Why does a baby have blood in the stool. Why does a newborn baby have traces of blood in the feces and what to do when the stool of a baby (baby) is with bloody streaks (blotches). Before the ambulance arrives


Drops, streaks or blood clots in the feces of a baby can cause a real state of shock in parents. However, one should not rush to premature conclusions. Perhaps there is a temporary reaction to some stimulus. And sometimes the appearance of blood in the feces of a newborn is a symptom of the development of internal pathology, when it is necessary to sound the alarm as soon as possible.

Causes of blood in the stool in a newborn

Blood in the form of streaks or clots may be present directly in the feces of the newborn. And then parents easily identify it. However, blood from the internal organs of the digestive system does not come out with feces in the form of clots or veins; it stains the stool black or brown. Severe bleeding accompanies the entire process of defecation, and even after the release of feces, blood can still ooze from the anus. Such manifestations indicate the presence of serious problems with internal organs.

There can be many reasons for the appearance of blood in the feces of the baby. Only a qualified specialist can understand their origin. Conventionally, by origin, blood discharge from the anus can be differentiated into physiological and mechanical. In this case, the feces are formed differently. Diarrhea and constipation may also appear, replacing each other randomly. Important characteristics of feces that parents should constantly monitor are odor, texture, color, and the presence of undigested food fragments. It is extremely important for parents to timely monitor unusual manifestations in the feces in newborn babies.

Uncharacteristic symptoms indicate the development of dangerous pathologies:

  • hepatitis A;
  • hemorrhages;
  • sepsis;
  • adhesive processes in the intestine;
  • malignant tumors in the digestive tract;
  • intestinal volvulus;
  • helminthic invasions;
  • Crohn's disease;
  • ulcers of the stomach or duodenum;
  • perforation of the walls of the digestive tract.

A specific disease is Hirschsprung's disease. This is a congenital pathology that develops in the developing embryo in the womb.

Blackening of feces is often caused by the intake of certain pharmacological preparations, which include iron. Incorrectly selected adapted mixtures for formula-fed babies are often the root cause of variability in fecal masses.

Among the most common causes of bloody streaks in an infant up to a year old is a food allergy to cow's milk protein. This applies to children who are both breastfed and bottle-fed. The composition of adapted infant formulas for newborns includes cow's or goat's milk. In mother's milk, protein from the diet passes into breast milk and is then transported during feeding to the baby's body.

Allergic reactions in this case are very insidious. After all, against the background of an allergy, the mucous membranes of the small and large intestines become inflamed, and thin blood vessels begin to bleed. If measures are not taken in time to eliminate allergies, the risk of ulcerative formations is high. Parents need to carefully examine their baby if he is prone to allergic reactions. The development of comorbidities may be accompanied by unpleasant symptoms.

In infants who are gradually being introduced to complementary foods, specific reactions of the fragile mucosa of the digestive system are possible. Caution should be introduced into the diet of a newborn such vegetables as:

  • beets;
  • carrot;
  • Apple;
  • blueberries;
  • tomatoes;
  • strawberries;
  • blackcurrant.

However, if the presence of blood in the feces is associated precisely with the intake of these products, parents do not need to worry. After a few days, the baby's stool should return to normal. The danger exists in cases where, along with red or black feces, there is a decrease in appetite, an increase in body temperature and other signs of intoxication.

The release of blood clots with feces in a child from the lower organs of the gastrointestinal tract indicates lesions in the area:

  • anal canal;
  • rectum;
  • large intestine.

Bloody discharge from the lower gastrointestinal tract has a bright red or scarlet color, as well as a glandular consistency. Internal bleeding in the digestive tract stains feces black or dark brown. This is a fact of damage to blood vessels in the following organs:

  • esophagus
  • stomach
  • duodenum;
  • small intestine;
  • liver.

Gastric juice enters into a chemical reaction with hemoglobin, which leads to the formation of hematin hydrochloride, which gives black color to the feces at the exit. Such manifestations should not be ignored by parents, as they represent a mortal danger to the life of the baby.

Permissible norms for the state of feces in newborns

In newborn babies, meconium is excreted in the first week of life, which is commonly called "original feces." It has a characteristic dark green color, and sometimes completely black, which can greatly frighten inexperienced parents, however, this phenomenon is considered a physiological norm.

After a few more weeks of independent life outside the mother's body, during acts of defecation, "late melena" is released. Often, babies behave extremely restlessly and even painfully, which should alert parents. In any case, the coprogram will show the true state of affairs. Table No. 1 presents in detail the main indicators of fecal masses of newborns who are breastfed and artificially fed.

