Help Collecting a Stool Sample

[ezl247]

My 12 week old DD has had mucous/bloody diarrhea for almost a week. I need to collect a large stool sample. I can not use diapers as they absorb everything. I tried putting saran wrap underneath her and I lost the sample. Her BM’s are the consistency of liquid. Do you guys have any ideas on how to collect the sample? Thanks in advance.

[MauiWife]

Not the most conventional way, but maybe try a ladle? When we have to collect a urine sample from our dog, this is the method that our vet recommends (I know that dogs and DC are not in the same category, but just trying to help!) Our vet has us collect the urine in a ladle, then pour it into a plastic baggie.

I hope your DD feels better soon! Good luck...

[nuhmah]

Can you put a large bowl underneath her, and have her poop into that? Or put the bowl into the sink, and hold her over the sink so it goes in there. You might want to check out the Elimination Communication thread for some help, too.

Sorry you have to do this - hope you can find the problem!

[ezl247]

Thanks for your replies. The thing is I have no clue when she is going to poop. How can I secure a ladle/bowl onto her?

I will look at the elimination thread thread, thanks for the ideas.

[Jenyfer9]

what about putting her in vinyl pants (like the ones you can get at BRU that you use w/cloth diapers) without anything inside that would absorb anything? It would be messy, but no more messy than what you are already dealing with.

I feel your pain, I had to do the same thing with ds#1 last spring, and I was forced to go the saran wrap route... but he also was a bit more reliable in how often he was going (somewhat).

Good luck!

[Aletheia]

I'm an EC'ing mama, and poos are usu easy to catch.

The easiest way would prob be to leave her diaper free on a pad, and wait til she starts to squirm and/or grunt and//or fuss. hen hold her over a bowl like this:

http://mstenger.photosite.com/~photos/tn/813_1024.ts1162587422712.jpg

it makes pooing easier, so you'll prob get more this way than other ways.

even if she starts to poo, quickly get her over the bowl and wait for more. you can encourage her with soft grunts. most babes finish by peeing. oh, and nost babes poo most in tthe am, shortly after waking. good luck! if you need more hel, pm me.

[ezl247]

Thanks so much Altheia! I was able to collect 1 vile full this morning using this method. I have 2 more vials to collect.

Jenyfer: If you dont mind me asking why did you have to collect a stool sample?

I am SO worried/scared, I think she may never have a normal BM again :(

[ShannonGH]

ezl- DD had mucousy/bloody/liquidy stools as well. We had to collect a stool sample for them to test for c-dif (not exactly sure what it is but it has something to do with the baby recieving too much antibiotics, either directly or through breastmilk. Although all we didn't need much at all to test for that...we only had to collect a small amount that could be gotton off of saran wrap. She tested negative for that so they ended up diagnosing her with colitis due to a food allergy.

[ezl247]

Shannon, thanks for replying. Does the colitis go away or will she have it forever? How long did it take for her bowels to return to normal? What was she allergic to and how old was she when it first appeared?


I am just racking my brain, I have no idea what is wrong with my baby :(

[ShannonGH]

It started when she was 3 months old. I was breastfeeding at the time so I gave up all dairy (both the obvious forms, as well as "hidden" dairy) since that is a very common food allergen. I did this for a month with no change in her stools. Since there was no change, I decided to stop breastfeeding and put her on hypoallergenic formula at 4 months of age. It was either that or go on an elimination diet to determine what specifically she was allergic to, and I just couldn't personally do that, although many do. Once on the hypoallergenic formula, her stools became normal almost immediately. The formula is very pricey and it has a bad smell to it but, for her, it's worked wonders!

FWIW, although it's scary to see the blood, the colitis does not hurt them. Is your baby acting ill? My DD was acting totally normal through this whole episode.

ETA: We still are not sure what she is allergic to. She's started solids (fruits, veggies, cereal, & meat)and is doing fine with them, although we have stayed away from common allergens: dairy, soy, wheat, etc. until she's a bit older.

[ezl247]

Shannon: my DD is acting completely normal too. She is not acting like she is sick at all. No crying or spitting up. I suspect she probably has the same thing as your DD. Do you know if they will have colitis forever? Or do they at some point outgrow it? I hope that it is not a lifelong problem and I can not find any literature on it.

[ShannonGH]

No, if she does indeed have colitis, she won't have it forever. My DD's stopped immediately once I put her on the hypoallergenic formula. Usually, babies will grow out of their food allergies by 1-3 years of age.
Regardless of whether your DD is ff or bf, these articles should be helpful:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bloodystool.html
http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/faq/colitis_bfdinfant.html

[Jenyfer9]

ezl247: We had to collect samples from ds#1 because he had diarrea (I never know if I'm spelling that right) for 3 months (6 weeks at the time that we did the testing). Nothing showed up on the tests, so that was good and bad, I suppose. One day, his poops just got more solid... no rhyme or reason. He's still a mushy poop kind of kid (he'll love me for saying that 10 years from now, I'm sure!), but it's no where close to how it was last spring.

I'm sorry you're going through this... here's hoping this phase passes soon!

[ezl247]

Thanks again for all of your suggestions. I was able to collect all 3 vials and sent them to the lab. Now the waiting game begins to try and determine the cause of this.