Question: First and foremost I would like to thank you for having this very informative and useful website for new parents like us.
My question is regarding my son, 1year 4mth old which have been having the same symptom for the past 3 weeks. He would have a very watery diarrhea each time he drank his milk, which is abt 5-6times per day.
He drank the same brand of formula milk since he was 7mths old and sometimes I gave him soy milk if he has rashes or diarrhea to reduce the effects. Buy since 3 weeks ago he would have diarrhea if I did not alternate his milk with soy.
My concern is the effect of this constant diarrhea because he stayed active and happy without pain. I also considered cow milk intolerance (I have milk intolerance) but he was fine before this 3 weeks. He doesn’t have fever or cough so there should be no bacterial infection. He also is very sensitive to food so rashes and eczema is a normal occurrence. MY son is also not much of an eater but I made sure he ate some solids or semisolids everyday.
1. What is the cause of this diarrhea?
2. Other than soy milk, what can I do to reduce the diarrhoea?
3. What is the effect to my son if this continues?
4. Should I change the milk brand?
Answer: Hi Khadijah. He may be having secondary lactose intolerance. You may want to change his milk to lactose free formula for 2-3 weeks then start reintroducing his usual formula. l His condition will remain the same if you alternate in his milk because what he needs is time to heal and that would take about 2-3 weeks .
If he continues to have diarrhoea, he will lose water and minerals unless replenished. It’s not the brand that matters but the formulation. Ask for a lactose free milk.