Table No. 1. The main indicators of fecal masses of newborns who are breastfed and artificially fed
IndexBreastfed babiesFormula-fed babies

Physical and chemical properties

Quantity 70-90 grams/day, 15-20 grams/single serving
Consistency Sticky and viscous putty
Color Golden yellow, yellowish greenish, yellow tan
Smell Sourish Putrefactive
Reaction Sour Sour
Bilirubin Present Present
Sterkobilin Present Present
Soluble protein Missing Missing
Medium pH 4,80-5,80 6,80-7,50
Microscopic characteristic
Muscle fibers Little or no amount
Neutral Fats single drops single drops
Fatty acid Small amount of small crystals
Soaps In a small amount In a small amount
Slime Fragments Often missing
Leukocytes Singles Singles

In turn, table No. 2 shows the allowable indicators of fecal masses in newborns. Significant deviations from acceptable norms require immediate hospitalization and inpatient treatment under the close supervision of specialists.

Table number 2. Characteristics of feces in newborns
IndexNewborn babies
Pathogenic enterobacteria 0
Total amount of Escherichia coli 3-4 x 106/g
Lactose-positive E. coli 107-108
Lactose-negative E. coli ≤ 5%
E. coli without enzymatic activity ≤ 10%
Hemolytic E. coli 0
Cytobacter ≤ 104
coccal microorganisms ≤ 25%
Bifidumbacteria 1010-1011
Lactoflora 106-107
Bacteroids 107-108
Enterococci 105-107
eubacteria 106-107
Peptostreptococci < 10
Clostridia ≤ 103
Staphylococci ≤ 104
Staphylococcus aureus 0
Yeast-like fungi (Candida) ≤ 103
Klebsiella ≤ 104
Enterobacter ≤ 104
Grafnia ≤ 104
Serration ≤ 104
Proteus ≤ 104

It is important to understand that normally bloody impurities in infants in the feces should not occur.

Symptoms in pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract

Symptoms of eating disorders are significantly different from signs of allergic reactions, injuries of internal organs. You should immediately seek specialist help when spotting occurs accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • nausea;
  • repeated vomiting;
  • liquid stool;
  • increased gas formation;
  • general weakness;
  • tearfulness;
  • loss of appetite;
  • frequent false urge to defecate;
  • impaired coordination of movements;
  • weight loss;
  • pain during defecation;
  • itching and rashes in the anus;
  • dryness and peeling of the skin;
  • increase in body temperature;
  • lowering blood pressure and body temperature (with severe blood loss);
  • fever;
  • colic in the abdominal cavity;
  • constipation;
  • diarrhea.

Toddlers in serious conditions are on the verge between life and death. In no case should parents expect that the inflammation will go away on its own or proceed to self-medication.

Diarrhea of ​​infectious origin leads to a rapid loss of fluid by the baby's body, creating a critical condition in most cases.

Methods for diagnosing diseases when blood appears in the feces in infants

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to carry out any diagnostic methods in infants. Usually, specialists draw up a general picture of the child's condition from the observations of the parents. Diagnostic methods for the appearance of blood in the feces in newborns are reduced to the following measures:

  • rectal palpation;
  • sigmoidoscopy;
  • coprogram;
  • hydrogen test;
  • lactose test;
  • biopsy of the small intestine;
  • fibrogastrodeodenoscopy;
  • general analysis of blood and urine;
  • analysis of feces for "hidden" blood.

It is advisable to carry out diagnostics in stationary conditions in order to avoid complications.

Treatment and prevention

Therapeutic measures to eliminate bloody feces are prescribed depending on the diagnosis and the results of diagnostic methods. Even in the presence of minor bleeding in an infant, a visit to the doctor is mandatory.

When the intestine is twisted, the blood vessels are crushed and die off, which causes necrosis of significant sections of the intestinal walls. And this will eventually lead to death without adequate treatment. In such situations, specialists decide on the surgical elimination of the pathology. If the condition is not too advanced, experienced gastroenterologists perform a special procedure for straightening the wrapped section of the intestine using a device that blows air into the intestinal cavity.

Adequate therapy for the appearance of blood in the feces in infants is complex. Also, parents need to be patient and clearly follow all the doctor's prescriptions. If the staining in black or purple of the baby's feces is caused by the use of certain foods by the mother during lactation, then there is no cause for concern. Correction of the woman's diet should bring the baby's feces to an acceptable rate after a few days.

When intestinal infections are detected, special prescriptions are made for drugs that are acceptable at such an early age.

When the mother's bleeding nipples are the root cause of the appearance of blood in the feces in an infant, several measures should be taken to eliminate this defect. Breastfeeding should not be stopped, it is enough just to purchase special silicone breast pads and treat the affected areas with natural-based moisturizers.

Calendula ointment, sophora extract, ointments with the addition of an extract of chamomile flowers, sage, St. John's wort are ideal. In any case, even such appointments should be made by a specialist. Herbal infusions are easily absorbed into the blood, and the active substances are transferred to the baby, which, in turn, can cause various unforeseen reactions of the body.

