Antipyretics for children are prescribed by a pediatrician. But there are emergency situations for fever when the child needs to be given medicine immediately. Then the parents take responsibility and use antipyretic drugs. What is allowed to give to infants? How can you bring down the temperature in older children? What medicines are the safest?
The stool of a breastfed baby is a cause for concern for the whole family. The bowel movements are carefully examined by mothers and grandmothers, and if random impurities were found in them, this is perceived as a deviation from the norm.
I would like to immediately reassure the worried parents: a child receiving mother's milk can have any character of the stool. And it depends more on the diet of the mother. So, if a nursing woman ate too many fruits and vegetables, the baby's feces may acquire a greenish tint.
If the newborn is calm, sucks his mother's breast with pleasure, does not pull his legs to the tummy and steadily gains weight, parents should not worry.
The nature of the stool in the baby changes depending on what his mother ate.
In the first 2-4 days after the birth of a child, meconium, or original feces, occurs. Meconium is a dark, viscous, greasy mass, it consists of desquamated cells of the intestinal epithelium and swallowed amniotic fluid. The original stool appears 8-10 hours after birth.
If the original stool does not appear within a day, a surgeon's consultation is necessary. Perhaps the passage of feces occurred in the womb, which is observed during oxygen starvation of the child during pregnancy. In other cases, the absence of meconium may indicate a congenital pathology of the intestine (atresia or narrowing of its lumen).
After feeding begins, meconium is replaced by transitional stools that range in color from mustard to yellow-brown. Transitional stools often contain small lumps, mucus. Often there is liquid feces. The appearance of transitional stools is associated with the settlement of the infant's intestines with beneficial bacteria. This character of bowel movements persists for up to 10 days, the frequency of excretion is up to 10 times a day. The color of the transitional stool does not matter much, except for the admixture of blood in the stool. However, single streaks of blood should not cause concern, most often they are the result of a small crack in the rectum.
In the future, the baby's stool on breastfeeding becomes yellow, of a homogeneous consistency, semi-liquid, with a mild smell of sour milk. During the neonatal period, diapers get dirty almost after each feeding, and the amount of feces is from a teaspoon to a tablespoon.
Sometimes the chair can be allocated 1 time per day, in other cases, bowel movements may be absent for several days, and both of these options are not a pathology.
If you suspect that the baby is constipated, analyze his behavior: constant crying, whims and other manifestations of discomfort may confirm your assumption
Some moms start to panic if there is no stool for one or two days. The "grandfather" methods of stimulating the intestines are used - a bar of soap, a thermometer or a cotton swab. It can be dangerous to carry out such manipulations. After all, soap is an alkali, and when a small piece is introduced into the rectum, a burn of the mucous membrane easily occurs, and subsequently inflammation of the intestine.
Irritating the outer hole with a thermometer or other object, you can injure the delicate intestinal mucosa of the baby.
Constipation in newborns during breastfeeding is quite rare. More often this happens with "artificial" ones, since the baby's digestive system is not always able to digest the milk mixture. Constipation is indicated not only by the absence of stools, but by dry, hard stools.
Changing the mother's diet will help normalize the nature of bowel movements. So, the inclusion of porridge from buckwheat or oatmeal, boiled vegetables, one-day kefir and whole grain bread has a positive effect on the baby's stool.
Another cause of constipation may be impaired intestinal motility, spasm of the external sphincter. At the same time, it is difficult to discharge not only feces, but also gaziki. The child becomes restless, often "knocks" his legs, cries piercingly. These symptoms are indicative of intestinal.
Accurate administration can improve the situation, sometimes medicines are prescribed by a doctor - suppositories with glycerin or Microlax microclysters.
Green chair
Greenish stools in a breastfed baby are a variant of the norm. Baby feces contain bilirubin, which turns green when exposed to light. This situation can persist up to 8 months of age. If there are no manifestations of an infectious disease (temperature, watery stools, anxiety of the baby, refusal of food), then the green color of the stool is not a pathology.
White lumps in stool
Sometimes whitish lumps are found in the baby's stool, which resemble curdled milk or pieces of cottage cheese. The appearance of these elements indicates insufficient digestion of breast milk.
As you know, babies have a poorly developed enzymatic system, and if you regularly overfeed a child, breast milk cannot be completely processed by his body. Often, white lumps appear with frequent attachment to the breast or changing one mammary gland to another in one feeding. The appearance of undigested lumps indicates that the baby is receiving more nutrients (proteins, fats) than he needs.
If this phenomenon is accompanied by a weak weight gain, enzymatic preparations may be prescribed by a doctor.
loose stool
The appearance of loose stools can be a sign of an infectious disease. Unfortunately, some mothers neglect to boil bottles and pacifiers, and babies also like to pull objects into their mouths, which contributes to infection. The following symptoms indicate an infection:
- temperature rise;
- liquid stool, which resembles water in appearance;
- baby anxiety;
- pathological impurities in the feces - blood, a large amount of mucus and greenery;
- frequent regurgitation;
- vomit;
- weight gain stops.
If these symptoms appear, you should call your doctor as soon as possible. Since an infectious disease leads to dehydration of the crumbs, the situation can become critical. Self-medication in these cases is extremely dangerous!
Loose stools can be a symptom of lactase deficiency. At the same time, the feces acquire a sharp sour smell, foam strongly, and a wet spot forms on the diaper around the feces. The attending pediatrician will have to deal with all this, however, it is worth noting that true intolerance to milk sugar (lactose) is quite rare. It is allowed to refuse breastfeeding only with the established diagnosis of lactase deficiency, in all other cases it is unjustified and will harm the baby.
