Xylitol causing diarrhea in nursing infant?

[mnordwald]

My nursing 8-mo old developed diarrhea about 5 days ago. And she vomited through the night at the onset of her diarrhea. She also developed bluish skin discoloration on her inner thighs. I need help figuring out the cause of her diarrhea and skin discoloration.

We have ruled out the flu. Her skin discoloration is not from poor oxygen levels - we had that evaluated at the doctor 2 days ago. And we are waiting to get results from her stool cultures (to look for parasites, etc.).

I began using xylitol (gum, mints, toothpaste, and mouth wash) about 2 weeks ago for dental health reasons. I probably get 5-8 g of xylitol daily. I have read that xylitol is safe for nursing mothers, but also that xylitol can cause diarrhea in large doses.

Could it be possible that my daily xylitol intake is causing my daughter's diarrhea and skin discoloration? Also, one brand of gum that I chew has peelu extract in it, which I didn't find much about when I googled it. Another possible cause?

[mnordwald]

OK, so it wasn't xylitol-related. Turned out to be an enduring stomach bug after all (runny BMs lasted for about 8 days).

[luv2bamommy2]

I cannot think that Xylitol would do what you describe, except for the diarrhea. When we started using for my ds, we were told to start out small. A little at a time and build up to the larger amount OR my ds would get the 'runs.'

So over a period of a year we have build up his intestinal resistance to where he can now take 10 grams without it causing him discomfort.

So maybe you did too much too soon.

Someone who is extremely knowledgable (?) about Xylitol is Dr Ellie, of www.zellies.com. Log onto the site, then onto "contact us" and write Dr Ellie about your concerns, I'm sure she could help you.

Hope this helps.