When the cause is lactose deficiency, breastfeeding is stopped or corrected by the doctor. Often it is necessary to abandon mother's milk, replacing it with adapted mixtures without the content of dairy components. Also, mom will have to exclude all dairy products from the diet, including even hard cheeses and butter.

Constipation in infants is a fairly common reaction of the fragile mucosa of the digestive tract to the mother's diet and complementary foods. Many foods are capable of causing stool retention.

In principle, each specific case requires an individual approach and therapeutic prescriptions. Properly carried out diagnostic measures are the key to successfully overcoming the problem.

Caring for a baby in the first months of his life requires increased responsibility and vigilance from parents. Not only the state of health of the newborn, but often his life depends on the timely noticed dangerous sign. The resources in the body to overcome dangerous internal pathologies at this age are very insignificant. Therefore, the baby's immune system is not ready to fully defend itself. It will be impossible to do without medical help in case of serious pathologies. The most important thing is that it be provided as quickly as possible. Normally, blood in the feces of an infant is not detected at all!

https://youtu.be/xo86qZSXOSA

Girls, sorry to the wrong person - I really can’t remember who my friends are with the same problem !!! Girls with streaks - edition of the post at the end, READ !!!

I decided to write our story with my son in order to help at least someone, and, perhaps, to open our eyes to something. It seems to me that all mothers should be aware of what I have learned recently. When I needed information, I found almost nothing, everyone unanimously wrote about “dysbacteriosis”. I can't do without the names of some doctors, the country should know its heroes. There will be a lot of words, but I will try to be as short and to the point as possible.

When my son was exactly three months old, two streaks of blood appeared in the stool for no reason at all. Once a day. The child was not disturbed by anything, the temperature was normal, he was cheerful and cheerful, there was no diarrhea and vomiting, the color and consistency of the poop was normal for a baby on breastfeeding: mustard gruel. But on the third day I could not stand it (what mother can stand the blood, albeit barely visible, in her child's stool?), And went to the district pediatrician.

The pediatrician didn't even want to see us. and examine - she had a non-reception day - and immediately signed up for a consultation with a surgeon to rule out intestinal intussusception (as I understand it, this is volvulus). The next day we went to see the surgeon and at the same time passed the coprogram.

Surgeon's appointment at the clinic: there is no volvulus of the intestines, two tiny cracks in the anus (candles were not inserted, a gas tube was not used), a referral to pediatric surgery on Klochkovskaya for a consultation with a proctologist about cracks and polyps of the rectum is questionable. By the end of the day, the coprogram is ready: everything is normal, there is a lot of mucus, but (quote) it's not scary.

For the next three days, there was no blood at all and, to be honest, I almost threw away the referral. But on the morning of the fourth day after the visit to the clinic, I again saw a streak of blood, called an ambulance and we were taken with a referral to the same surgery on Klochkovskaya.

Examination of the surgeon on duty at Klochkovskaya was very fast. They gave my son an enema to see what kind of blood, a tiny streak came out, the surgeon looked and said: “This is not our blood.” I wrinkled my tummy, didn’t look at the cracks at all, didn’t check the polyps and immediately sent them to their local pediatrician on duty. The pediatrician turned out to be a young man with a surname starting with the letter U, I don’t remember the surname itself. It was then that I began to memorize doctors. The pediatrician's diagnosis: intestinal infection acute gastroenterocolitis, appointments: nifuroxazide (an antiseptic for the stomach, not an antibiotic, but somewhere nearby), aminocapron (hemostatic), blood and mucus in the feces of a child, which is not visible due to the color of the poop we get to the children's infectious diseases hospital No. 8 in the intestinal department. And right in the emergency department, the son vomited once. Therefore, vomiting is also added to the symptoms.

Tulizid (antibiotic), smecta again, and BioGaia (probiotic) are prescribed. There is no hot water in the intestinal department, how to wash babies? There are children of different ages in the ward, in general, that is still terrible. Anyway. The temperature drops only after 2 days, the poop changes with all the colors of the rainbow, but the blood does not disappear, but appears already with every poop. About three days after hospitalization, diarrhea begins. Either from an antibiotic, or from a feeding schedule: 5 minutes at the breast, 2 hours break - this is how they force babies to feed with an intestinal infection and vomiting, a little bit at a time. But we did not vomit again after the emergency department, so I begin to suspect that this is the so-called "hungry stool". There is such a thing when a child does not eat enough milk, he starts having diarrhea. And I start to feed him normally, without limiting the time at the breast, the diarrhea goes away. By the fifth day of the antibiotic, tests for flora and milk come. The milk is sterile, in the analysis of feces, which was taken before the infection, Klebsiella and Staphylococcus aureus were sown in a huge amount. Our staphylococcus is absolutely insensitive to the antibiotic that we were injected with, but our attending physician (Glebova Lyudmila Nikolaevna) said that I should not take it into my head, these are trifles. The blood is in place every time, the poop is of a normal color, we are discharged, but instead of “healthy” they write “improved” and the doctor says: “It will pass by itself.”

