Bloody Stools
It's understandably alarming to detect blood in your child's stool. Fortunately, this relatively common occurrence usually indicates a benign condition. If you believe you have found blood in your baby's diaper, it's very helpful if you can bring that diaper to the doctor's office to show it to your pediatrician directly. Wrap the diaper up and seal it in a zip-close bag. Schedule the earliest appointment you can so that the stool is still fresh when the doctor looks at it. Don't worry; pediatricians are used to seeing vomit and stools.
Fake Blood
A red hue in the stool doesn't always indicate the presence of blood. Frequently, a very convincing-looking bloody stool turns out to take its color from traces of tomato or colored fruit drinks instead. The doctor can perform a quick and easy chemical analysis to detect even minute traces of blood. If this test returns a negative result, the redness in the stool must be something other than blood.
This test cannot be performed unless you bring the stool in question to the doctor's office. A look really is worth a thousand words.
Anal Fissure
Anal fissure occurs when the stool stretches the skin a little too much around the anus, causing it to tear. This is perhaps the most common reason for actual blood to appear in the stool of infants and older children. The child may or may not complain of pain during defecation, as the tear may be so tiny that it doesn't really hurt. A history of constipation or hard stool is common but not mandatory for this condition to occur.
If the blood in the stool is caused by anal fissure, the blood is usually just on the surface of the stool. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether the blood is just on the surface or mixed in with the stool, especially if the stool is not well formed. If the stool is hard enough, you can frequently see a linear streak of redness on the surface of the stool as it comes out of the anus.
Surprisingly, anal fissures tend to heal themselves fairly quickly. Even in this area of constant bacterial contamination, infection is rare. Make sure your child's stools stay soft, and the absence of hard stools will usually allow the anal fissure to heal itself. Application of creams or ointment is not necessary.
Fact
The pediatrician needs to examine the anus directly, perhaps even with a magnifying scope, to evaluate the presence of anal fissure. Don't worry; doctors usually do not have to stick a finger into the anus to find a fissure.
Milk Protein Allergy
Allergy to cow's-milk protein is a fairly common problem in babies. If your baby spits up excessively and has traces of blood mixed in her stool, she might be allergic to cow's milk. This could occur if you are feeding your baby commercial infant formula or are breastfeeding and taking in a significant amount of dairy product.
The first step in diagnosing cow's-milk protein allergy is to make a trip to your doctor's. The pediatrician will make sure that there is actual blood in the stools and that the bloody stools aren't caused by something else (such as an anal fissure). When milk protein allergy is suspected, your child's doctor will usually recommend an alternative soy-based formula or, if you are breastfeeding, may ask you to restrict dairy products from your diet. If the throwing up stops and the stool normalizes, the problem is solved.
Alert!
Many children who are allergic to cow's-milk protein are also allergic to soy protein. If the symptoms of cow's-milk allergy do not resolve after switching to a soy-based food source, it's possible that your child may also be allergic to soy. Talk to your doctor if this happens.
Fortunately, most infants grow out of their milk allergies as they get older. Exactly when this happens is anyone's guess, but it's not unreasonable to test again for cow's-milk protein allergy when your child is four or five years old.
