she gets this I switch her over to bland stuff for a few days (including bananas!), and I make sure she's always covered in Desitin. It always works, but it takes a few days for her skin to stop being so sensitive. So maybe cut out the (acidic) clementines for now, and see how she does?

[Plummeting]

My DD has LOTS of food sensitivities and when I eat something that bothers her she gets a red rash all around her little butt hole. And that even despite the fact that we EC, so she never even sits in a poopie diaper at all! It doesn't even touch her except for on its way out and it still manages to burn her butt all up everywhere it comes into contact with it. I agree with the pp's response that maybe it isn't an allergy, but it certainly could be. I'd skip the clementines for now. Good luck!

[Electra375]

Typically a food allergy will produce an anal red rash, meaning the anus is fire red, that being said the fire burn looking rash also says something isn't right. Bananas gave ds2 the anal red rash and dd gets the burn. As well as viral infections they are fighting off.
I had an incidence of this recently and determined it was the cd. I was at my mom's house w/ sooo soft water and I believe the detergent didn't rinse completely out (even after 3 rinses). I think the pee and poo mixed w the detergent laiden dipe and she got the burn rash. I plunked her into the tub as well, but just water (I had nothing at my mom's house).
I would skip the baking soda alters the PH of your water. If you have a PH test kit, and determine that you need to change it great, but otherwise it could make the skin irritation worse.
Also check to make sure the oatmeal you are using is free of mineral oil (Alveno baby packages have mineral oil in them).
A diaper preperation with calendula will work wonders on the rash and help heal it
And if you use cd, check to make sure they have been rinsed well and are not agrevating the problem.
HTH --

[JaneS]

I have heard of using plain milk of magnesia to soothe an acidic diaper rash (the magnesium neutralizes the acidity)

[Attila the Honey]

Originally Posted by Electra375

Also check to make sure the oatmeal you are using is free of mineral oil (Alveno baby packages have mineral oil in them).
A diaper preperation with calendula will work wonders on the rash and help heal it
And if you use cd, check to make sure they have been rinsed well and are not agrevating the problem.
HTH --

Thanks!

We are using the same water, the same diaper washing technique, the same everything, that we've used for the last 7+ months, so probably that's not it. But you are absolutely right, once my MIL washed a load of dipes to be helpful and dd got diaper rash. Plus, the way she was screaming only when she pooped made it clear it's the poo that is doing it.

I didn't use aveeno, I just used plain old organic oats in a sock. No mineral oil! But thanks for the heads up there, too.

[LaLa]

poor baby! did you figure out which food was the culprit?!