I'm waiting a week for it to pass, we continue to take BioGaia, the blood becomes more concentrated. Having previously consulted with a pediatrician from the perinatal center, I begin to give aminocaproic acid, when I was in the perinatal with the baby, they gave it to everyone Blood in the baby's feces. It can be taken for a maximum of a week, according to the instructions. There is blood all week, just in a smaller amount. The child is in a normal state, the stomach just began to hurt more (so many drugs were pushed in, how not to get sick here). When the course of aminocapron comes to an end, the blood appears with renewed vigor, my nerves are on edge and I take a referral to the 19th children's hospital, where I was once cured of a stomach ulcer. But out of absurdity, I don’t get there, my mother-in-law finds connections in the hospital of the Southern Railway on Ivanova, there, they say, a good gastroenterologist, we went there.

The doctor of the children's hospital of the Southern Railway, Luneva Tatyana Anatolyevna, insists that we have not cured an intestinal infection and prescribes: cefix (antibiotic), smecta again, if it's bad, and

In the first year of life, a child actively develops, adapts to new living conditions for him. The organs and systems of the body are not perfect, vulnerable to microbes, so children get sick quite often. Blood in the feces of a baby is a sign of a pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, the child in such a situation must be shown to the doctor.

Causes of blood in the stool in an infant

In a laboratory study of infant feces, fresh blood can be detected in the form of inclusions, red threads, blood clots, uniform staining of feces. The cause is cracked nipples in the mother, teething in the baby, various diseases and pathological conditions. An admixture of blood that is not visible during macroscopic examination is detected using additional tests.

Injuries, abrasions of the mammary glands when feeding a baby occur in 10-15% of mothers, which can be a serious problem. Cracks in the nipples appear due to improper expression of milk, premature removal of the baby from the breast, the use of hygiene products that dry out the skin, hypovitaminosis.

When breastfeeding, blood streaks in the feces sometimes appear in infants when switching to complementary foods before the age of 6 months. This is because the child's digestive system is not ready to digest unfamiliar foods. There is an allergy to food, inflammation in the intestines. Most often, the appearance of blood in the feces is associated with an allergy to cow's milk protein and soy, in such a situation, the diet of the baby and / or the nursing mother should be adjusted. Constipation occurs in children due to the excessive consumption of sweets, chocolate, flour products. Hard feces are formed, the child strains during defecation, strains, as a result of which cracks may appear in the anus. The blood is bright, scarlet, not mixed with feces.

Causes of blood in the feces in infants with diseases of the stomach

During the first 2-3 days of life, during defecation, the newborn defecates meconium, feces that have accumulated in the intestines in the prenatal period, it may look like tar. Isolation of black feces 4 or more days after birth - melena, feces with blood. The high content of hematin hydrochloride, formed during the interaction of hemoglobin with the contents of the stomach, gives the stool a specific color.

Melena in infants is false and true. Ingestion of blood by a child during the passage of the birth canal, bleeding from the gums, nasopharynx, gives false positive results. True melena occurs in acute stomach ulcers due to blood clots that have entered the mucous membrane from thrombosed umbilical veins. Thrombosis occurs with a complicated course of pregnancy, the wrong position of the embryo, placenta previa, fetal dropsy. It causes not only ulcers and bleeding from the stomach in newborns, but also the death of a child in the prenatal period from asphyxia.

Gastric bleeding in infants is also a consequence of a lack of components of the blood coagulation system in hemorrhagic diathesis.

There is a violation of increased bleeding after minor injuries, from injection sites, umbilical wound. Petechiae appear on the skin of the baby - bloody dots, specks that form when capillaries break. In severe cases, intracranial and gastric bleeding occurs, and deaths are possible. The disease is hereditary, due to genetic abnormalities.

Causes of blood in the feces in diseases of the intestine

An important role in digestion is played by microorganisms that inhabit the intestines of a healthy person - normal saprophytic flora. They are involved in the digestion of fiber, the absorption of vitamins. A child is born with a sterile intestine, and the microflora is formed in him after birth. In violation of this process, a change in the composition of microbes develops dysbacteriosis. Mucus, streaks of blood appear in the feces of the baby.

Liquid bloody diarrhea in a child is a symptom of a serious illness that requires immediate hospitalization and examination. The causes are bacterial infections: dysentery, salmonellosis, staphylococcal lesions. At an early age, nonspecific ulcerative colitis (Crohn's disease) also occurs, the causes of the disease are not fully known. Multiple ulcers appear on the mucous membrane of the colon. In the early stages of blood in the feces, there is little, with the progression of the disease, its amount increases. With erosion of the vessel in the intestinal wall, profuse intestinal bleeding occurs, threatening the life of the baby. Less common are situations such as juvenile polyps and intussusception (a form of obstruction) of the intestine.

