A two-year-old baby is still not fluent in speaking and has some physical discomfort that cannot be expressed to their mother through language. Most mothers observe their child's discomfort through their child's behavior. Observing bowel movements seems to be a daily habit for every mother, so that we can know the child's digestion situation. So, what's wrong with a two-year-old baby having blood in their stool?
1. Mother's nipple rupture and bleeding: During breastfeeding, especially in the early stages, the mother's nipple is prone to rupture. If the baby swallows the blood from the ruptured part of the mother's nipple, there will be a small amount of pink or red substance in the stool. The stool test cannot detect red blood cells, but occult blood can be detected. In this situation, the child usually eats normally and grows normally, so the mother doesn't need to be nervous.
2. Taking iron supplements (iron foods): If a baby takes iron containing multivitamins or iron supplements, it is impossible for all the iron to be absorbed and a small amount will be excreted through the intestines. At this time, there may be black brown dots in the stool, and fecal occult blood will appear positive. This situation is not related to the baby's intestinal development or disease, as long as the baby's growth is normal, there is no need to worry.
3. Damage to small intestinal mucosa: If the small intestinal mucosa is damaged, the stool will also contain red substances, and the fecal occult blood test will be positive. Accidentally taking medication or foreign objects can cause damage to the intestinal mucosa, but for young babies, this possibility is very small. The majority of causes of intestinal damage are food, with milk being the most common. The intestine cannot tolerate certain foods, causing damage to the small intestinal mucosa and blood entering the intestinal lumen. As this blood remains in the intestine for a period of time before being excreted with feces, it is destroyed by intestinal fluid. Therefore, fecal testing can only detect occult blood in the stool and no red blood cells. However, this type of small intestine injury can persist without changing diet, causing delayed growth and development in babies.
4. Disinfectants can damage the intestines: Some chemicals, especially disinfectants, can also cause damage to the intestinal mucosa. Mom believes that disinfection can keep children away from bacterial invasion, but babies have an increased chance of being exposed to disinfectants invisibly. Over time, chronic ingestion of disinfectants becomes the culprit of intestinal damage. Mom uses clean water to scrub instead of disinfectant wipes, and the baby's stool will soon return to normal.
5. Anal fissure: If there is blood in the stool and the blood adheres to the surface of the stool, the examination shows the presence of red blood cells, which is mostly caused by anal fissure. Babies may experience crying and difficulty with bowel movements, but their stool may not necessarily be dry. Due to the immature development of the baby's anal sphincter muscle, the coordination between contraction and expansion is not perfect, often resulting in small cracks caused by defecation, leading to a small amount of blood in the stool. At this point, apply a small amount of ointment containing antibiotics to the anus, and it will soon improve.
The above is the encyclopedia introduction about what causes two-year-old babies to have blood in their stool. In short, having blood in the stool may sound serious, but in fact, if a baby's stool contains red substances or a small amount of blood, as long as it does not affect the baby's growth, it is mostly a small problem and not scary. However, as long as red substances are found in the baby's stool, they should go to the hospital for consultation. Before consultation, the stool should be tested first.
