Abstract

Chronic diarrhea of infancy, also called toddler's diarrhea, is a common condition typically affecting children between ages 6–30 months, usually resolving by age 4. Symptoms include multiple loose bowel movements per day, sometimes with undigested food visible; normal growth with no evidence of malnutrition; and no evidence blood in the stool or infection. The condition may be related to irritable bowel syndrome.

Diagnosis | Differential diagnoses

Before a diagnosis of toddler's diarrhea is made, the following conditions should be ruled out:

- Celiac sprue (wheat gluten intolerance)

- Cystic fibrosis

- Sugar malabsorption

- Food allergy

Treatment

Treatment is primarily through diet. Dietary fiber and fat can be increased and fluid intake, especially fruit juice intake, decreased. With these considerations, the patient should consume a normal balanced diet to avoid malnutrition or growth restriction. Medications such as loperamide should not be used. Studies have shown that certain probiotic preparations such as "Lactobacillus rhamnosus" (a bacterium) and "Saccharomyces boulardii" (a yeast) may be effective at reducing symptoms.