Associated symptoms

Clinical manifestations of diseases and conditions in which blood is found in the stool in infants depend on the location and severity of the pathology. Teething in a 6 month old baby is often painful. The baby becomes capricious, lethargic, refuses to feed. Excessive salivation causes redness, irritation of the skin around the mouth. A rupture of the gums by a tooth is accompanied by the appearance of a small drop of blood, which is later found in the stool. Cracked nipples in a mother are often complicated by a bacterial or fungal infection. Inflammation appears, there is a threat of infection of the child. Mom is forced to temporarily transfer the baby to mixed or artificial feeding.

Black stools that occur with massive gastric bleeding in infants are accompanied by a sharp blanching of the skin, a drop in blood pressure, and an increase in heart rate. The situation calls for urgent medical attention. Inflammatory bowel disease, enteritis, colitis are accompanied by diarrhea. The baby defecates up to 20 times a day, so they pay attention not to the frequency of bowel movements, but to the consistency and color of the stool, the presence of blood in the stool. Infectious diarrhea is characterized by liquid stools, green feces, symptoms of food intoxication - fever, refusal to feed, pallor of the skin. The child does not sleep, constantly cries, he is disturbed by abdominal pain, rumbling, bloating.

Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn

This is a disease in which blood in the stool is a constant symptom due to violations of the coagulation properties of the plasma. Hemorrhagic disease of infants develops due to a lack of vitamin K and other coagulation factors. There are early, classic and late forms of the disease. The division is based on the difference in the causes of the pathology, the features of the clinical picture.

The early form appears on the first day after the birth of the child. The reason is the lack of vitamin K in the mother during pregnancy. Symptoms of the disease are bloody vomiting, hemorrhages in internal organs, blood in the original stool in a newborn.

The classic form develops on the 2nd–7th day of a baby's life with a lack of milk in the mother and the absence of prophylactic injections of vitamin K in the first hours after birth. It is manifested by bleeding of the umbilical wound, gastrointestinal and nasal bleeding, skin hemorrhages, hematomas at the injection sites. A late variant of the disease, from 8–10 days of life, develops in infants who are breastfed due to impaired absorption of vitamin K with concomitant diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Intracranial hemorrhages, gastrointestinal bleedings, blood in excrements are characteristic.

Tests for detecting blood in the feces of the baby

The collection of feces from an infant for coprogramming often causes problems for parents. Before reaching the age of one year, babies do not poop according to a certain regime, defecation occurs spontaneously. In such a situation, a stool sample can be obtained using a special gas outlet tube or by adapting an ordinary pipette without a rubber tip for this. The diaper quickly absorbs moisture, so a rubber oilcloth is placed under the baby. A tube is inserted into the anus and gently turned clockwise. The released feces are collected in a special container, which is best transported to the laboratory immediately. You can store the sample in a cool place for no more than 6 hours.

To detect occult blood, the Gregersen reaction is performed. To a small piece of feces (a smear on a glass slide) add 0.025 benzidine, 0.15 barium powder, a drop of concentrated acetic acid. Blue staining of the drug indicates the presence of blood in the test material.

Newborn erythrocytes contain a special type of hemoglobin that is resistant to alkali. This is of practical importance, since the blood in the baby's stool can have a different origin. The baby sometimes swallows it during the passage of the birth canal or receives it with mother's milk from nipple cracks. To distinguish between maternal and child blood, an Apt-Downer test is performed. Feces are diluted with water, centrifuged, 4 milliliters of liquid are taken, alkali is added, 1 ml of 1% sodium hydroxide solution. A positive result, brown staining of the drug, indicates the presence of maternal hemoglobin, an unaltered color indicates the presence of the blood of the baby himself.

Prevention

The health of the unborn child should be taken care of even before conception. Parents should be screened for chronic, hereditary diseases. To study the rules of care, feeding a newborn, to be able to recognize the first signs of diseases, including those associated with violations of the coagulating properties of blood.

During the period of gestation, increased requirements are placed on the health of the expectant mother. Pregnant women need to be under medical supervision. In time to correct violations in the development of the fetus, contributing to umbilical vein thrombosis and gastric bleeding - the wrong position of the child, placenta previa, dropsy. Particular attention should be paid to determining the level of vitamin K in women. Hypovitaminosis during pregnancy can cause hemorrhagic disease of the newborn. For prophylactic purposes, expectant mothers are given vitamin K or its synthetic analogue, menadione.

Blood streaks in the stool in infants are often the result of intestinal inflammation due to an allergic reaction to food. Breastfeeding should not be started before 6 months of age, and in case of problems with stool in artificial babies, it is better to prefer special hypoallergenic mixtures for feeding, which contain all the necessary components and do not cause inflammation. They also include bacteria that normalize the intestinal microflora and prevent dysbacteriosis. Prevention of bleeding due to infections consists in preventing pathogenic microbes from entering the child's body. The immune system of the baby is imperfect, unable to protect the baby from pathogens. Everything that the baby comes into contact with (diapers, bedding, toys, mother's breasts) must be clean.

Treatment

If blood is found in the feces of a baby, examination and therapy are carried out in a hospital, the home regimen is dangerous with complications. The goal of treatment is to stop bleeding. Vitamin K or its analogue is administered even before the cause of the disease is clarified. A good hemostatic effect is provided by fresh frozen plasma, aminocaproic acid, dicynone. If necessary, the missing coagulation factors are introduced. Deficiency of platelets, blood cells on which the formation of clots depends, is compensated by intravenous administration of platelet mass. With petechiae, dotted specks on the skin of the baby due to rupture of capillaries, it is necessary to inject drugs that strengthen the vascular wall. To do this, use ascorbic acid, rutin, in severe cases, corticosteroid hormones.

Blood in the feces of a baby with dysbacteriosis is treated with medicines that normalize the microbial flora - linex, lactobacterin, bifidum, hilak forte. For bacterial infections, broad-spectrum antibiotics are used - clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, amoxiclav. Feces with blood in a baby can be a symptom of a serious illness, so this situation always requires hospitalization and treatment in a hospital. Comprehensive examination, perfect diagnostics, effective therapy will help to quickly alleviate the child's condition and prevent the development of complications.

When blood appears in the feces of a baby, parents begin to sound the alarm. And indeed: normal feces should not be bloody. Blood in the stool in a child appears for a variety of reasons and can be a symptom of a serious illness that cannot be ignored.

Causes of blood in the stool

Blood impurities can stain stools black (if it is bleeding from the esophagus, stomach and duodenum). If there is not enough of it, it may look like blood streaks, threads or droplets on a diaper. Why does a baby have bloody diarrhea or blood streaks in the stool?

The appearance of blood in the feces in infants has the following reasons:

  • Bleeding cracks in the nipples of the mother. In breastfed babies, maternal blood is swallowed along with milk. For diagnosis, the reaction to occult blood and the Apt-Downer test are used.
  • Constant constipation, in which hard feces are formed. Defecation is difficult, the child needs to strain, and as a result, there are cracks in the rectum. At the same time, the blood is not mixed with feces and has a bright color. If constipation occurred 3 months ago or more, it is called chronic.
  • An allergic reaction in an infant (when feeding with unadapted mixtures and cow's milk, which contains a foreign protein, or when a food allergy occurs).
  • Intestinal dysbacteriosis (often occurs after taking antibiotics). With dysbacteriosis, foamy, sometimes loose stools with streaks of blood are observed.
  • Inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract (for example, colitis). Spots and traces of blood do not mix with feces. Often appears.
  • Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn. Blood in the stool can be caused in infants by a vitamin K deficiency, which affects blood clotting.
  • Juvenile intestinal polyps. Rarely formed in a one-year-old child, more often occur after 5 years. The main symptom is scarlet blood in the feces of a newborn without fever. To confirm the diagnosis, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy is performed under anesthesia.
  • Intestinal intussusceptions. Often occurs in infants due to the fact that their intestines are relatively longer and more mobile than in adults. A site of venous stasis is formed at the site of invagination. As a result, part of the blood seeps into the intestinal lumen. On the baby's diaper, you can see the discharge in the form of "raspberry jelly".
  • Acute intestinal infection (shigellosis, salmonellosis, rotavirus gastroenteritis). The temperature rises, vomiting occurs, loss of appetite, diarrhea. In this case, mucus with blood is formed in the liquid feces of the baby. Also, green stools often appear.
  • Worm infestations. Often occur with trichocephalosis, when helminths attach to the intestinal mucosa, and then fall off, which is accompanied by bleeding from their points of attachment. In this case, there is a stool with mucus and blood in the child.
  • lactase deficiency. Occurs when the content of the lactase enzyme is less than normal. In children, there is foamy diarrhea with streaks of blood and mucus in the feces.
  • When teething. A milk tooth erupts with a drop of blood, which, after swallowing, can be found in the stool.
  • With the introduction of complementary foods before the age of six months.

Associated symptoms

It is necessary to immediately show the child to a specialist if the following symptoms are present:

  • heat;
  • weight loss;
  • vomit;
  • diarrhea with blood in the baby;
  • green chair;
  • pale skin (a sign of anemia).

Among the harmless reasons for the appearance of dark feces in a baby are: taking iron supplements, feeding the mother with foods that can color feces, and introducing the first complementary foods. Red fabric threads from diapers can be mistaken for streaks of blood.

What should I do if there are a lot of streaks of blood in the feces of the baby, large clots of coagulated blood are observed, or, conversely, there is a little liquid scarlet blood on the diapers? We urgently need to take the baby to the pediatrician! Blood in dark, liquid stools in an infant may indicate internal bleeding, and if it is scarlet, it may indicate problems in the lower digestive tract (such as a bleeding polyp).

Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn

Occurs with a deficiency of vitamin K, which contributes to the formation of blood clotting factors. It occurs in about 2 out of 100 children if vitamin K was not introduced in the maternity hospital after childbirth. The classic form of the disease occurs when the child is breastfed. Its symptoms occur at days 3–5 of life and include hematemesis, bloody liquid stools (melena), skin hemorrhages, cephalohematoma, and bleeding when the umbilical cord falls off.

The cause of diarrhea with blood is the formation of small ulcers on the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum. The main mechanism of their occurrence is an excess of glucocorticoids (with stress in childbirth), hypoxic damage to the stomach and intestines. Also, blood in the stool and vomiting in an infant can be provoked by peptic esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) and reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus.

Late hemorrhagic disease occurs before the 10th week of a child's life. If bleeding occurs later (in a 3-month-old or 4-month-old baby), then this disease can be ruled out.

Diagnostics

Coprogram. The main method of research, which is carried out in all medical institutions. It allows you to determine whether there is mucus, an admixture of red blood cells and particles of undigested food in the feces of a baby, as well as many other indicators. Focusing on the results of the coprogram, the doctor can correctly diagnose.

Coagulogram. Blood from the digestive tract in infants in the feces sometimes indicates the appearance of congenital disorders of the blood coagulation system. When conducting a coagulogram, prothrombin and thrombin time, fibrinogen are determined.

The Apt-Downer test is used to differentiate bleeding in a child under one year old with maternal blood swallowing syndrome from nipple cracks. For this purpose, bloody vomit or baby stools are taken. They are diluted with water and a solution is obtained that contains hemoglobin. Hemoglobin in a newborn child differs in structure from an adult. The resulting mixture is centrifuged and mixed with sodium hydroxide solution. The appearance of a yellow-brown color indicates the presence of hemoglobin A (mother), and the persistence of pink color indicates the presence of hemoglobin of the newborn (alkaline-resistant Hb F).

Gregersen's reaction or. It is used for suspected bleeding from the digestive tract, when blood is not visually detected in the feces. Before passing the analysis, meat products are excluded.

A possible range of results is classified according to the amount of hemoglobin in the feces: a negative reaction (no hidden blood in the feces), weakly positive (+), positive (++, +++), sharply positive reaction (++++).

The reaction to Gregersen's blood is widespread only in the CIS countries; in other countries, fecal analysis is used to determine human hemoglobin by enzyme immunoassay.

Tests for lactase deficiency. What to do if you suspect this pathology? A quantitative determination of carbohydrates in faeces, a breath test (hydrogen content in the exhaled air after taking lactose), a D-xylose absorption test, and others are carried out.

Also carried out, a study of stool for helminth eggs and general blood and urine tests.

Blood or bloody streaks in the baby in the feces require additional diagnostic methods. The need for these examinations is determined after consultation with the following doctors: pediatrician, gastroenterologist, allergist and hematologist.

Treatment

General therapeutic principles for the treatment of diseases that lead to the appearance of blood in the baby in the feces:

  • If a baby on mixed or artificial feeding suffers from constipation, it is necessary to replace the mixture or use laxatives in the form of syrup.
  • Intestinal obstruction is treated with surgical intervention using manual spreading of the intussusceptum.
  • Acute intestinal infection has two lines of therapy: rehydration and antibacterial.
  • If you are allergic to cow's milk protein, this feeding should be replaced with a highly adapted formula.
  • Lactase deficiency is treated with the use of lactose-free mixtures ("Nutrilon Lactose-Free", "Enfamil lactofree").
  • Hemorrhagic disease of the blood coagulation system in infants is treated with the introduction of a synthetic analogue of vitamin K (Vikasol).

Blood in the stool of a baby should not cause panic in parents. It is best to consult a pediatrician. If blotches or blood streaks in the feces recur for a long time, the child does not gain weight or loses appetite - it is necessary to go to the hospital for a wide range of diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.

anonymous , Woman, 35

Hello! Help me please! The child is 4.5 months old. Born 3,810 height52. Weight gain 1kg, 1.4 kg, 1kg, 800g. Upon arrival from the maternity hospital, three weeks later, streaks and mucus appeared in the feces. By three months, streaks began to appear more often. The feces became liquid, green. The child is active. Increased gas formation. First, we were prescribed smecta 1/2 cancer per day - 7 do. and Biogay 5 drops 2 times a day. After the results of the analysis for disb. and capprogram, enterofuril was prescribed 2.5 ml-3 times, smecta also, Creon 1 capsule per day fractionally, primadophilus 1/2 tsp per day. Analysis for disbact. showed: E. coli lactose-positive 5.0 * 10 ^ 9; lactose-negative and lactose-defective4.0*10^7; pathogenic staphylococci S,aureus4.0*10^5; bifidobacteria 10^7; lactic acid sticks 10^8; other bacteria Kl. Pneumoniae 6*10^6; citrobacter 8.0*10^6. Analysis for the kaprogram: consistency - unformed mushy, unformed shape. color yellow. odor sour. no reaction to stercobelin. p / s, acidity is sour. We are fully on GW. I'm on a strict diet, beef, buckwheat, oatmeal, bran bread, sweet tea. After 10 days of treatment, the child jumped with plasticine, the color of dark green mucus and yellow blotches. All ten days of treatment, the streaks were and are. In the tummy, the rumbling, rumbling of the child, this worries the gaziki. Was the treatment prescribed correctly if there is no result.? Can I change something in my diet? Please help, I'm confused. I don't know what to do, I'm all on my nerves!!!

Hello! Try introducing a probiotic formula for one or two feedings. And also address to the children's gastroenterologist. In the results of the fecal analysis, you should have a list of phages that are suitable for the baby for treatment. The doctor will write you a scheme, focusing on the data of the study. Your diet is quite strict, but if you want to continue to stay on guards, remove everything except one product for three days, then gradually introduce one new product every 3-45 days, see what the baby will react to, only so you can identify the error in your diet. Donate the same feces for carbohydrates. The coprogram is not critical. Grow healthy!

anonymously

Thanks for the answer! Hello, in our case, can we put routine vaccinations? And what should we do with complementary foods, when and where to start? At the moment, after a 10-day treatment of the above, we have constipation shown in two days with plasticine and the color is dark green, maybe my diet gives such a reaction? Thank you very much in advance!!!

Don't rush to get vaccinated just yet. It can be postponed for up to six months, especially since the baby has streaks of blood in the feces even without the background of ongoing therapy. If you start to introduce complementary foods, do it with gluten-free cereals, rice, buckwheat or corn. Your diet certainly matters, but the baby is receiving medication, most likely this has affected the stool. Health to you!

anonymously

Hello, thank you very much for your attention. Tell me, we were treated for 10 days, what should we do with constipation, we don’t poop for 4 days? The baby poops only with my help, so I'm afraid to introduce rice porridge, and our porridge should be dairy-free? Decipher to me please our analysis on a dysbacteriosis!!! And how many days after our treatment can I take the tests again so that they are correct? And with constipation, you can start complementary foods with cereals? Thank you for your answers, I'm just very worried about the baby !!! I'm very grateful to you!

So far, yes, dairy-free cereals, you can use corn or buckwheat, they are also gluten-free. After treatment in 2 weeks at least you can retake the analysis. With constipation, it is better to introduce vegetables, broccoli, zucchini, or prune puree into complementary foods. the results of your analysis show the growth of pathogenic flora, not critical, the deficiency of beneficial bacteria is also insignificant. I would also recommend that you start taking normoflorins or linex in a short course for 2 weeks. Health to you!

anonymously

Hello! Thanks for the answer! I thought we had staphylococcus aureus? Why do we have veins? I noticed that when the baby poops liquidly, then I find streaks in the stool, why is that? As for normoflovins, we take primadofilus.

Do you have blood streaks in your stool? Constantly? Staphylococcus is present, but its quantity is not critical. The fact is that in the intestines, both pathogenic and beneficial flora are normally present. If the growth of pathogenic bacteria is high, streaks of blood may appear in the stool. In this case, treatment is started either with probiotics or with phages, if growth does not decrease, they resort to antibiotics. Any probiotics will benefit the baby in your situation.

anonymously

Yes, streaks of blood. While we were taking enterofuril, there were streaks with every bowel movement, now almost two weeks have passed since the treatment, it seems to have gotten better. Only when it poops liquid then there are small streaks why so? Tell me what should be the feces in the norm, with lumps or like sour cream without lumps? I am on a very strict diet, can I have butter, eggs or pancakes on kefir, I'm afraid to eat something so as not to harm the child, but I really want to? Thank you very much for your answers!!!

Hello! Write your questions, I will certainly answer. You can soon introduce complementary foods so that the stools are not liquid, start with cereals, only with gluten-free ones. Cal normally has the right to be different at this age. After the introduction of complementary foods at 10-11 months, when the baby’s gastrointestinal tract is already familiar with almost all types of adult food, the stool returns to normal. If you have ruled out lactose intolerance, then you can do everything, you do not need to follow any diet.

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